Tag: Dan Campbell

Bobby Price moving to cornerback from safety, impressing Lions coach Dan Campbell

Lions coach Dan Campbell is very intrigued by Price’s potential at cornerback and on special teams

On the Buffalo Bills’ final offensive drive of their preseason win over the Detroit Lions, it was a bit surprising to see No. 47 aligned at outside cornerback for the home team. Bobby Price has spent his career as a safety for the Lions, but there he was marking the top receiver on the field for Buffalo.

Price is in his second season out of Norfolk State. He stuck around on the Lions practice squad as an undrafted rookie, but he was facing an uphill battle to stick on the team at safety. In his first real test at cornerback, which he only started playing in practice earlier this week, Price flashed some legit potential.

That was Price making an excellent breakup on a crossing route, expertly swatting the ball away from a trail technique. He might have held some jersey a bit, but it was subtle enough to go uncalled. Price also had a smart run fill from the outside.

Coach Dan Campbell said after the game that Price’s length and athleticism make him a natural fit at cornerback.

“Bobby is very intriguing, very intriguing because he is a long, linear, explosive athlete who’s been playing safety. We think he can really help us on special teams, but now we’re not so sure that he may not be a corner because he runs so (well) and he is a really good athlete. Look, we’re intrigued. Look, we just made this – he really just started getting reps at corner a couple of days ago really. He’s still just using – he’s a baby fawn right now as it pertains to corner, but he’s so talented. We kind of feel like this may actually be the better move for him.”

Campbell then revealed the sales pitch he likely made to Price — the ability to make the team.

“To know that – let’s just say hypothetically, you start getting down to cut time and we know he can help us on special teams and he just continues to grow as a corner and develop, but also can play a little safety if you have to have it, that’s pretty valuable. So, our eyes are on Bobby Price,” Campbell enthused.

Price got beat over the top on a critical completion on Buffalo’s scoring drive. His raw technique on the outside showed, unfortunately. The move to cornerback is a smart idea for both Price and the Lions nonetheless. It’s an easy ticket to the practice squad for the superb athlete who is quickly becoming a more versatile asset for Detroit.

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Nickell Robey-Coleman wants to leave his ‘footprint’ with the Lions

Nickell Robey-Coleman signed with the Detroit Lions due to the people and culture and wants to leave his footprint in Detroit

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The vibe surrounding the Detroit Lions lately is a different feel from last year. Either Coach Campbell’s energy or Jamaal Williams throwing balls with the fans; this is way different from the previous regime. Everyone involved looks to be having fun, which is what you need to do while playing this game at the end of the day. The coaches are getting the best out of the players, teaching them instead of directing them and making it easy to process versus overthinking.

The front office and the coaching staff have made tremendous strides in establishing a culture where individuals want to join the family culture building in Detroit. It might take a little bit for the word to get out, but it looks like one individual is already seeing is what is being built from the outside and wants to be part of the expansion of the culture that values people.

Nickell Robey-Coleman has been one of the better nickel backs in the league, who has been coveted this offseason from the like of the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and the Arizona Cardinals, amongst others. However, he ultimately chose Detroit, which is a change of pace because most of the time, the Lions are passed over because of the infamous history, but Robey-Coleman has a different viewpoint.

“This was the right opportunity for me because of the people that are here running things. I felt like I could come here, put a footprint in this organization, actually be a part of this leadership, and do something special, do something big. Not just win, but win big.”

Even though he is coming late into a new team, he has plenty of familiar faces within the organization. General Manager Brad Holmes and assistant general manager Ray Agnew were with the Rams where Robey-Coleman was during the 2017-2019 seasons. Coach Campbell doesn’t share a direct connection, but he was on the Saints staff during Robey-Colemans infamous passer interference no-call in the 2018 NFC championship game, which he has not discussed with him at this point.

 “It’s a mutual feeling between us two. We know how it is, how it went. It’s just something that happened, and we just moved on. But now I’m here ready to start something new, something different.”

Also, he will be reunited with his old Rams position coach, Aubrey Pleasant, who was brought to Detroit to serve as the defensive backs coach and has impressed with his work so far through camp.

