Campbell recap: Lions coach emphasizes situational execution to roster, offers thoughts on mobile QB struggles

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Allen Park — The Detroit Lions returned from the team’s bye-week break on Monday to begin earnest preparations for Saturday’s Divisional round game against the Washington Commanders.

The schedule is shifted forward a day because of the Saturday date. The team will conduct a walkthrough on Tuesday and practice on Wednesday and Thursday. On Monday, coach Dan Campbell met with the media. Here’s a recap of that press conference.

Situational football means more

Campbell started the week by revisiting the situational miscues from the weekend’s Wild Card games to remind his roster of the importance of situational football and attention to detail.

“I think they understand what’s at stake,” Campbell said. “I know they watched these games this weekend and they watched that game last night. Inevitably — I mean, I showed the team, really, every game, just different situations that popped up, a snapshot of what happened, and you just look at what could’ve cost the team, whether it’s a drop here, whether it’s a penalty, whether it’s a situation, whatever it is.

“They’re littered all through the week, and that’s what playoffs are,” Campbell said. “It’s, man, that one extra play, just doing your job in the heat of the moment, and if you do that, you give yourself the best odds, if not, the other team’s going.”

From Sunday's two NFC games, Campbell had no shortage of examples. In Washington’s victory, the momentum flipped when Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield lost a fumble deep in Tampa Bay territory following a botched handoff.

And in the other matchup, the Packers fumbled away the opening kickoff, quarterback Jordan Love added three more interceptions, and the team committed eight penalties for 85 yards in the 22-10 loss to the Eagles.

Threat of the dual-threat

There’s considerable concern about how the Lions will handle Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels’ mobility given some of Detroit's defensive struggles in the past. But Campbell quickly pointed out that his team's problems corralling dual-threat passers isn’t exclusive to them.

“I know this, running quarterbacks are hard,” Campbell said. “They’re hard to defend, and it’s like, somebody tells you that, ‘We don’t handle running quarterbacks very well.’ Well, tell me the team that does.

“…When you’re trying to deal with (Ravens quarterback) Lamar (Jackson) and you’re trying to deal with a guy like this over there, or (Bills quarterback) Josh Allen, there are a lot of teams that struggle against those guys. They’re not easy to stop and there’s a reason for that. So look, we know we’ve got our hands full, but we’re going to have a plan in place, (defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG’s going to have a hell of a plan, our guys are going to execute it, and you know what, (Daniels) may make a run. He may pop a run or two. That’s just the nature of the game and the way that some of these guys are able to maneuver, but that doesn’t mean that you win the game.”

I followed up, asking how much the Lions have constructed their defensive personnel around the league's evolution toward dual-threat passers, noting all four quarterbacks drafted in the first round this year have above-average mobility.

"I think it’s something you always think about," Campbell said. "You’ve got to be able to corral these guys up, but I think there’s a discipline to it, too. Look, the better your athletes are on defense, the better suited you are to contain mobile quarterbacks. Yet there’s a discipline that’s got to go with it, too. I mean, you can’t rush these guys the same as you do somebody that’s just a pure pocket passer.

"You have to be much more disciplined and it’s a lot harder," Campbell said. "I mean, you really do, you have to stay in your gap, you’ve got to close down, you’ve got to just continue to push, you can’t take an edge, you can’t. That takes an enormous amount of discipline."

In addition to the scrambling, Commanders use the threat of Daniels’ legs to incorporate a heavy dose of run-pass options in their offensive play-calling. I asked Campbell how valuable it is to have veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone back to help diagnose some of those designs and relay the adjustments to the rest of Detroit’s defense.

“Look, Alex is always going to help,” Campbell said. “Getting him back, I mean, just having him back the other day (against Minnesota) paid huge dividends. It was one of the reasons that we did well, that we played a really good game defensively. He’s certainly one of those reasons. To get him back, the production he brings, the athlete, but then just what he brings mentally — because he understands the game well, he studies, he’ll know this offense, he’ll know what they’re trying to do, and he can kind of help everybody out around him. Yeah, it helps having him.”

Injury update

Campbell was asked if he had a greater appreciation for the No. 1 seed and the bye week after watching the physical toll some of the weekend’s games took on the participants. For the coach, the math was simpler.

“Honestly, the best thing you get is that it’s one less game,” Campbell said. “So the odds say, well, that’s one less game that you’re playing to get to your ultimate goal. That’s the benefit, really.”

On the injury front, Campbell had little to offer before his players take the practice field later in the week. He was asked specifically how cornerback Terrion Arnold and guard Kevin Zeitler were trending after exiting the team’s Week 18 contest against Minnesota.

“Well, we didn’t have any injuries over these last three days, so I think we’re OK,” Campbell quipped. “I’ll know more tomorrow as to where everybody’s at, but yeah, I can’t give you a straight-up answer off of three days off, really. I mean, I just know everybody’s treatment has gone well and we’ll see.”

One player who remains on track to play against the Commanders is running back David Montgomery.

“It’ll mean a lot (go get him back),” Campbell said. “Five’s a big part of us. He’s a huge part of us, and to me, he’s a bell cow. He’s a tone-setter, he’s a catalyst, so there’s a place for him. There’s a place for him here, so there’ll be a place for him in this game. It’s going to be good to get him back.”

No news on the interviews

Campbell was asked if he checked in with his coordinators after Ben Johnson and Glenn each interviewed for multiple vacancies this week. Again, Campbell didn’t have much to offer.

“Well, why would I want to know that?” Campbell quipped. “You think I want them to leave? Yeah, I’ve got an idea of how they’re doing. I have not run in there and asked if they’re leaving yet. I didn’t do that, but at some point today I’ll talk to them about what transpired yesterday. Right now, I’m just trying to get ready for Washington.”