Dan Campbell likes his team. And he likes his coaching staff.
And while the competitor in him wouldn’t let him feel any other way on Day 1 of training camp, Campbell’s excitement for the 2022 season and what the Detroit Lions can be was obvious when he stepped into the organization’s newly refurbished media room Wednesday.
Talking to a few dozen reporters, a pillar wall-papered with a news story from one of the Lions’ three 1950s championships to his right, Campbell said he likes his team’s outlook after last year’s 3-13-1 season.
“I do believe we got enough pieces in here to compete. I really do,” Campbell said. “And to me, when you’re a coach, you just want to know you do have the pieces to able to compete, and I do feel that way. And now it’s up us collectively to find a way to turn some of those losses from last year into wins.”
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The Lions lost three games on field goals with no time on the clock last season and tied a fourth game, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, when Jared Goff played through an oblique injury he suffered in pregame warmups.
The NFL is built for close games. Good teams win them, bad teams don’t, and no points are given for almost-weres. Campbell’s three-win first season in Detroit could have easily been a seven-win affair, but it wasn’t and there’s nothing the Lions can do to change that now.
Campbell said he wants players to know that “I truly believe we have the right coaching staff,” one that can make a difference in games, and he said one focal point of camp will be executing in critical situations to help flip some of last year’s tight losses into wins.
The Lions spent a significant portion of spring working on third-down and red-zone situations and that will remain a priority in camp this summer. Campbell wants to identify players who excel in got-to-have-it situations, and let his coaches help those men thrive in the regular season.
“I think we have enough to compete, and now it’s on us to find a way to close out those games,” Campbell said. “In the critical (situations), can we find a way? Can we find a way to get a little bit better? Can we find way get a little bit better and to pull off some of those wins?”
There still are six-and-a-half weeks before those questions begin to get answered, but that will be the backdrop for much of what you see in this space this summer.
More observations from Wednesday’s practice
• HBO and NFL Films have a crew of about three dozen camera operators, technicians, directors and assistants in Allen Park to film “Hard Knocks” this summer, but the crew blended pretty seamlessly into practice Wednesday.
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Camera crews are on the field during the action, but everyone wears a Honolulu-ish blue T-shirt with “Hard Knocks Detroit Lions Crew” on the back. The color was picked by design, director Shannon Furman, a senior producer at NFL Films, told me last week.
“We wore navy blue for the first time last year (with the Dallas Cowboys) instead of wearing white or gray and I think we blended in better than we ever have,” Furman said. “So that was just another thing I took note of when we were at Lions practice (in the spring). I was like, it seems like most people have blue on, even coaching staff. Some guys wear gray and black, obviously, but we went with the blue again this year so hopefully we can stay out of shots as best as possible.”
• Linemen, tight ends and linebackers across the league are wearing guardian caps on their helmets for the first few weeks of training camp.
The soft-shell helmet covers are designed to add an extra layer of protection for players most at-risk for sub-concussive blows, and they have a second function, too — preventing finger injuries for quarterbacks and other players whose hands may inadvertently hit the helmets of pass rushers.
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Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill said he wore a guardian cap during practices at North Carolina State. McNeill said the cover, which the company says absorb up to 33% of the impact of a blow to the head, does not change how his helmet feels on his head.
“Real light,” he said. “You can’t really tell it’s on there.”
• The Lions are still a few days from putting full pads on, so Wednesday’s 90-minute practice was light by training camp standards. But one player who stood out during the only real 11-on-11 period of practice was second-year cornerback Mark Gilbert. Working with the second-team defense, Gilbert broke up a Tim Boyle pass to Trinity Benson on his second rep of the series — the pass was a little high — and had good coverage on Quintez Cephus on a Boyle incompletion two plays later.
With Jerry Jacobs on the physically unable to perform list for now, Gilbert should get ample opportunity to impress in his bid for a job.
• Cephus made the catch of practice in a seven-on-seven period, skying over the cornerback in front of him for a one-handed grab. Cephus sprinted to the end zone for a would-be touchdown and celebrated by dunking the ball over the goal post. He got a low five from an impressed secondary coach Aubrey Pleasant along the way.
Corey Sutton made a tough over-the-shoulder catch, too, in routes on air at the beginning of practice.
• It’s Day 1 of camp, and the Lions shuffled personnel freely, but a couple depth chart musings of note:
♦ Jeff Okudah took first-team reps at left cornerback during team drills, but the Lions used Will Harris with the first-team defense in their pre-practice installation and during half-speed run-fit drills. Okudah looked sharp in his movements and has a lot of people rooting for him after two rough years to start his career. He did commit a probable pass interference penalty on Josh Reynolds on the third play of team work when he yanked the receiver to the ground on an out route.
♦ No. 2 overall pick Aidan Hutchinson spent most of his day with the first-team defense. He should be a Day 1 starter, and the Lions will have some interesting options on their line when they go to a five-man front. One of Hutchinson, Charles Harris and Julian Okwara will play as an inside rusher in that package, which could cause matchup problems for opposing interior linemen.
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♦ Okwara, Alex Anzalone and Chris Board are the frontrunners for the starting linebacker spots, though Derrick Barnes and Shaun Dion Hamilton also worked on the first-team field during pre-practice installation. The competition for linebacker jobs is the most wide open on the team.
♦ Juju Hughes played as the No. 3 safety Wednesday, spelling both Tracy Walker and DeShon Hamilton. And Ifeatu Melifonwu played out of the safety position after working there for the first time this spring.
• Like last year, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn had his defense start camp with about 40 up-downs, an exercise he makes every player do for the first time when they join the team. McNeill, the Lions’ largest lineman at 325 pounds — the only plus-300-pounder on the defense — seemed gassed after about a dozen up-downs, while Okwara sprinted all the way downfield for position drills after he finished his set.
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Okwara, for what it’s worth, is my pick to have a Charles Harris-type breakout year. He’ll get plenty of playing time in a rush role in the Lions’ new defense after quietly delivering five sacks last season.
• Special teams, as always, will be huge in determining the final few roster spots, and if you’ve read my observations over the years you know I like to note who’s working with what kick and punt cover units to help you identify some lesser-known players vying for jobs. On Wednesday, Melifonwu and Bobby Price were the first tandem up at gunner when Jack Fox was punting, followed by AJ Parker and Benson. Chase Lucas and Okudah also worked with gunners during the individual portion of special teams.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.