How Detroit Lions Can Become 'Gold Standard' in NFC North
The Green Bay Packers are considered the 'gold standard' of the NFC North, having won the division on seven occasions in the last decade.
Certainly, quarterback Aaron Rodgers played a large part in the continued success of the franchise, but Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell does not want people to forget about the other side of the football, and the success the Packers have had on defense.
"I think sometimes people forget they had a pretty dominant defense for a number of years as well," Campbell said. "So, I think they’ve done a good job drafting. I think they’ve got a taste of success and know what it’s supposed to look like, how it’s supposed to look, a belief, and year-in and year-out, they have a chance of winning the Super Bowl because of it."
© Junfu Han via Imagn Content Services, LLC
© Junfu Han via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Ahead of a primetime matchup on Monday Night Football, Campbell noted this week that creating the right 'attitude' can aid a team, as they work to ascend up the ladder.
Campbell explained to reporters earlier this week when asked if the Lions can become the gold standard, “I think for us it’s about -- we have to create that attitude. We have to go numb when things don’t go right that you -- let me rephrase that, we cannot go numb to losing and to those things that sting."
Detroit was defeated in Week 1 by the San Francisco 49ers, 41-33. For a young roster, the key will be cleaning up mistakes and forgetting about the past in order to make the key play when the next opportunity presents itself.
Campbell added, "You can’t accept when, even if you have a chance at the end of the game, you don’t win it, and there are small victories with what happened with us, but it also should taste awful and I think our guys are going to respond to that. That’s the other thing is, they’re (Packers) coming off a loss, so are we. We don’t like that taste either. So, we’ve just got to clean it up. I think you’re trying to build a belief and a certain style of play that doesn’t matter what it is, you’re going back to work every day, you’re taking every rep one at a time and every game is a new game and it’s the most important game.”
