Lions News

[whatever_gong82]

Some good news:

[whatever_gong82]

[-Deborah-]

We can't have nice things.

Pardon my language, but WTF??

This has turned out to be a terrible signing. Is there a condition that could cause susceptibility to torn ligaments? This guy needs to explore that.

[Cody_Russell]

Damn, that sucks.

Time to make a move and add depth, Lions…

[whatever_gong82]

[jaadam4]

Pardon my language, but WTF??

This has turned out to be a terrible signing. Is there a condition that could cause susceptibility to torn ligaments? This guy needs to explore that.

lol.. damn bro that’s cold blooded.

[whatever_gong82]

Pardon my language, but WTF??

This has turned out to be a terrible signing. Is there a condition that could cause susceptibility to torn ligaments? This guy needs to explore that.

I didn't mean anything towards the player, Deb.

I get what you're saying, but like you said, this was a terrible signing.

I guess Next Man Up.

I'm glad that Brad Holmes can draft so well, so that we actually have talented backups that can fill in here and there.

We're going to need the players on the roster as the season goes along.

Plus, with the Bye coming up after the Raiders game 3 weeks from tonight, we're going to need it.

[Lionsfan123]

Waste of money but it was good that this was only a 1 year deal. Time for Brad to make some calls because that CB position is looking really thin

[whatever_gong82]

[Cody_Russell]

Well yeah, it sucks for Moseley from a personal perspective. Training a year to comeback from a torn ACL and only making it two snaps.
Sucks for the Lions and us fans because Moseley was going to be a valuable piece for the team. Now let’s see Holmes respond to the unfortunate news.

Waste of money but it was good that this was only a 1 year deal. Time for Brad to make some calls because that CB position is looking really thin

The Lions are a contender and contenders make trades historically. I expect Holmes to smartly address it.

[whatever_gong82]

How Dan Campbell is preparing Detroit Lions for the playoffs (yes, the playoffs) already



Jeff Seidel
Detroit Free Press


The Detroit Lions messed up something awful on their first drive on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

“We had three MA's (missed assignments) on that,” coach Dan Campbell said. “And we're fortunate they didn't bite us on that drive but normally they will.”


Forget that the Lions scored on that drive.

And forget that the Lions beat the Panthers, 42-24, on Sunday at Ford Field.


Campbell is preparing this team for something bigger.

If you study his words, if you dig in his messages, he’s using the regular season to prepare his team for the playoffs.


Yes, we're using that word: playoffs.

“Every week, these games get more and more important as you close in on December and January,” Campbell said. “So, we got to be playing our best ball by the time we get there.”


Not: if we get there.

He said: By the time we get there.


That single phrase tells you everything.

Campbell has injected a mindset into this team — yes, beating a bad team without several starters is a good win, but there is something bigger out there.


And clearly, the players have bought in.

“Ain't nothing proven yet,” running back David Montgomery said after another great performance, rushing for 109 yards and a touchdown. “It'd be proven once we do it all. And I firmly believe that, and I know we capable of doing it. We just have to do it. So, it's never been about proving anybody else wrong. It's always been about proving ourselves right.”


It’s no longer: “Detroit vs. Everybody.”

It’s no longer: “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.”


It’s no longer: “Same old Lio ... ” Nope. I won’t even finish it. I refuse to go there.

Because this is something else. This message is something beautiful: “Get the heck out of our way, this team is preparing for January.”


And if you think, "Wow, that’s different. That is an entirely new way of thinking," I’d have to agree with you.


This is how a winning team thinks.

This is how a winning coach talks — and yes, it’s been a while since we said that about a Lions coach.


“I think these guys are hungry,” Campbell said. “They smell the wins. They enjoy winning like anybody would, but they also understand what it takes to win right now, and what we're doing to win these games. And so I think from that standpoint, it's just, you know, I think they want more, I think we want more and I think when you have that you're always on hunt.”


Campbell is not looking too far ahead.

He is not assuming anything.