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“Because he’s more than just a coach. He can teach. He knows how to teach. When I first met AP four years ago, five years ago, he was totally different than any other coach. He cared. He cared about his guys. He wants the best for his guys. He’s going to be a prick sometimes because he wants you to be great. He doesn’t want you to be mediocre and be OK with that. So if he sees you slipping, he’s going to let you know. But at the same time, he’s a coach. He lets you be a player, but when he sees it fit to come in and teach something, he’s going to do that. That’s what makes him so special and valuable to the DB room.”

Robey-Coleman walks into Detroit with a legit shot at making the team with Corn Elder’s hamstring injury and Mike Ford transitioning to the outside. Coach Campbell believes Robey-Coleman will provide a strong veteran presence and flexibility in a position he has succeeded in his career.

“I love slot. I’ve been playing slot since college. I played a little outside in college, too, but slot fits me. I take advantage of slot receivers in the slot with my size, speed, and quickness. It’s just a great fit for me.”

With his familiarization with the staff, Robey-Coleman should not have issues getting up to speed with the coaches’ scheme. In fact, the scheme the Lions will be running this season is strikingly similar to what he has run with in the past.

“This scheme got us to the Super Bowl, won an NFC championship, then before then we were making playoff appearances. We created a lot of turnovers on the front end, getting sacks, and on the back end, getting interceptions and forced fumbles. The D-line and the back end can work together, marry up together; it’ll look real good.”

Considering Robey-Coleman chose Detroit over legitimate contenders speaks volumes to the type of culture and atmosphere the Lions are bringing into Detroit. He can see what the front office and the coaching staff have done so far and what’s to be a part of the implementation to help bring it together. It has to feel good the Lions were able to grab a player who will make the defense better and the team as a whole and make this a memorable ride in the Motor City.

Jason Cabinda shows grit and determination through fullback transition

It was no easy feat for Detroit Lions Jason Cabinda to transition to fullback, but his grit and dedication has impressed so far through camp

In this day in the NFL, versatility has played a key part in roster management, especially on the back end of the roster. The players have to show they can play multiple roles on all three levels on the field or the ability to play on all three downs. Now playing in a different position in a pinch is one thing, but making a full-blown position change is a beast in itself, having to learn an entire different schematic view from scratch. Most use this has last-ditch effort to stay in the NFL, which was the case for Jason Cabinda, but now it looks like he found his new home and isn’t leaving anytime soon.

Last year, the Detroit Lions coaching staff asked Cabinda to transition from linebacker to fullback after the team lost fullback Nick Bawden to a season-ending injury. So, of course, moving from a position where he started at Penn State to a position he hasn’t played since high school came with a little hesitation on Cabinda’s part, but as a professional, he made the most of the change.

While learning as he goes, he appeared in all 16 games while playing 93 snaps on offense. He was mostly a blocker typical for a fullback, but where he shined the most was on special teams, where he instantly turned into one of the Lions’ top special teamers.

Now ingrained into the fullback position full-time, Cabinda had an entire offseason to improve his technique and mentality as a full-time fullback. Nevertheless, he gave a little insight into how he wanted to attack his development, considering he mostly learned on the fly last year.

“When I made that switch, I didn’t have those mechanics I kind of wanted when it came to an offensive perspective, going into this offseason, being able to focus on the offensive side of the ball completely, and crafting and catching and running routes and doing all those kinds of things, I mean, it’s helped me tremendously. I think the amount of speed training I’ve done to get faster and be able to hit holes, be more explosive, be lower, there’s a whole lot of things, body control, and be precise with the things that I do. You know, when you play linebacker, everything you do is reacting. When you’re on offense, you try to dictate. So the mindset is kind of different in that aspect. So everything, from the drills to the workouts I’m doing, got to change.”

Since he was thrown into the mix right off the bat, Cabinda tried to learn from the likes of Kyle Juszczyk, who is probably considered the best fullback in the league, and Atlanta Falcons Keith Smith during his transition. He mentioned just watching those two helped his approach play fullback and adopting certain traits from them and applying it.

The dedication to improving his craft through film study and offseason workouts has leaped off the page, making Cabinda one of the more impressive players so far in training camp. With his athleticism as a prior linebacker, he has gained respect from Coach Campbell as someone who has grit and comes to work every day. However, he viewed Cabinda as raw due to the fact he just made the transition last year. Still, Campbell can see something in him that can bring a new dynamic to the offense as a hybrid player who can play multiple offensive facets, opening many possibilities.

