Alex Anzalone Has Found 'Great Home' with Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone is the backbone of the defense. Anzalone has been terrific for the Lions, having recorded a team-high 66 tackles through nine completed contests. The 7-2 Lions are postseason bound, and Anzalone’s efforts will be crucial to determining their eventual fate.
Anzalone recently joined All Lions for an exclusive conversation while discussing his partnership with Campbell’s Chunky and the Chunky Sacks Hunger relief program.
The veteran linebacker discussed Sunday’s thrilling victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, Dan Campbell’s evolution as a coach, linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard, fighting food inequality, and more. It’s full steam ahead for Anzalone, who’s arguably in the most impressive form of his career.
You’ve teamed up with Campbell’s Chunky to host a food donation event at Forgotten Harvest as part of the Chunky Sacks Hunger relief program. The program is designed to fight food inequality. Why is this cause so important to you and your family?
Alex Anzalone: It’s obviously a very important cause to me and my family. This is my second consecutive year partnering with Campbell’s Chunky for the event here at Forgotten Harvest and I learned about the process last year, and how Forgotten Harvest operates.
It really struck a chord with me. There’s a lot of food insecurity going on in the Detroit area. Forgotten Harvest does so much to help this community. I have a two-year old child. I have another baby girl on the way in a few weeks. I couldn't imagine being in a situation where we didn’t know where our next meal would come from. To know that kids in this community are in this situation breaks my heart.
I have so much respect for Forgotten Harvest and how they’re fighting back against this issue.
It’s a terrific program and you all are doing amazing work together to fight food inequality in your community. What an outstanding victory that was over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. What was the message in the locker room after that win?
Anzalone: I’m not sure if you saw coach Dan Campbell’s post-game locker room speech, but I believe it was released on video. He told us to never apologize for picking up a win, regardless of how it occurs. Wins are hard to come by in the NFL.
Obviously, defensively, we didn’t play to our standard. We didn’t play as well as we’re capable of playing. Our offense carried the load and picked up the slack. That’s no disrespect to the Los Angeles Chargers and their offense. They’re really good, and that’s why they got the better of our defense. They made it challenging for us defensively. We gave up a ton of points.
Speaking of coach Dan Campbell, he's always making headlines for his one-liners and motivational speeches. This is the most success coach Campbell has enjoyed in Detroit as you guys appear ready to host a playoff game. How has coach Campbell evolved as a coach throughout your time in Detroit?
Anzalone: He’s pretty much been the same person the entire way. He’s developed as a head coach because this is his first time in that role, outside of the stint as interim in Miami.
The Lions are his organization and he’s evolved as a coach. He’s developed as a leader, but he’s been true to himself the entire time. He’s as genuine of a person as you can probably imagine. It’s awesome to see him enjoy the success that he’s been coaching us to bring to Detroit. It’s really cool to see.
You’re in the midst of your seventh season and you seem more comfortable to me than ever, both on and off the field. You're currently on pace for your second consecutive 100-tackle season. That’s amazing. What’s been your secret to achieving long-term success in a league that as you know, can move on from aging veterans so quickly?
Anzalone: I just think I’ve found a great home here. The situation was right for me in Detroit from a football perspective. From a performance standpoint, I just feel like I’m getting closer to reaching my full potential every single day. I’m not there yet, there’s always room to grow.
I’m playing fast and with confidence right now. It’s been helping me. I don’t know what it is necessarily (laughs). I’m not doing anything differently. Perhaps the more experience and reps I’ve been getting, the better I’ve been playing.
What’s your relationship like with linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard? You’re in top form, and young guys like Jack Campbell are getting better every week. How would you describe his approach as a coach?
Anzalone: My personal relationship with coach Sheppard is a unique one. He was still playing in the league during my rookie and sophomore year (laughs). I didn’t play with him, but the age gap between us isn’t very large. He’s a mentor to me. He’s a great coach. He knows what it takes to play the inside linebacker position at a high level.
He sets a great standard in our room for how we should play and he refuses to deviate from that. He doesn’t care if you’re a starter, seven-year captain, or an undrafted free-agent rookie. His standard is always the same. He really develops his guys. He’s helped my game tremendously.
Jack Campbell is developing on track, too. He’s going to be a great player in this league. Coach Sheppard does a great job getting his guys ready to play. He creates a mindset. Everything he does is very impressive.
He’s a terrific coach. In your opinion, who are the top five linebackers in football right now?
Anzalone: Wow, that’s a good question. I have to put Roquan Smith up there. Wow, this is tough. Fred Warner is up there. It’s a tough question to answer. I don’t want to just shout out a bunch of well-known names. I feel like it’s a toss-up after Roquan and Warner. It depends what style of linebacker you prefer. There are so many great middle linebackers and WILL linebackers. Roquan and Warner are tier one, 1A, 1B. After that, it’s up for debate.
We've appreciated your time. Thank you for the excellent work you’re doing with Chunky Sacks Hunger to help fight food inequality. What are Alex Anzalone's goals for the rest of the 2023 campaign?
Anzalone: I’m going to continue bringing attention to food insecurity in our local Detroit area. We have the best fans in the world and it’s important for us to continue helping improve our local community whichever way we can.
We’re doing such a great job at Forgotten Harvest. We’re bringing attention and awareness to the issue. We’re donating 1,000 meals for every sack the Detroit Lions rack up as a team. Chunky is matching every donation, every item bought at the grocery store.
That’s the cool part about it. It’s not a marketing campaign. It’s boots on the ground. We’re getting stuff done.