But he’s showing the way. The leader of the hunt.


Bringing a team together


Years ago, I was given a week-long, behind-the-scenes access to the Minnesota Vikings and I got to watch how a game plan came together. Back then, Denny Green was the head coach, and I spent time with the Vikings’ assistant coaches in their offices, as they studied film and created a plan.


My biggest takeaway?

I learned how much influence a head coach has on the big picture, setting the overall goals, crafting a plan that makes sense for both an offense and defense, putting them both in a position to succeed.


And I was thinking about that on Sunday afternoon.

Because Campbell has this team playing together.


The defense is getting pressure on the quarterback and creating turnovers, and the offense is rolling. That doesn't happen by accident.

You know who holds it all together?


Campbell.

“You talk about complementary football,” he said. “We’ve been talking about, it was time for us to get a knockout, a strip, fumble, that we got. We talked about our D-line coming up with one, (Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson) got one. Come away with three takeaways and turn those into 21 points offensively, that’s complementary football.”

Campbell is impacting this team on every level.


Creating a mindset and culture.

Getting the offense and defense to work together.


“The offense, man, took advantage of those takeaways that we got," Campbell said. "It was just great team win.”

And when you praise offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for all his creativity — deservedly so — realize it starts with Campbell allowing him to take risks.



Praise while motivating


Years ago, the Lions would have lost without their best wide receiver and most explosive running back.

But this team is built to withstand it.

Because they have prepared for it.


“I think this was something we talked about, really was after 2021," Campbell said. "It was we have to assume we’re going to lose a significant amount of our starters every year. Like, that’s the assumption and now what do we do with the guys that we have on this roster and how do we utilize them, but yet still have enough to produce against the opponent? And so look, we’re doing a good job of that. ... We’re not getting any drop-off and when we need someone to show up, they show up for us.”


That’s a reflection of an improved roster, but it’s also coaching.

The other big thing a coach can do?


Motivate.

And Campbell has found an unique ability to praise while motivating at the same time.


“There's always more (Jared) Goff can give,” Campbell said. “And that's a great thing, because he is playing at a high level right now. He's playing at a high level, and I love where his confidence is at.”

See that?


“As good as we played defensively there were a couple of drives we got hit on some explosives that we don’t want to give up,” Campbell said. “I think you’re in this constant — you’re striving for perfection knowing you’ll never be perfect, but I think that’s the name of the game here if you want to get where you want to go.”

Where you want to go?


A home playoff game in January would be a perfect place to start.

And that’s exactly where Campbell has them headed.


Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.

[Iron Lion]

I love Annie Agar’s videos but i didn’t know she was from Detroit! Start watching from the 2:00 mark. Big shout out to the D. She’s pretty cool

That just makes it even worse and completely unforgivable that she is a Pecker fan.

[Iron Lion]

Pardon my language, but WTF??

This has turned out to be a terrible signing. Is there a condition that could cause susceptibility to torn ligaments? This guy needs to explore that.

I think his previously injured knee was never right. He had to get a 2nd surgery on it. Then tweeked a hammy to stall his return. I think he's been compensating for the knee and that caused him to slip and get the other knee.

[Iron Lion]

Waste of money but it was good that this was only a 1 year deal. Time for Brad to make some calls because that CB position is looking really thin

Yeah Eman and CJGJ both being on one-year deals lessens the blow of the injuries. Houston going down sucks but we have tremendous depth there.

[whatever_gong82]

Taylor Decker didn't want to feel like a loser anymore. Lions are making sure he doesn't.



Shawn Windsor
Detroit Free Press


They are starting to smell the wins, Dan Campell was saying, continuing his we’re-on-the-hunt metaphor for this most surprising of seasons. No, not surprising because no one saw a 4-1 start for these Detroit Lions … your Detroit Lions.

It's surprising because folks did see a 4-1 start, and because it actually happened. The surprise is what it feels like.


