Everything Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said after beating Titans

Here’s everything Detroit Lions said coach Dan Campbell during his post-game press conference following his team’s 52-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

Opening statement

“So give credit to that team. That team came out and played hard. I really felt that and we thought they would, it’s not like we didn’t. So credit to them, and I know it doesn’t look that way. But we did come to fight, and that’s what we expected. I felt like we were going to be ready, we were going to be ready, and it’s like I said to them, ‘That’s what champions When you come out, it doesn’t matter what time it is, what the data is, what the area is, you just come out and handle your business.” And we did that. Now we didn’t play our cleanest ball, really. However, if you have four points on defense, you’re five of five in the red zone, and you have the returns that our special teams unit had – punt return and kick return – then you can get a lot of production. and things swing your way. But it’s a great team win, and again, this team knows how to complement itself, and all three units were humming along and were pretty good.

If the Week 8 win is his definition of complementary football.

“Yes, that is absolutely true. Absolute.”

On the team that continues to break franchise records.

“Yeah, I mean, I think it’s really just about the one in front of us. I don’t feel like we’re going for the next record, we’re just playing ball. We try to play as clean as we can and we try to be as productive as we can. The players are urgently working on it, they are accountable for it and they want more. And they know when it’s good and when it’s not, so that’s a credit to them. And we still have room for improvement, which is great. “We’ve improved a lot, but those guys take the game plan, execute it and it’s on to the next one.”

About what has yielded so many insights and how they are helpful.

“Well, look, we emphasize it. And we really did that. It’s not that we don’t emphasize this, but sometimes it’s a different way of doing it. So every day we do a takeaway circuit, just like we do ball security on offense. This is how we start as soon as we run out of warm-ups. Man, you emphasize it, and you try to take it as seriously as you can, and they gotta be like replays and they’re punch-outs and they’re comics, ’cause look, the interceptions will come. Those things will come, and if the ball carrier goes wild with it, of course they will come. But man, what you gotta work on is the punchouts, man, the intent of it, finding it, locating it, hitting it, getting it out, getting the front of the ball, getting the hand, pulling it, scraping it, and we’re working on that . But I’ve said this before: that stuff is contagious. It’s contagious. Every team I’ve ever been a part of – player or coach – they come in groups, and as soon as you start to get a taste of it, the guys want to be a part of it, and they start looking at the guy next to them, a a little more, a little more focused, they start doing it. And soon that happens, it becomes contagious. Just like you turn the ball over a lot, and you get tight, and all of a sudden, man, it starts going the wrong way. And they also come in bunches. So we are in a good place. It’s a credit to (defensive coordinator Aaron) ‘AG’ (Glenn) and those coaches there. It’s big. You know, if you get four points, it’s going to be hard for us to lose.”

On whether the special teams performance today led by Kalif Raymond and Khalil Dorsey made him smile.

“Of course. I told the team, you know, (Kalif) ‘Leaf’ (Raymond) obviously had a game ball in there, and I was really just telling the story of (General Manager) Brad (Holmes) walking into my office in 2021. And in early spring we were just working and he said, ‘Hey, look at this guy from Tennessee. He really is a returner, a gadget of sorts. Do you think there is room for him in the attack?’ And I watched about ten plays and I was like, ‘Yeah. Absolutely, there is, you know. Take this guy in a heartbeat,” and getting Leaf here has been a blessing ever since. What a professional he is. Guys love him – coaches, players. Man, you talk about reliable, and he’s consistent, and the way he prepares, the way he works, and he does everything for us, man. He can play all positions on offense, he is a dynamic returner. That was good to see. It’s been a while since we got some big ones. He’s just, man, he’s the best. So that was great, the team was on fire for him, and I thought those guys blocked their backline, and the rest was up to him, you know. He just turned it on and found it.

About what he saw in Raymond’s film before initially signing him.

“Yes, the returns. It only took a few returns. But on offense it was some of these, man, they brought him in like a, like he had run some of these deep pylons, fast-motion, deep pylon or the sail routes and it was like, ‘Woah! ‘ I mean, his speed showed up, and when I knew he’s really a returner, I thought, there was something natural about him, and you can’t hide from the speed. But it wasn’t that – he’s just speed and he looks – man, he’s a smooth athlete, and at that moment we really needed that.”

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About Kalif Raymond’s journey to the Lions.

“Yes, and I tell guys all the time, ‘Stop talking Leaf.’ Some of these young guys. I’m like, ‘You want to know the reality in this league? Go talk to him. He’ll give you some perspective.’ We’ve got a few guys heading that way. So you never know. You don’t know, what’s going to happen? Why did the things they did happen? And there are a lot of things that go wrong – it could be circumstance, it could be that the coaching staff just don’t see the value in it. It may be too small. It could be, “Well, he’s coming back alone.” It could be, ‘Well, at that point he wasn’t playing with confidence.’ And I use him as an example, but there are so many factors at play. And I know this: everything for him was perfect. And it was the right mix, and the environment was great. And he was excellent, with his confidence and everything he has to offer us as a player. But he’s real – he’s everything – I could stand here and talk about Leaf all day. What a cutie he is. But he’s just one of those guys. He’s one of those guys.”

On Levi Onwuzurike and Trevor Nowaske stepping up between injuries.

“Yeah, we had a lot of guys picking up the slack. And they know they’re not just there to be a placeholder. They are there, they have a chance and, as we always talk about, you have to stay on the line. It’s your job, it’s your time and you can’t be held accountable. You can’t be that. So there are a lot of guys. We can talk about it, (Trevor) Nowaske, we brought it in Al-Quadin Mohammedwe had Isaiah (Thomas), ‘JRM’ (Jalen Reeves-Maybin) had to go out and play defense because (Malcolm Rodriguez) ‘Rodrigo’ hurt his ankle. So there’s a lot of everything. We were talking about (Jameson Williams) ‘Jamo’ coming out, and we didn’t miss a beat. Some of that comes from special teams. We were never really in the flow of an offense, necessarily down the field, but when you’re playing five-on-five in the redzone, like I said, you don’t have to worry about that. But yes, our guys do a good job of performing when you get the chance.

On the value of a reliable play when the offense isn’t at its best.

“Yes, it’s bittersweet because you know you weren’t at your best, and so there’s a little bit of that empty feeling. But the positive side is what we talked about. Well, yeah, but when your special teams unit is playing so well and being so productive, and then you’re doing those little things, attacking the red zone and defending the takeaways, well, you didn’t need it. You didn’t have to play your best there. You want and we have to, but it’s just something different memory. When we play, because here we are playing with three units, and if a few of them are cooking at the right time, it can save one of your units. And if you get all three playing at the right time, I think you’ll be very hard to beat. So I like where we are right now, we’re in a good place. It’s win number six, it’s a perfect setup. This week we can go to Lambeau, I’m already looking forward to it. I know the guys are, and so it was good. That’s a good win.”

An injury update on Malcolm Rodriguez.

‘Yes, we will know more tomorrow. Obviously he didn’t finish the game, so that’s not good. But I don’t think something like that will last for the rest of the season. It’s nothing like that.”