Here is everything Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said during his postgame press conference following his team's 52-14 win over the Tennessee Titans.
Opening Statement
“So, credit that team. That team came out and played hard. I really felt that and we figured they would, it’s not like we didn’t. So, credit to them, and I know it doesn’t look that way. But, we did come out to fight, and that’s what we expected. I felt that we were going to be ready, we were going to be ready, and it’s like I told them – ‘That’s what champions do is you come out, you don’t care what time of day it is, what the records are, what the surface is, you just, you come out and handle your business.’ And we did that. Now, we did not play our cleanest ball, we really didn’t. However, when you have four takeaways on defense, you’re five-of-five in the red zone, and you have the returns that our special teams unit had—punt return and kick return—then you can get a lot of production, and things sway your way. But, it’s a hell of a team win, and once again, this team knows how to complement itself, and all three units were humming, were pretty dang good.”
On if the Week 8 win is his definition of complementary football.
“Yes, absolutely it is. Absolutely.”
On the team continuing to break franchise records.
“Yeah, I mean, I think, it’s really just about the one that’s in front of us. I don’t feel like it’s something we’re going for the next record, we’re just playing ball. We’re trying to play as clean as we can, we’re trying to be as productive as we can. The players, they’re urgent about it, they’re accountable to it, and they want more. And, they know when it’s good and when it’s not, so that’s a credit to them. And, we still have room to improve, which is great. We’ve improved a ton, but those guys are taking the game plan and they’re executing it and it’s onto the next one.”
On what has created so many takeaways and how they are helpful.
“Well, look, we emphasize it. And really we have. It’s not like we don’t emphasize this, but sometimes it’s a different way of doing it. So, everyday we do a takeaway circuit, no different than we do ball security on offense. That’s how we start once we’re out of warm-up. Man, you emphasize it, and you try to take it as serious as you can, and they need to be like game reps and it’s punch-outs and it’s strips because look, the interceptions will come. Those things will come, and if the ball-carrier’s loose with it, naturally, those will come. But, man, the ones you’ve got to work on are the punch-outs, man, the intention to it, finding, locate, hit it, get it out, grabbing the front of the ball, grabbing the hand, pulling, scraping, and we work on that. But, I’ve said this before, that stuff is contagious. It’s contagious. Every team I’ve ever been a part of—player or coach—man, they start coming in bunches, and once you start getting the taste of it, guys want, they want to be a part of that, and they start watching the guy next to them a little bit more, little more focused, they start doing it. And pretty soon it does, it becomes contagious. Just like, you start turning the ball over a lot, and you get tight, and all of the sudden, man, it starts going the wrong way. And those come in bunches, too. So, we’re in a good place. It’s credit to (Defensive Coordinator Aaron) 'AG' (Glenn) and those coaches over there. It’s big. You know, you get four takeaways, it’s going to be hard for us to lose.”
On if the special teams performance today led by Kalif Raymond and Khalil Dorsey made him smile.
“Sure did. I told the team, you know, (Kalif) 'Leaf' (Raymond) got a game ball in there, obviously, and I told, kind of, just the story of (General Manager) Brad (Holmes) coming into my office in 2021. And early spring, we were fresh on the job, and he said, ‘Hey, take a peek at this guy from Tennessee. He’s really a returner, kind of gadget. You think there’s a place for him on offense?’ And, I watched about 10 plays, and I was like, ‘Yeah. Absolutely there is, you know. Take this guy in a heartbeat,’ and it’s been a blessing ever since to get Leaf here. What a pro he is. Guys love him – coaches, players. Man, you talk about reliable, and he’s consistent, and the way he prepares, the way he works, and he does everything for us, man. He can play all the positions on offense, he’s a dynamic returner. That was good to see. It’s been a while since we got some big ones. He’s just, man, he’s the best. So, that was great, the team’s fired up for him, and I thought those guys blocked their rears off, and the rest was up to him, you know. He just, he turned it on and found it.”
On what he saw on Raymond’s film before initially signing him.
“Yeah, the returns. It didn’t take but a couple returns. But, on offense, it was some of these, man, they bring him in as a, like he’d run some of these deep pylons, fast-motion, deep pylon or the sail routes and it was just like, ‘Woah!’ I mean his speed showed up, and then knowing that really he’s a returner, I’m like, there was a naturalness about him, and you can’t hide from the speed. But, it wasn’t like – he’s just speed and he looks – man, he’s a fluid athlete, and at the time, we desperately needed it.”
On Kalif Raymond’s journey to the Lions.
“Yeah, and I tell guys all the time, ‘Go talk to Leaf.’ Some of these young guys. I’m like, ‘You want to know reality in this league? Go talk to him. He’ll give you some perspective.’ We have a couple of guys that way. So, you don’t ever know. You don’t know, what is it going to take? Why did the things happen that they did? And, there’s a lot of things that go – it could be circumstance, it could be the coaching staff just doesn’t see the value. It could be he’s too small. It could be, ‘Well, he’s a returner only.’ It could be, ‘Well at that time, he wasn’t playing with confidence.’ And, I’m using him as an example, but there’s so many factors that go into it. And, I know this, everything for him, it’s been perfect. And, it’s been the right mixture, and the environment’s been great. And, he’s been outstanding and his confidence level and everything that he brings to us as a player. But, he’s really – he’s everything – I can stand up here and go all day talking about Leaf. What a stud he is. But, he’s just, he’s one of those guys. He’s one of those guys.”
On Levi Onwuzurike and Trevor Nowaske stepping up amidst injuries.
“Yeah, we had a lot of guys that are picking up slack. And, they know that they’re not just there to be a placeholder. They’re there, they have an opportunity and they, like we talk about all the time, you have to hold the line. It’s your job, it’s your time and you can’t be a liability. You can’t be. So, there’s a ton of guys. We can talk about it, (Trevor) Nowaske, we brought in Al-Quadin Muhammad, we had Isaiah (Thomas), 'JRM' (Jalen Reeves-Maybin) had to go out and play on the defense because (Malcolm Rodriguez) 'Rodrigo' hurt his ankle. So, there’s just a ton of that everywhere. We talked about (Jameson Williams) 'Jamo' being out, and we didn’t miss a beat. Now, some of that is because of special teams. We never were really even in the flow of an offense necessarily out in the field, but you go five-for-five in the redzone, like I say, then you don’t have to worry about it. But, yeah, our guys are doing a good job of stepping up when you get an opportunity.”
On the value of a dependable run game when the offense is not at its best.
“Yeah, it’s bittersweet because you know that you weren’t at your best, and so there’s a little bit of that empty feel. But on the positive side is what we talked about. Well, yeah, but when your special teams unit plays that well and is that productive, and then you do those little things, the red zone offensively and the takeaways defensively, well, you didn’t need it. You didn’t need to play your best there. You want to and we should, but it’s just another reminder. When we play, because we play with three units here, and when a couple of them are cooking at the right time, it can bail out one of your units. And when you get them all three playing at the right time, I think you’re very hard to beat. So, I like where we’re at, we’re in a good place. It’s win number six, it’s a perfect setup. We get to go to Lambeau this week, I’m already excited. I know the guys are, and so it was good. That’s a good win.”
An injury update on Malcolm Rodriguez.
“Yeah, we’ll know more tomorrow. Obviously, he didn’t finish the game, so that’s not good. But, I don’t think it’ll be something like this is going to take the rest of the season. It’s nothing like that.”
