The NFL preseason is over. Perhaps no one is happier about that fact than Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
After an extra game, with the Lions opening the exhibition season versus the Chargers, Campbell and the Lions put a bow on training camp and the preseason with Saturday’s uninspired loss to the Houston Texans. That extra game meant an additional week of training camp too. The grinding tedium clearly wore on Campbell.
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After the game, Campbell was asked how he felt about his team and the shift into regular-season mode.
“Thank God it’s here – almost. It’s time,” Campbell said. “It’s time to get ready for the season and this opener – get ready to go to Lambeau (Field in Green Bay).”
The thought of playing games that matter reinvigorated Campbell as he continued,
“I love where our teams at. There again, we just finished basically six weeks, five weeks of true work on the grass, and we’ve gotten better and better every week on both sides of the ball. I feel like we’ve really progressed. We’ve gotten two different looks from other teams, too, with Miami and Houston this week, and I just think we’ve gotten a variety of work. I think we’ve tested each other, I think we’ve grown from it, and I think we are going to be ready to go. I’m fired up right now. We’re going to be good.”
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The concluding sentence should resonate with the Lions. The expectations are that this team can win a third straight NFC North title and make a deep playoff run. Nothing about the lengthy preseason changes that expectation for Campbell, and it shouldn’t for Lions fans, either.
This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Lions coach Dan Campbell speaks for all with thought on preseason end