For you, gentle fan – of course. Who knew it could be so delectable to plan your week around Sundays without the idea of a letdown hanging over your head? And for the Lions themselves, who believe, and said they’ve believed for a while now, at least since late last season.


Yet winning games by double digits so easily despite missing some of your best players?

That’s new. That’s different. That’s … being on the hunt.


As Campbell was saying. As he said again Sunday, after the Lions throttled the Carolina Panthers, 42-24:

“I think these guys are hungry. I just think that they smell the wins. They enjoy winning like anybody would, but they also understand what it takes to win right now and what we’re doing to win these games … I think they want more. I think we want more. And I think when you have that, you’re always on the hunt.”


Such a new concept around here, right? Though it’s starting to feel familiar. Nothing about Sunday was a shock. Not the Aidan Hutchinson interception at the line of scrimmage. Not the David Montgomery touchdown. Not the feathery lob from Jared Goff to Josh Reynolds down the sideline.

Not the fact that Reynolds has become a difference-maker. The Lions have them everywhere. What’s more, they can come from anywhere.


Taylor Decker came from Ohio State. And, like a lot of college stars who make the leap to struggling franchises, adjusting to the losing was difficult.


Eventually, though, most teams find a little success. Except for the Lions.

“It could be overwhelming,” Decker said Sunday.


He’d look around and think: Where do you start?

He couldn’t imagine. It was exhausting. The losing, yes, but also the anger that came with it, at least for him. The NFL may be a job, but jobs tend to be miserable places when collective goals aren’t met.


“I wouldn’t know what to do to try and help the team win,” he said. “It seemed like there was so much going on and I’m like, ‘Where do we start?’ And I kind of got caught up to where I was focusing too much on that and it was kind of bogging me down mentally. … I think anger is awesome fuel, but when it’s all you have, it just wears you down and I just felt like I was worn down all the time.”


Of course, he did. Just imagine how you felt watching him lose almost every week. Do you remember that feeling?

Then triple the anguish. Nah, strike that. How about quadrupling it.


Decker wasn’t just feeling your pain. He was living it, physically and spiritually.

So, to have days like Sunday, and to have a relatively easy win without the full roster? To have triple reverse flea-flicker touchdowns and direct snap between-the-legs trickery (hi, Ben Johnson), to have crazed pass rushers vibing with one of the loudest fan bases in sports?


Yeah, who wouldn’t feel a little less like a loser? And who wouldn’t think about how good that feels after all that misery? As he said, nobody ever thought the Lions would get it right.

Decker played his 100th game Sunday. The organization marked the occasion on the video board and by bringing him to the podium after the game, where normally only the head coach and quarterback speak.


The offensive tackle, a nine-year veteran, is introspective and never afraid to reveal what he’s found.


“Nobody wants to be a loser,” he said.

But?


“You are going to be what your record says you are, and I’ve always felt personally like I’m a winner, but I wasn’t. Because that’s not what the record said.”

He was stuck. Week after week. Year after year.


“It’s one of those instances where you don’t have any choice but to keep showing up,” he said. “You’re not going to quit, you just have to keep showing up.”

He did. Now look at him. Not just one of the best left tackles in the league, but an anchor – no, a pillar of a franchise, and a metaphor for perseverance. Decker is the longest-tenured Lion. That phrase used to bring nothing but pity.


Now?

“It feels good,” he said. “It’s fun to be a part of (this.) People want to watch you play.”


Prime time nights. Flexing day games – next Sunday’s contest at Tampa was moved to the late-afternoon spot. And these are the Detroit Lions? Decker’s Lions?


Yeah, they are. And they showed this again on Sunday.

As the head man said, the team is starting to smell the wins, and smell what comes with winning, and where it might lead them, and what that might feel like, too.


Nothing in sports is quite like the come-up after decades of losing, so much losing that losing becomes the identity – for everyone. To shed a bit of that arc, to start a different story is powerful like little else.

Decker is feeling that. His head coach is tapping into it. Like he said, they smell it, and everyone is following the aroma.


Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him@shawnwindsor.