Same girl, different skirt. And the Detroit Lions hope that makes her as pretty as ever this fall.
Dan Campbell has always used imagery to get his point across, from biting kneecaps to drowning opponents in the deep, dark abyss, and the Lions coach painted another vivid picture on the final day of minicamp Wednesday, June 17, when asked about new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing’s decision to slim down the playbook this offseason.
“We’re doing a lot of the same things, but there’s so much different,” Campbell said. “It’s same girl, different skirt, you know what I mean?”
Rather than overload players with new plays and complicated installs this spring, Campbell said the Lions focused on the concepts they do best and dressed those up to look different for defenses.
It’s a similar approach to the one Ben Johnson took when he ran the Lions offense in 2022-24 and routinely talked about making the same plays look different and different plays look the same.
“It’s the shifts, it’s the motions, it’s the turbos, it’s the stacks, it’s the stack inverted,” Campbell said. “And so the presentation for the defense is different. You make them have to talk, you make them have to communicate to adjust on the run. And so it’s just enough sometimes. That’s where you’ve got to be disciplined on defense. You’re trying to stress those guys, and so that’s what the uptick has been. OK, the playbook is kind of reduced right now, but we’ve done a lot more bells and whistles with it, which is good.”
The Lions have one of the more potent collections of offensive skill talent in the NFL with Jared Goff at quarterback, Jahmyr Gibbs at running back and Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams at receiver.
They’ve ranked top five in scoring and total offense each of the past four seasons but lacked efficiency and continuity in missing the playoffs last year.
Campbell demoted Johnson’s replacement, John Morton, as play caller last November and fired him after the season, and hired Petzing after three seasons as Arizona Cardinals OC to run the Lions offense this fall.
Lions pass game specialist David Shaw said this week that Petzing’s approach as coordinator was to figure out “what do our guys do well, what defenses are we facing and how do we get ourselves in position to score points?
“So maybe trim down a little bit of the things that we carry and be better at the things that we do well so we can change formations, change personnel groupings, stay in a core, keep Jared Goff in his comfort zone, keep our offensive line in their comfort zone and just go out there and play great football. So really cutting down what we do well and being better at it.”
With their offseason program in the books and six weeks off until the start of training camp, Campbell said he’s optimistic about the Lions’ chances of being better this fall.
Along with Goff, Gibbs, St. Brown and Williams, the Lions return defensive pillars Aidan Hutchinson and Jack Campbell, have a rebuilt offensive line anchored by All-Pro Penei Sewell, are hoping for the healthy return of Sam LaPorta, Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, and expect more competition in training camp across a younger roster.
Campbell said he does not plan to change his physical approach to training camp despite the Lions’ injury problems the past two years.
The Lions do not have any joint practices scheduled this summer but could play their starters some in preseason games.
“We’re going to push it,” Campbell said. “We’re going to push – that’s what we do – but we’ll do it smart. We’ve got to get these guys ready for a season. There is a chance we play some of these guys in the preseason without the joint practices, and so I’m going to do what I think is best to prepare these guys for 17 weeks but also understand that, man, we’ve got to be smart about it and we can’t break them in training camp. So the approach will stay the same – it will – and you’ve got to get ready, and you can’t let fear of injury scare you away from what you believe in.”
The Lions enter the summer with lingering questions about the health of Joseph and his degenerative knee and Branch coming off a torn Achilles, a lack of proven depth at cornerback, and starting jobs potentially up for grabs at left guard, No. 2 defensive end and linebacker.
Still, two years after the Lions set a franchise record with 15 regular season wins and three years removed from their last NFC championship game appearance, Campbell said he heads into the break feeling “really good about where we’re at right now, knowing what we’re getting into six weeks from now.
“I feel great about the staff, and I feel like we have the right type of players that we’re going to need to rely on. And the surrounding spots, positions, we’ve got some really good competition. I mean, some of the best we’ve had since I’ve been here in different areas. That’s exciting because there is no greater motivator than the guy who’s pushing you. He’s trying to get what you think is yours. There’s nothing better.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions’ slimmed down offense could pay big dividends in 2026
Reporting by Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
