…and really soak in what just happened in this 2021 season?
We traded away our franchise QB in the biggest NFL off-season move
We set ourselves up with 5 top 100 draft picks in 2022
Two 1rst rd. picks in 2023
Tied for 6th in Rush yards/attempt (4.4 ypc)
19th in total rushing yards
Dan Campbell took an 0-10 team into Pittsburgh and played them to a tie!
Goes into LA with a circus of a show to put the NFL on notice that Detroit comes to win every game!
Destroys the 1rst place team in the NFC Conference (Cardinals) with a complete butt-whooping for 4 quarters. NFL, once again, takes notice!
How bout calling a red-zone pass to MATT NELSON, which fails miserably, then turns around and calls a TD pass to Taylor Decker! Dan Campbell is savage!
Almost forgot…let’s break an NFL record for most 4th down attempts and conversions…in HISTORY!
I know everyone remembers the 4th and 1 false start…that Dan Campbell turned into a 4th and 6 fake punt pass with our gun slinging punter!
Ravens needed a record 66 yard FG to beat us!
I could go on…it was such a crazy knee-cap biting year. We fought and clawed our way over every obstacle. We got knocked down in Cincinnati, and show up the next game ready to bite back at LA. We got knocked down in Philadelphia…Dan had us in Pittsburgh the next game…gnawing at Steeler knee-caps.
Dan promised this…and he delivered. This team will not stay down. They will get back up and fight. The NFL is on notice!
What about taking out entire coaching staff and swapping them onto one of the 31 other NFL teams? Interesting to think about. Incredible what these coaches did with the talent on the Lions roster.
I am very excited about the direction of this team and for the first time in a long time (Schwartz for a hot second) it has to do with the confidence in the coaching staff and not just a few razzle dazzle star players to hope carries the team to a victory here and there.
Fox is a threat…and more importantly, a proven threat.
You’re a Head Coach and you’re about to face Detroit this week. There will be extra focus or attention during practice, in preparation for our possible fakes.
Practice time is finite in the NFL. You only get so many hours per week with your players. That 5-10 minutes of practice preparing for fakes is extremely valuable time. I love the pressure it puts on our opponents.
And time devoted to trick plays that Dan will use liberally at times, which will ultimately make teams a tick slower in defending our meat-and-potatoes plays.
This. Really like the way Sheila has set up the front office and coaching staff.
No guarantees but it does feel different than the last several hires, granted it’s a low bar.
Dan Campbell became the parent that switched places with his child and went out for revenge on every bully that ever looked at his son cross-eyed. He molded the team, and even a terrified Goff, into a gritty, resilient bunch. I don’t know how far he can take it, but he sure got a lot out of the wimpy kid, which was the Detroit Lions and its depleted roster.
On nfl radio today i missed who the guest was but he talked about winning culture and how most of these rookie head coaches had never been prepped for the role and that winning culture was so important. That they might know 1/3 of the needed parts of a team… either offense, defense or special teams but not all 3. I kept yelling at the radio talk about MCDC! He was explaining why we have the right coach for once!
My hope is that Coach Campbell learned a lot this year about game management, and being a full time head coach (which is different than being an interim). I hope he gets an offensive coordinator who calls the plays on Sunday while he focuses more on the game itself.
I like the guy, immensely, and man he’s easy to root for. But he’s gotta get better, just like the roster. The thing that gives me some faith is that he’s clearly up for any challenge, and I respect guys like that.