Last year we learned a lot about the Detroit Lions handling of expectations. It’s something that’s never really had to be dealt with around here. The general sense that we got from players and coaches is that they heard the noise, but they didn’t want to start believing in it too much.
This year it feels a little different. The expectations are way bigger this time. The Lions aren’t expected to just make the playoffs or just win the divsion, they’re expected to go out and win the Super Bowl. So what do they think about their reputation in the league now? According to Dan Campbell, they don’t care about it. It’s hard not to believe him because he said it multiple times on Wednesday.
“Look, I talked to them last night and it was really, like, it’s all about the work. We’re don’t live off reputation. We live off of work. And that’s what’s gotten us where we’re at. It’s been a long, hard road to get to where we’re at right now, and there’s a price to be paid, and so we got to go pay it again…the complacency, the entitlement, the reputation, like, what is that? That’s nothing. We got to go back to work.”
One of the big things that the Lions are doing to make sure that they understand that complacency is their enemy is they’re leaving up the board in the meeting room that says when the last time they won the divsion or made the playoffs was. They didn’t update that after last years. The way they see it, they have to go out and do those things again like it’s the first time.
“We checked the boxes and we got one more to check. But to get there we got to check those first two one more time.”
Maybe the Lions will be hiring someone to come in and update that wall this coming February. Maybe they’ll be updating it with a very big addition.