Freep: Dan Campbell sounds different. That's no accident

The Den
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Dan Campbell sounds different. That’s no accident

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Of course Dan Campbell feels pressure to get the Detroit Lions back to the playoffs. Why wouldn’t he?

But there is pressure, and there is pressure, and Campbell’s probably closer to feeling the former. The latter is what he no doubt felt after his team started 1-5 in his second season.

He didn’t know he could coach in the NFL yet. He may have believed it – felt it, even – but he didn’t have the proof, after finishing 3-13-1 his first season and losing five of six to start the second season.

Yeah, that’s pressure.

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…..Of all the questions facing Campbell and his Lions as they embark on their sixth season together – training camp starts this week – none are as fascinating as this:

What kind of face will Campbell present?

Yes, yes, the secondary is an issue. The starting safeties are injured. The first-round cornerback is gone. How will the Lions defend the pass? A good question. Maybe the question, at least in some seasons.

But not this one. Not with A) the offensive line in flux (Campbell’s rebuild started here, and his rebuild of the rebuild ends here) and not with B) Campbell telling reporters after the season and then doubling down during minicamp that it’s time to get back to the basics.

His basics. Nothing else matters if Campbell can’t get his own formula right.

Here is what he said in late May about the changes he wants to make after the Lions missed the playoffs last season: “Man, just getting back to a little bit of the no nonsense.”

And there it is. Pressure. Not pressure.

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He knows it will be trickier this time, and that explains – in part – why he seemed more business-like when he met with reporters during May’s minicamp.

“It’s a lot easier when nobody knows who you are,” he said. “You kind of fly right under the radar, but then the better you do, the more you do, the more hype, the more you’re doing this, you’re doing this, this player gets paid, this coach, this whatever, this coach moves on now and it’s all this other stuff that has nothing to do with what got us to that point.”

Lesson learned, he insists.

“Let’s just get back to the business of … football first and foremost,” he said, “… about the guy next to you. That’s it.”

Campbell believes he has the right guys. He said this earlier this summer. He believes he has the right formula. …..

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Campbell is fine, his weakness is choosing coordinators.

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2 of them are HC’s now. We have netted picks because of his choices.

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Ragnow’s retirement put the Lions in a bind in 2025. It was after the draft and free agency. The Lions featured two rookies essentially as starters (Ratledge and Mahogany). Decker didn’t really practice and the new OC seemed to not communicate as well as necessary. The Packers exposed us week one and the Lions produced on O but did not dominate via the OL.

Defense is a different story. Injuries killed the D BUT…they still underperformed. The DL was mostly healthy. LBers were mostly healthy. I see major scheme adjustments necessary to turn this unit around. TyLeik’s lower playing weight hints at this. Letting Anzalone go feels like a choice. Gone are high base %s in 2026.I think a more serious and sober Dan might be ge exactly what this coaching staff and team needs.

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I mean, they finished top 10 in DVOA despite the depleted secondary. They didn’t generate as many turnovers without Branch and Kerby, and they had a tendency to give up the big play at the worst times.

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Stats are for…

Anyway, the D was a huge problem and has been except for 1 season since MCDC got here. That has to change or this team will always be fun to watch but never able to get it done in the playoffs.

And lets be clear. 14 of 32 teams make the playoffs so not making them is a bad season. There is no wiggle room on that topic for me. 44% of the league makes the playoffs and to not be in that group is not acceptable.

And I get it. Playing in a tough Division makes it tougher and tricky. But you got 3 teams that did not win their division in the playoffs. So you have plenty of room.

The Lions missed a massive chance in that Championship game loss to SF. But we have to move on and figure it out.

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The Lions were 23rd in rushing yards allowed. 18th in 20+ yard runs allowed and bottom third in 40+ rushes allowed.

I think Dan Campbell believes in situational football: run the rock in O. Stop the run in D.

Running well on O wears a team down, you win TOP and you likely win the turnover battle.

