LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET

October 13, 2023

On what happened with Lions TE Sam LaPorta’s injury and if he is expected to play on Sunday: “Yeah, he just had a little bit of a strain. Don’t know, we’ll know more today. He was out in walkthrough, so we’ll see what he looks like out here.”

On if Lions TE Anthony Firkser who was added to the practice squad this week is equipped to fill in for Lions TE Sam LaPorta if needed: “Yeah, well I mean he’s a guy that has played in this League, has done a number of different jobs. I remember when he was at Tennessee for a while, so he’s got receiving ability, he can do a little bit of the dirty work, fullback. So yeah, I think he’s somebody that can get up to speed pretty quick, if needed.”

On if there is anything particular causing the string of mid-week injuries sustained at practice: “Nope, no. It’s just nature, the way it is. I mean we backed off this week, so if anything, maybe we need to go harder. So, maybe that’s part of it.”

On the balance between pushing players to be physically ready for Sunday while maintaining their health: “Yeah, I mean, there’s always a balance, there’s always a balance. And you do the best you can with it and inevitably, it’s still – it’s a tough game and things pop up and you manage them the best that you can and then there again, man your next guy’s got to be ready to go.”

On who will fill in for Lions G Jonah Jackson if he is unable to play on Sunday due to injury: “Well, there again, I mean we’ve got guys in this building we trust. (Lions G Halapoulivaati) Vaitai’s had a pretty good week of practice. Certainly, we know what (Lions OL) Graham (Glasgow) brings to the table for us. (Lions G Kayode Awosika) Yode’s gotten better. So, I mean we’ve got options. (Lions T Dan Skipper) Skip’s back, ready to go. So, we’ve got a couple different scenarios, situations that we can go through here and we’ve kind of rolled through them so, we feel good though.”

On the importance of Lions CB Cam Sutton’s reliability as more injuries have occurred in the secondary: “He’s been great. I mean, I think that’s just what it is. He’s just been – he’s been a steady, reliable piece for us, and I mean that on the backend with the way everybody’s growing on the frontend and having (Lions S) Tracy (Walker) and (Lions S) Kerby (Joseph). (Lions CB) Jerry (Jacobs)’s been doing a good job. He just – he’s somebody that you don’t have to worry about him handling his business. You don’t have to worry about if he’s going to be in the right position or – mental errors aren’t going to show up with this guy. It’s just – he’s just dependable and he’s no different than any other player. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be perfect, but he’s always going to strive to be perfect and we know exactly what he is. I know exactly what he is and that gives me comfort.”

On what the defense needs to do to stop the smart and consistent Tampa Bay offense: “Well, I think it’s continue – just like they’re being patient, we have to be patient, continue to give him the check down. Everything’s top-down. He wants the checkdown? Good. And then we’ve got to rally, we’ve got to vice tackle, we’ve got to get a ball out and so the longer these drives go, I think it really, in some degree, can fall into the favor of the defense. You start getting in some long ones, that’s where you have the ability to get one out. So, you can’t get frustrated. You can’t worry about they get a first down, they get a five-yarder, they get a six-yarder. Just keep playing every play, man. And it could be play 14 on the 10-yard line going in that we get one out, or we get an interception. I think that’s the most important thing with an opponent like this and the way (Buccaneers QB) Baker (Mayfield)’s playing, the way that they’re playing the game right now when they win.”

On what Buccaneers NT Vita Vea brings to Tampa Bay’s defense to make it effective: “Yeah, he – that’s a total different one-two punch. So, with Vita in there, man the ability to push the pocket is – I mean, he’s got that and then some. So, he can get an edge, he can push it and he’s a hard guy to slow down and this (Buccaneers DL Calijah) Kancey, when he was coming out, had really this dynamic rush ability, really quick first step, explosive athlete, certainly doesn’t have the length or size as somebody like Vita, not that everybody does. So, it’s a total different – it’s a changeup and a guy like that on your guards, we’ve got to be really good man. We’ve got to be good with our sets and so it does. It brings – they’re already a pretty good rush team and it brings another element inside that we’ve got to deal with.”

On how they have prepared for the 80-degree weather in Tampa Bay this weekend: “No, I think we’ll – we talked about it and certainly hydration has been big, just because it will be warmer and I don’t feel like it’s going to be hot, but it certainly will be warmer. And I think we’ll be good. I’m not real concerned about it.”

On why he thinks Tampa Bay’s third-down passing has been successful and how they can stop it: “Yeah, I would say this, because they are staying in third-and-manageable and the one game that they weren’t really able to get in those less than third-and-6s was really Philly. And that made it a little bit harder, and it would on any offense. I mean, that’s the same thing we talk about, being efficient on first, second down so that the third downs are very manageable. And that’s – I feel like they’ve had a lot of those third-and-manageables and I mean between (Buccaneers WR Mike) Evans and (Buccaneers WR Chris) Godwin, they’re finding creative ways to get those guys open and (Buccaneers QB) Baker (Mayfield)’s making those throws and moving the chains. And then they’ll run it too, they run it some on those downs. So, that’s where they’ve been good.”

On if they have an idea of what the blueprint is to stop Tampa Bay: “Yeah, look, I think there’s definitely a blueprint, but that means you’ve got to get them in long situations and that’s where – I mean I think honestly, we’ve got to be really good on. We really have to be good on first down. That’s a lot of those. The first down leads to the second-and-long and then you get into the third-and-long, so I think the base down efficiency is where we’ve got to get some TFLs, we’ve got to get some incompletions, we’ve got to stop the run and that’ll go a long way for us because we do that, then now you feel like you can open up your rush plan a little bit and we can go to work. But if you don’t, it’s going to be tough. It’s tough to get them off the field.”

On where Lions QB Hendon Hooker is in his recovery and when he is expected to come back: “He’s doing well, he’s doing well. He’s progressing very well. I would say he’s – certainly, there’s no setback. He’s doing well. I can’t really give you a true timetable right now, but he is doing good, he’s doing good.”

On if they are still hopeful that Lions QB Hendon Hooker can play this season: “Yeah, still hopeful, but there again, there’s a lot that can happen between now and, ‘OK, is it time to pull him up? Is it not?’ I mean, you never know what can happen with this roster between now and then so, but he’s doing good.”

On if Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs and Lions DB Brian Branch are expected to play on Sunday after working with trainers this week: “No, I would say they’re all doing better. Gibbs had a really good day two days ago. And then we kind of gave him a breather yesterday, so he’s doing good. Branch is getting better, but I can’t say right now with any certainty whether we’ll have them this week.”

On why practice is outside today rather than inside like it usually is on Fridays: “We’ll go outdoor today since we’re playing out on the grass. But normally, I’ll you why, because I just think it’s a better teaching environment and it’s a little bit faster surface and we’re not out there long and so normally, ultimately, we do it at home because we’ve got the turf, so I want them on the turf, but we’ll go outside today since we’re playing on grass.”

 

Lions head to Tampa Bay to take on Baker Mayfield and the 3-1 Buccaneers

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