For Lions, Not Yet Time to Pull Receipts on Doubters

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has a memory bank full of doubters who have questioned his coaching style or the manner in which he delivered messages early in his tenure in Motown.

Recall, Campbell's first 18 months were filled with tough losses and challenging times, including having to change offensive coordinators after a lone NFL season.

Lions principal owner Sheila Hamp even came out, and gave the former NFL tight end a vote of confidence last year, after the team started the 2022 season with a 1-5 record.

Although the Lions have taken a significant step forward, Campbell is not going to start pulling receipts quite yet.

"I've got a ton of those. But, it's not time to pull those out yet," Campbell told reporters Monday. "There'll be a time and place for that."

Ford Field on par with expectation he had three years ago

Prior to Sunday's playoff game against the Rams, Campbell expressed to reporters that he had envisioned what it would be like for the fans at Ford Field to cheer on a team during a postseason game.

Fans chanted, cheered loudly and expressed their loyalty to Jared Goff by chanting his name and booing former starting quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Rams all throughout the game.

In fact, fans forced the Rams to take multiple timeouts in the second half, which ended up being costly in the fourth quarter when the team was attempting a comeback.

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"I think it was on par with what I expected," said Campbell. "And there again, it was probably the best I've ever been a part of. So much of it was the fact that the thing started an hour before the game, and it was just four hours of a non-stop barrage of the fans just going off, and the chants for Goff.

"What a special, special environment. For anybody that was there, you'll never forget that. For the rest of your life, that'll be something you're talking about. That was special."

Evaluating safety rotation

With C.J. Gardner-Johnson returning to the lineup, Detroit now features a trio of safeties that each present opposing offenses unique challenges.

Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has often touted the importance of having versatile and physical safeties, as the back-end is the last line of defense for the secondary.

Against the Rams, the defense was able to limit Sean McVay's offense from getting into the end zone in the second half.

"It's been good for us. And there again, we feel like those are three quality football players," said Campbell. "We know what 'Deucy' is capable of. It's good to get him back and be part of us out there.

"Iffy (Ifeatu Melifonwu), it kind of was a quiet night for him, but yet, he did his job. He was productive, and had a winning grade. And then certainly, Kerby (Joseph) really showed up for us," Campbell explained further. "So, it's been good for us. We had a couple of packages for Deucy in there on third down. So, we're in a good place. We're fortunate to have three of those guys right now."