Allen Park — In the season premiere of Peyton Manning’s “Peyton’s Places” that aired on ESPN this past Saturday, the Hall of Fame quarterback takes a deep dive into the “Curse of Bobby Layne” and attempts to exorcise the demons that have plagued the Detroit Lions franchise for more than six decades.
The program is informative, with plenty of footage of Layne, including several old interview clips, paired with guest appearances from local celebrities Keegan-Michael Key and Jeff Daniels. The episode culminates with Daniels and Manning at Ford Field, performing a campy ritual involving Layne’s helmet and a bathtub of whisky, attempting to reverse the curse, which Layne allegedly placed on the franchise after he was traded to Pittsburgh in the early weeks of the 1958 season.
On Friday, Lions coach Dan Campbell, who has openly embraced the team’s history while attempting to reverse the futility, acknowledged he hadn’t seen the program. Not surprising, given how little free time NFL coaches have during the season. But Campbell is aware of the Layne curse, even if he wholeheartedly rejects the idea it has any merit.
“I can’t go there,” Campbell said. “I’m not going to allow myself to go there, because I just feel like for me as a coach, or for us as players, that’s an excuse. And I think you create your own vibe, your own mojo; you create your own energy. And I think the more you buy into that, believe that, that’s what you become. So, no, I’m not buying that.”
Since trading Layne, a year after the Lions’ last championship, in 1957, the franchise has amassed a 402-555-19 record. They didn’t appear in the postseason until 13 years after the deal and have won just a single playoff game in the past 64 years since the trade.
Drowning out draft talk
With the Lions holding the worst record in the NFL eight weeks into the season, it’s only natural for attention to slowly shift to next offseason. And with the worst record, it means the team is on track to select No. 1 in next April’s draft.
While that’s months away, and unlikely to hold, there’s obvious interest in what the franchise would do if things remain unchanged, particularly if it means drafting a new franchise quarterback for the first time since selecting Matthew Stafford at No. 1 overall in 2009.
If the losses continue to pile up the way they have to this point, that talk is only going to get louder, but it’s not something quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell sees any value in addressing with the team’s current signal-caller, Jared Goff.
“You know, I’m not going there, man,” Brunell said, when asked if he needed to address the speculation with Goff. “I will not go there. If you want to talk about the future, I’ll talk about the next 48 hours. It’s just not the time for that.
“…He’s smart enough to know we do not go there,” Brunell said. “It is not the time, nor the place. Right now, it’s about the Packers. That’s just something you guys talk about. That’s not what we’re going to do during the season, not at all.”
Goff has actually played reasonably well this season, posting his best passer rating since his 2018 Pro Bowl season. He’s also coming off his best game of the year, going 27-of-37 for 321 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers in a 31-27 loss to Miami.
But with a hefty contract figure both next season and in 2024, the opportunity to add a cost-controlled quarterback prospect in the draft might be too tantalizing for the Lions to forego after passing up the opportunity the past few seasons, despite drafting in the top 10 four consecutive years.
Bouncing back
After fumbling at the goal line in Dallas, marking the first time he’s lost the ball in his career, running back Jamaal Williams struggled with the mistake. Position coach Duce Staley said Williams spent days apologizing for the uncharacteristic blunder.
“That really hurt him,” Staley said. “That really bothered him all week long. I got a text every day saying, ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.’ I’m texting him back, ‘Move on.’ Move on, you know? It’s over, said and done. It happened, don’t let it happen again. Move on. But that’s the type of guy he is. He goes around, he apologized to every coach, he apologized to every player.”
Against the Dolphins last Sunday, Williams showed he had moved on with an impressive outing. Despite receiving just 10 carries, and facing more stacked boxes than he’d seen all season, he averaged 5.3 yards per attempt and scored twice.
“He didn’t skip a beat, came out on fire and had a lot of energy throughout the whole game,” Staley said. “…I’ll tell you what, (succeeding against eight-man boxes) tells the offensive linemen this guy is going to give his all because he knows and they know what he’s up against.
“Any time you get those stacked boxes, you want to make guys in this league tackle,” Staley continued. “You want to make the safeties tackles, you want to make the corners who come in, you want to make those guys tackle. If you get an offensive lineman straining their gut against these double teams, that’s pushing down the field, and maybe there’s a safety in the hole and Jamaal is coming through, he’s either running them over or making them miss. That gives (the offensive line) energy.”
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers