Podcast: Let Dan Campbell Cook
The Detroit Lions enter the postseason as one of the top seeds in the NFC.
Head coach Dan Campbell has carefully navigated through the many challenges that encompass a 17-game NFL schedule.
Among them is not losing back-to-back games, despite the team dealing with a myriad of injuries, including to key pieces of the roster.
"We’ve done that all year, and it really, I feel like we’ve done that for two years now. We had a ton of injuries last year, and we’ve already had some injuries this year," said Campbell. "Now nothing long-term significant, but I mean we lost (C.J. Gardner-Johnson) 'Deucey' early in the year. And so, I think that’s just part of our mindset."
Detroit's coaching staff should be trusted moving forward to put the roster in the best position to succeed, even against playoff-caliber opponents.
Campbell noted, "You don’t want to lose guys. But, when you go in with a mentality, especially after the first year here in ’21, we just got ravaged, and you’re like, ‘Okay, look, you can go one way or another.' You need to say, ‘Whoa, it’s me or this is the world you’re in and what are you going to do about it?’ And so, I think we do a good job of, we make sure our young guys get a ton of practice reps good on good.
"We try to develop them the best we can, and each and every one of those guys know you’re one play away from playing for us. Like playing, playing. Legitimately playing, and so you better be on your stuff," Campbell continued. "So, we’ll be ready if he (LaPorta) can’t go. We’ll have the answer, and we’ve got plenty at our disposal to be able to move the football if that’s the case."
The latest All Lions "Bang The Table" podcast explores why Campbell and his coaching staff made the correct call to play their starters, plus why Detroit's third-year head coach will factor into why the team advances past the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
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