Dan Campbell stopped himself more than once. He’d start to stay something and then … nope. Nada. Nothing. Well, a grin.
Yeah, Campbell has always been easy dishing those. It’s part of his charm, his aura − and, speaking of aura, the Detroit Lions coach met with reporters Friday, May 29, and admitted his team could use more of it.
Aura. Mojo. Swag.
Confidence.
His Lions lost it last season after missing the playoffs, a year after getting brushed from the playoffs by the Washington Commanders. How quickly that aura disappeared, too.
One moment they were running to the locker room in Santa Clara, California, a 17-point lead in their back pockets, 30 minutes from the Super Bowl. The next they were flying home from Chicago, holders of a middling 9-8 record, wondering what the next step would be.
Campbell talked about doing deep dives on what went wrong after the season finale against the Bears this past January. They won that game, by the way, a cherry on a melted sundae.
Close to the vest
Now it’s time to dish anew, and here was Campbell, nearly five months later, a chunk of his roster turned over, a new offensive coordinator in place, antsy to tell us how this group or that group looked after two days of practice before stopping himself.
“There have been a lot of guys that have done really well − for two days in pajamas,” he said, referring to the OTA’s no-pads restrictions. “And then there are some that are learning through it. They’re working through it. They’re learning. But I’m done with the hype of the pajama party in May.”
He was pressed and asked … who was beginning to impress?
“Yeah, there’s a lot. Yeah, I’m sure you want to know what they are.”
He grinned. Again. And waited for the next question, which was about his offensive line: “I like those guys … and it’s early, but Cade [Mays] man, he’s a good-looking dude, man.”
And he was off. He couldn’t help himself. He sees something he likes in practice, even a pajama practice, and he wrestles himself to contain it.
“He’s big, man, he’s built right, moves pretty good,” he continued in describing Mays, the Lions’ new center who arrived in free agency from Carolina. “… He’s a good fit for us … same thing with Larry Borom, man.”
Now he was rolling.
“I like where [Tate] Ratledge is going. That’s good … yeah, we’ve got a lot of competition in there.”
You could feel the energy coming from Campbell as he spoke, as he listed off the names that were new and the names that remained and the name of the best right tackle in football, who is shifting to left tackle, and, well:
“His talent speaks for itself.”
Starting up front
Penei Sewell’s switch is key for this rebuilt offensive line, and just as Campbell finished describing what makes the All-Pro so special, he was asked about defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike, who missed last season after tearing his ACL in the summer, a blow to the Lions, who thought he’d come on the season before and was finally healthy.
“I like where Levi’s at, all right? And I’ll leave it at that,” he said.
But then Campbell can rarely leave it at that. He continued.
“He’s working. He feels good,” he said, before stopping himself once more. “I’m not hyping anybody up, not in May. It’s not worth it.”
Whether it’s worth it is only for him to decide. His attempt to filter himself made sense, though. He is in a different spot than he’s been as the Lions coach. He’s got to rebuild what he rebuilt, to get back to a little of the “no nonsense,” as he called it, and he’s got to do it under more scrutiny this time.
“It’s a lot easier when nobody knows who you are,” he said. “I’m talking about us as a team and all that, because now 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 … moves on. Now it’s all this other stuff that has nothing to do with what got us to that point that.”
And?
“Let’s just get back to the business of … football, first and foremost … about the guy next to you. That’s it.”
He wants to get back to those principles and vibes that catapulted this franchise and also get back to the level of offensive line play that made it all possible. He didn’t say that last part, but it’s essential if this roster aims to compete late in January.
Block. Run the ball. Block. Protect the quarterback. Block. Possess the ball. Help the defense. Balance the field. Flip the scoreboard. Change the season.
Easy, right?
That part of the diagnosis is, at least. And the reason the Lions spent considerable resources remaking that foundational room. Beyond that, Campbell said, “It’s about doing the little things right, not beating yourself and getting our confidence back, man.”
There it is again. Confidence. It’s everything − and ever elusive when things start going sideways. These OTA practices, then, and the upcoming fall camp are about rebooting this team’s sense of itself, and Campbell knows there is one way to do this.
“You’ve got to prove to yourself you can win, you can win tight games,” he said, “and the only way to do it is in real time.”
That time can’t come quickly enough in Allen Park.
Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions lost their mojo last season. It’s time they got it back
Reporting by Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