During Campbell’s press conference on the first day of padded practice, he told how Bill Parcells told him to start a fight as a rookie during their first padded practice. At this point, we all know Campbell was fired up and ready to get going, but he did nominate Cabinda to be that guy to slap that guy after the play. Cabinda wanted to make sure with everyone even though he is aggressive and physical, he doesn’t make a bad and knows when to flip the switch from the style.

Even though D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams will be the 1-2 punch in the Lions running game, Cabinda will be an integral part of the Lions backfield. He mentions he gains the satisfaction of being that lead block, hoping the hole and free up those two for them to churn out big gains and put them in a position to succeed. It shows Cabinda is not afraid to put in the grunt work to make the players around him successful because it is how the team performs at the end of the day.

Through training camp, Cabinda has been mightily impressive so far with the improvement in his all-around game, either be pass-catching, run blocking, or pass protection. It will be no surprise to anyone if he is used a little differently than what we first saw last year, opening up the playbook a little more, allowing the offense to be more creative in their mismatches. It was no easy feat making a move from linebacker to fullback, but Cabinda has taken this in full stride and looks to have a meaningful impact in hopes of inspiring others on and off the field.

Watch: Dan Campbell not-so-fondly recalls his 1st job as a chicken cleaner

Lions head coach Dan Campbell not-so-fondly recalls his 1st job cleaning chickens in Texas

Sometimes it’s fun to look back our first jobs. That’s not the case for Lions head coach Dan Campbell.

At the end of his pre-practice press conference on Wednesday, Campbell recounted his first job. It’s not a job anyone would ever aspire to do.

“I worked at a chicken shack,” Campbell said, recaling his days as a 16-year-old in rural Texas. “And I learned how to clean chickens. And I can do it blind, over and over and I will never do it again.”

Campbell continued,

“So I appreciate everybody who does that type of work because it got old quick.”

For the uninitiated, “cleaning” a chicken means snapping its neck to kill it, stripping off the feathers and preparing the bird for cooking.

Campbell then noted he got promoted to working the drive-thru window, but he didn’t exactly fit well. It’s better to watch Campbell explain it as the mic drop to his press conference…

 

Dan Campbell gave us another wild quote about how there are ‘no turds’ on Lions roster

Yup, he said that.

The Dan Campbell quote machine has given us another gem.

There was the talk about how his players will “bite a kneecap” at his introductory Detroit Lions press conference. There was his wild double-coffee order that had a TON of caffeine in it. And then he said something about how he told Lions player “I’m not carrying your toilet paper around.”

Stay with that last one for a second, because there’s this quote courtesy of MLive.com.

“I think we’re fortunate because I do believe we have some talented players on this team that have grit, and that’s a good thing, you know?” Campbell said, per the site. “I said this when I walked in — there’s a number of guys that were here, and I think (Matt) Patricia and (Bob) Quinn did a great job of, there’s no turds here. There’s no bad guys. These guys work now. We don’t have lazy (guys). We don’t have those (lazy) guys, and that’s a good thing.”

Got that? No turds.

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Dan Campbell says the starters will play ‘about a quarter’ in preseason opener

Lions head coach Dan Campbell says the starters will play ‘about a quarter’ in Friday’s preseason opener

Lions head coach Dan Campbell has gone back and forth in his press conferences this training camp about the way he will use the starters in the shortened preseason. On Monday, Campbell made his first real solid declaration of how the first preseason game will get handled.

Campbell stated the starters will play “about a quarter” against the Buffalo Bills on Friday night at Ford Field. He phrased it in the tone where there is some flexibility to the one quarter, but that’s the general idea he and his staff agreed upon for the starting lineup.

With just three preseason games instead of the old standard of four, and a new regime mixing in so many new players, the Lions do project to need more time working the starters and key reserves in the exhibition season than other teams. Campbell has confirmed that status in several press conferences, but Monday’s admission is the first real concrete commitment to playing the starters in the preseason.

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Lions training camp notebook for Day 9: Back to the attack

Here’s some of what we saw on Day 9 of Detroit Lions training camp, including big days from A.J. Parker and Julian Okwara

Lions coach Dan Campbell used Thursday’s eighth practice session of training camp as a “green” day, a lower-intensity day after he “redlined” the team by working hot and hard the prior two days. Campbell stepped on the gas and amped the RPMs back up in a humid Friday morning practice.

