Allen Park — Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell met with the media on Monday morning for the first time since his team wrapped up the preseason. Here are the noteworthy highlights from the conversation as the Lions prepare to open the regular season this Sunday, at home, against the New Orleans Saints.
Earmarked oster spots
The Lions currently have two open roster spots after waiving center Seth McLaughlin and running back Jabari Small last week. After Campbell’s introductory commentary on the Saints, I asked if there was a specific plan in place for those vacancies or if the coaching staff would be making decisions based on competitions in practice during the week.
“I would say we've got a pretty good idea, right now,” Campbell said. “Our eyes are always open. We're always going to be about competition, but I think we've got a pretty good idea of what we want to do going into this game. You never know things can fluctuate, but, yeah, we know what we want to do.”
The obvious follow-up was seeking specifics, but Campbell politely declined to offer them up.
“No. Thanks for asking,” Campbell said with a laugh.
Detroit is exceedingly light on offensive players, with just 21 currently on the active roster. That includes four wide receivers and three running backs. The team also doesn’t have a clear punt return man. For those two reasons, veteran receiver Tom Kennedy seems like a strong contender to fill one of the two openings.
The Lions could approach the decisions multiple ways. They have until Saturday afternoon to announce additions to the game-day roster, which includes up to two practice squad elevations.
If a vested veteran, like Kennedy, is on the active roster Week 1, their salary becomes guaranteed for the season. So the team could choose to elevate him for the contest and sign him to the 53-man a day later, giving them more roster flexibility down the road, if it’s needed.
Time to prove it
Asked specifically about the confidence with Jacob Saylors filling the backup running back job after a strong showing throughout the preseason, Campbell’s answer focused far more on Sione Vaki.
“Well, I’ve kind of mentioned this, to me, it's a committee,” Campbell said. “I see Vaki getting some reps, too, now. I don't see like, OK, well, Saylors is running back two. Saylor brings special teams value, and there's things that he's been able to do — we've seen more of him, right, than Vaki in games, preseason games. But Vaki has banked some pretty good reps in practice, and we know Vaki’s a very valuable special teams player, too.
“We feel like Vaki is ready to take some of this on, too, as a runner and a pass protector, and a receiver,” Campbell said. “So we feel good with either one of those guys in there when Jah (Jahmyr Gibbs) needs a breather.”
For fans who haven’t watched training camp practices, Vaki has been a conundrum. Despite splitting first-team reps with Isiah Pacheco to start camp, and with Gibbs while Pacheco has been sidelined by a back injury, the third-year back didn’t see any preseason action.
First, he missed a short stretch with a broken nose, after a defender’s hand went through his face mask during the team’s first padded practice. Then he sat out a preseason game with back spasms, even as Campbell noted Vaki wanted to play.
Paired with missing long stretches with hamstring and groin injuries last season, outsiders have little idea what Vaki is capable of as a runner. However, it looks like we’re heading toward some answers early in the season.
Pride in grit
The initial 53-man setup is a culmination of months of work for some of the back-of the-roster players. Asked if there was anyone who displayed an extra dose of grittiness this offseason, Campbell highlighted undrafted rookie Eric O’Neill.
“You talk about a guy who was kind of on the outside looking in from the time he got here in spring, that had to kind of defy all odds,” Campbell said. “He had to find his way, he had to make plays every day. He had to catch our eye every day, and he did that. Whether it was special teams or defense, he did something every day.
“There's not a coach, on any given day, that's not saying something good about O’Neill,” Campbell said. “You can't ignore it. So, he's the most obvious. Rookie free agent, he comes in and earned his right. It's awesome. That's what we're about.”
O’Neill got plenty of attention for his pass-rush ability throughout camp and the preseason, but Campbell highlighted the work the rookie did on special teams, as well. The coach suggested that it could help O’Neill see the field early.
“He's going to be able to give us some valuable reps on a couple of teams,” Campbell said.
