Here’s my take on things. To answer the OP question, my first response would be, you never stop learning as a coach. You’d better be constantly adjusting on the fly, building on successes, learning from weaknesses, and gaining experience. Every day is going to bring new challenges, and you are always just an injury or two away from having to change your team’s strategy.
I understand we are 0-5, and it’s painful to watch. That being said, I think the Lions coaches are actually doing an outstanding job. Here’s the straight facts. We are basically an expansion team. Again. By that, I mean we have a few decent players that are mostly castoffs from other teams, and then we surrounded those with a couple draft picks from Holmes, but are also being forced to play kids who are still college level athletes. This is the part people are forgetting. The guys who are blowing plays, are NOT NFL players. The Lions are so young, they are essentially a college level Super Senior team!
Now, take that thought process, and factor in that the Lions have been competitive in every game, and actually in position to win a few of them. I still firmly maintain, SF is a fluke because SF let them up to protect their own players. However, the Lions fought right back. That’s a Campbell mantra. The Lions fought to stay in against Baltimore, and were winning. The Lions fought to stay in against Minnesota, and were winning.
The Dan Campbell Lions are going to be a tough out. If you let them get off of the mat, they will get back up and punch you back. They will make you show up and fight for 60 minutes. The problem the Dan Campbell Lions have, is they have NO TALENT, especially on the defensive side. That means, whenever the other team is forced into the corner, and put into a “gotta have it” moment, they will get it. They will get it because they have the talent to get it, and we don’t have the talent to stop it.
I will say, I hated the going for 2 at the end of the Minny game. I understand it, I just think it’s too big of a risk and not enough reward. My mind says, if you go for 2 and miss, game over. If you make it, there is still time for the other team to do what they did, a long FG beats you. If you kick the XP, you can still lose on a FG, but if they miss, at least you are now in OT. My mindset says if you are playing to trust your defense, then you should play to extend the game and bet on outlasting Minny. At any rate, we know what happened.
I still think the fact the Lions are playing competitive football with literal UDFA’s starting throughout the secondary, is very impressive. Rarely do I feel like our scheme is bad. I constantly see Lions in position to make plays. Of course there are mistakes, and remember a lot of these UDFA guys were only brought in to be ST players, and are now being asked to cover All Pro NFL caliber players. We should be getting run out of the arena, yet we hang tough.
My big question, is can Campbell keep the team together after getting punched in the stomach over and again. If he can, I am telling you, he is building a team that will have the heart of a warrior. However, as the losses pile up, it’s very easy to start going for broke, and lose your way, and the players will start checking out. That’s why I think Collins was let go so quickly. It was clear, he knew the losses were going to pile up and he didn’t even give half assed effort against GB. He was out there in uniform only. The Lions had to get him out ASAP, because that kind of cancer will quickly spread to other players.
This season is very hard to watch. I am as tired of the losing as everyone else, and it pisses me off that I am once again watching a team that literally are college level players. That being said, seeing guys like AJ Parker come out of nowhere, Tracy Walker bounce back, JRM finally show he belongs on an NFL field, Barnes starting to get playing time, I am seeing signs of life. It’s just too early for it to matter.
If anyone caught the postgame with Mike Zimmer, he actually said the Lions were pretty stout on defense. That’s a guy who knows a thing or two about defense too. He said the Lions do a good job of mixing up their coverages. Folks, there’s your testament that the coaching is on the right track. No one complimented Matt Patricia for mixing up his coverages. If the Lions coaches can teach a bunch of UDFA scrubs to come close to playing NFL football, now imagine what they can do when they actually get their hands on some real NFL talent to mold.
I’ll end my book on one more note. We fans are already conditioned to the fact that the Lions are just a stepping stone job, and the minute we have a coach who shows some ability, he is going to another team ASAP. I don’t think that’s going to happen this time. I think Campbell’s staff here really likes the fact they are all former players and are getting their chance to have a hand in the biggest rebuilding project in NFL history. These guys are all gaining experience together, and while a few will for sure move on to bigger jobs, I am curious how many end up staying because at least they know in Detroit, they’ve got someone who will let them coach guys the way they learned, and as former players, that’s a really big deal.