With no customary pre-practice press conference, Campbell led the Lions players onto the field for an enthusiastic audience that enjoyed most of the reps being run on the field right in front of them.

Here’s some of what we saw on Day 9 of Detroit Lions training camp.

Lions head coach says Jeff Okudah playing like ‘a bad dude’

Can Jeff Okudah have a bounce-back year and live up to expectations? Head Coach Dan Campbell is certainly liking what he’s seeing so far.

Jeff Okudah was plagued in his rookie season with injuries and some might say poor defensive scheme. As the No. 3 overall pick for the Detroit Lions out of Ohio State, expectations were sky-high. The lockdown corner is looking to make good on those expectations this season.

So far, new head coach Dan Campbell is liking what he’s seeing. At his Thursday morning press conference, Campbell was raving about Okudah. Take a look at what he had to say.

“Like Okudah, I think he’s really starting to come on,” Campbell said. “He’s playing like, ‘Alright, man. I am a bad dude. I dare you to throw it over here.’ Which is what we want.”

Detroit was one of the worst pass defenses in the league last year, but the Lions completely overhauled the coaching staff. Aaron Glen is now the defensive coordinator with Aubrey Pleasant coaching the secondary. Most feel like this is going to be a huge upgrade in the Motor City.

OSU fans everywhere know what Okudah brings to the table. Hopefully with a season under his belt, injuries behind him, and a new coaching staff with new energy, he can show the NFL what Buckeye Nation has always known.

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Lions injury update: Dan Campbell provides info on several wounded players

Campbell provided updates on D’Andre Swift, Tyrell Crosby, Jerry Jacobs and other Lions players

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell devoted some of his pre-practice press conference on Thursday morning to update the status of several injured Lions players.

First off, offensive lineman Evan Brown is being activated from the non-football injury list. Brown was placed on the list last week and has not participated in training camp.

Second-year pass rusher Julian Okwara “got a bit of a bruise, a contusion on his ribs”, according to Campbell. The head coach quickly added “he should be fine” and he expects Okwara to be back at practice on Friday.

Defensive end Michael Brockers is getting the veteran treatment.

“We’re just trying to be smart with (Brockers), Campbell said. “He’s a 10-year vet, he’s slugged it out for a long time now and we kind of know what he can do, so we’re just trying to be smart. He’ll get his reps but we kind of know what he is.”

On running back D’Andre Swift, Campbell also downplayed any real worries about any lasting injury.

“Swiftie, he’s good,” Campbell said of his starting RB. “He’s bound pretty tight and he runs hot. We’re trying to get him a load and then back down. We’re kind of working him in. We just want to make sure we’re being smart with him but get him his work. He’s had kind of a bit of a tight groin … he’s getting better, he feels better.”

Tyrell Crosby, slated to be the team’s swing tackle after starting along the offensive line last season, is idled with a hamstring injury.

“He got a hammy,” Campbell said as he grabbed his own hamstring for emphasis. “It looks like a Grade 1 so he’s going to be down a little bit.”

Campbell indicated that Matt Nelson will get the bulk of Crosby’s action and that the team is pleased with the progress of Nelson, who is also getting reps at guard.

On undrafted rookie cornerback Jerry Jacobs, who has been impressive throughout camp, Campbell explained it’s a minor thing. “He got stepped on”, Campbell said of Jacobs’ injured thigh. Jacobs will be a full participant and has no issues beyond the cleat contusion on his thigh.

 

Lions ease up after 2 physical days, hold a walkthrough instead of full practice

Lions head coach Dan Campbell changed Thursday’s practice to a walkthrough after injuries piled up in padded practices

Training camp has been going well in Detroit for coach Dan Campbell and his staff. But a rash of minor injuries over the first two days of padded practices this week made Campbell decide to ease off the throttle and slow things down a bit.

Thursday’s practice session was rescheduled to be just a walkthrough, lower intensity and non-contact. It comes on the heels of at least six players leaving Wednesday’s practice session with various injuries. The Lions changed course later that evening and announced the practice on Thursday would be shorter and just a walkthrough.

Campbell acknowledged that he told the team on Monday he would “red-line you for two days, full pads (Tuesday and Wednesday)” but “I also said we’d back way off (on Thursday) but you’ve got to put in the work. And they did.”

The scheduled practice on Friday will remain full intensity and padded, per Campbell.

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