On D, stop the run and put their O in predictable situations.

the DL and LBers were mostly healthy last season yet later in the season our run D wasn’t good. Granted we were good early but not at the midpoint of the season.

I think Dan wants and needs to get back to running the football and stopping the run on D.

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Dan has been invisible since January.

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What do you mean Frog? He’s had several press conferences this offseason.

Is he turning into John Cena? :joy:

You Cant See Me John Cena GIF by Saturday Night Live

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Check This Out Cookie Monster GIF by Sesame Street

They were #22 in points and #18 in yards, and that’s with a top 5 offense on the other side. I don’t understand how that can translate into a top-ten defense in any way. This is where the subjective stats lose me.

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it almost felt like we took a step back last year on D. At least with AG we had a solid run defense, always, but we needed to get more pass rush and more talent in the secondary. There felt like a path to getting the D where we needed. Last year though, the defense sucked at basically everything by years end. We’ve also lost some real talent this offseason. I hope Coach Shep and the staff can work miracles because this defense can’t possibly still be in the bottom 3rd of the league AGAIN

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I’m not regurgitate it as it has been stated numerous times before but won’t change the perception that the team wasn’t serious by hiring Sheppard etc etc.

Two seasons for the defense.

The safeties going down played a major role in the scheme and that impacted the defense at the end of the season. That included the LB and DL play as responsibilities changed. Then Sheppard’s inexperience definitely played a role.

If you think he has reached his ceiling then I get the not being happy whether I agree or not, (not like that matters). If you think he can improve you will be cautiously optimistic. There was an article recently by one of the mainstream groups on Sheppard remains one of the coaches to watch in NFL inner circles.

Either way this is his opportunity to prove it or he will be coaching elsewhere in 2027.

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This thread is about Dan Campbell sounding different. I agree and to me it feels like the Lions didn’t do the basics (run the ball, stop the run) well enough overall.

I want to give the D overall credit early. I saw a lot of good there the first few weeks. But the D felt undisciplined later in the season and not due to injury. For example, V. the Steelers Anzalone didn’t wrap up the running back he was covering on a pass play. Key play and a lack of discipline.

I think Dan wants to get back to guys trusting each other. Doing their jobs and doing the basics well.

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Nah, Dan stuck with AG through some terrible seasons and I think he’ll do the same here with Shep. Remember, he’s never fired a defensive coordinator. Even if the defense stinks again this year I think Shep’s job security is solid.

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i agree……..this isn’t AG….despite what people may think….AG could coach………..

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So do you think Shep is not the guy then? I’m not completely sold on him yet but hopefully he is or it’s going to be another long year on defense.

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AMEN !

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Nobody had tape on Shepard the first half of the season. By the second half teams had tape and tendencies they could exploit. It seemed like our defense couldn’t get a stop when they really needed to. That has to change.

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I completely agree that Dan believes in situational football, and that’s where they largely failed last season. Down to down, they were mostly fine, it was 3rd down and lack of forced turnovers where they really struggled IMO.

@Spartansd DVOA isn’t just stats, it takes everything into account, down, distance, opponent, field position… It’s a fantastic way to measure against the rest of the NFL. They really struggled giving up the big play and turning the ball over IMO… They only forced 7 turnovers the last 9 games of the year, 3 of them came in 1 game, a win against Dallas. I really believe that’s a big reason why they struggled along with giving up big plays on 3rd and long. For measure, they forced 12 turnovers in the first 8 games when they were healthier on the back end.

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To be fair I am not sure I care much about any defensive stat except for one.

How many times do you hold the other team to no points or just a FG in the second half. Todays NFL feels much like the old NBA (and maybe todays but I don’t watch BB much) where it is all about getting stops in the 4th quarter and scoring on your possession. The Lions were complete dog crap in that area.

And you would have to go a very long way to convince me that the Lions Defense was top half last season. That was not a defense that seemed to be better than 2/3rds of the league based on a DVOA of 10rth.

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