Defensively, Campbell praised O’Neill’s motor and football IQ, which has been higher than expected for a rookie.
A lesson on refocusing
Campbell hasn’t seen the controversial ending to Saturday’s game between Michigan and Western Michigan, where one second was put back on the clock after an official review. That allowed the Wolverines to attempt a second Hail Mary, which was successfully completed, helping them avoid a colossal upset at home.
Campbell’s been on the wrong side of a controversial ending before, when the New Orleans Saints were eliminated from the playoffs after a blatant pass interference call wasn’t flagged against the Los Angeles Rams.
Tough losses happen in football all the time. Maybe not to the degree of those two examples, but Campbell offered a critical piece of advice to the Broncos.
“If I’m Western Michigan, (it’s) onto the next one,” Campbell said. “Get locked in on the next one, because you’ve got no control over what just happened, regardless, doesn’t matter. The best way to prove your own worth is to knock off the next one, man, and make sure you’re ready.
“…You just make it happen,” Campbell said. “You have got to make it happen. You have no other choice. Or you can sit there and sulk in it and worry about it and try to change the rules and then you go into the next game and get your face kicked in.”
Better equipped
Speaking of disappointments, the Lions experienced one in their season opener a year ago. They went to Green Bay and were mauled by the division rivals in Week 1.
Detroit’s struggles in that contest were most readily apparent along the offensive line, with quarterback Jared Goff getting sacked four times and the ground game averaging a paltry 2.1 yards per carry in defeat.
Campbell said he’s more confident in the blocking to open this season, for two reasons.
“Well, we are playing at home,” Campbell said. “That’s always going to help with the young (guys). Like last year we were playing with basically two rookies up front, and a new center in a regard, even though Graham (Glasgow) had played quite a bit. So, playing at home helps a little bit.
“…And then we’re a little more experienced,” Campbell said. “I mean, Tate’s (Ratledge) got another year under his belt. Blake Miller has taken some pretty good reps up to this point. It’s not like he’s going to be perfect. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about being consistent and getting a little bit better every rep, every time you play. That’s the nature of being a young player. That’s always going to happen. And then you have (Christian) Mahogany, you have got (Ben) Bartch over there and Juice (Scruggs) at center. So, I feel like we’ve seen a lot in training camp. We’ve faced a lot of pressure. We’ve done a lot of, I feel like very stressful, strenuous situations. We always do a lot, but I felt like I threw a lot at our coordinators and the team. And I felt like we got what we were looking for out of it.”
Campbell said Sunday against the Saints will be a barometer, like it was against the Packers in last year’s opener, but he’ll need at least a month to have a better understanding of his roster.
“I say it every year, you don't really know what you are until you get to Week 5,” Campbell said. “Then you'll really figure out what you are, what you can hang your hat on, what your strengths are, what your true weaknesses are, what you need to cover up. And some of that comes with injury, but some of it is just the flow of where you're at and where your guys are at.”
Safety depth
Detroit has been going through it at safety in recent weeks.
Obviously, starters Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch will be unavailable to begin the season, but a lot of the depth pieces were banged up at the end of camp, including Christian Izien, Thomas Harper and Avonte Maddox.
Asked about all three, Campbell didn’t offer updates on Izien and Maddox, but noted that Harper is trending in a good direction.
“Harper's going to be running around out there today, and then hopefully everything goes well today, we see him taking more reps tomorrow,” Campbell said. “We're anticipating he'll be ready to go. We feel good about that room right now.”
Izien suffered a lower-body injury in the second preseason game and Campbell previously noted he might not be ready for Week 1. As for Maddox, he suffered an upper-body injury in the closing stages of the final training camp practice. No update has been provided with him.
The team’s first official injury report will be released Wednesday afternoon.
Oster? Hardly knew her
Re: depth, I'm the most anxious about WR and Safety positions. One guy goes down and it's going to get ugly.