Dan Campbell: 'Kelvin Sheppard Knows What He's Doing Man'

Detroit Lions head coach offers vote of confidence for defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard.

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard reacts to a play against Cleveland Browns next to coach Dan Campbell | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell offered encouragement and support for defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard.

Since the Lions Week 2 defeat on the road against the Buffalo Bills, the former NFL linebacker has been scrutinized heavily for the absymal defensive performance.

With the team in a Super Bowl window and several key pieces returning, there is an expectation the offense, defense and special teams unit will at least look prepared and on the same page.

Instead, Detroit's offense has incurred far too many penalties and the defense was shredded by the Bills' offense in a 41-31 Week.2 defeat.

Speaking to local reporters, Campbell addressed what makes him have internal faith Sheppard can still turn around the defense.

“H knows what he's doing, man," said Campbell. "I think that he understands and has a real good grasp of, look, there are so many things that we came into this year from last year that we wanted to do. And one of the big boxes on that we wanted to check was being much more aggressive, 1st-and-10 to get them in 2nd-and-7 plus.

"I just said we'd lead the league in that. Now, after that, okay, I got that. So, we've done the hard part here," Campbell commented further. "And so, now we’ve got to clean up some of this. We got them in 2nd-and-10, we got them in 2nd-and-8. Now they're in 3rd-and-8, 3rd-and-7. So, now it's alright, now once we get them there, now what do we need to change? What do we need to do? What kind of packages do we need to run? And tighten up some of the players here on a few things."

Campbell acknowledged the coaching staff was also at fault for the communication breakdowns and the team playing far below standards.

"I believe he's got a real good grasp of what offenses are trying to do. I think he's got a good grasp of his own personnel," said Campbell. "I think he's doing a lot of the way we want to play here. And you know what? It didn't work the other night and we didn't coach it up good enough. And then we'll adjust a little bit.

"We'll adjust and we'll get this thing back to where we need to get it. And it's not going to all happen overnight, but as long as we just tighten a few things up and play a little bit better and a little more sound, that'll go a long way.”

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