Dan Campbell, Taylor Decker Recently Discussed Lions' Turnaround
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell expressed he recently contacted left tackle Taylor Decker to check-in with his veteran lineman.
Decker, who has been through several lean years with the organization, is looking to continue the team's ascent up the standings.
"This isn't the (expletive) same old Lions anymore. We're going to go out there, and we're going to get our respect, and we're going to earn that respect," Decker said after the team was defeated by the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving. "We came up short today, but week in and week out, we know we're going to go out there, and we're going to bring it."
Campbell indicated that inside the Allen Park practice facility, belief in the regime started to reach very high levels last season, especially after the team won eight of its final nine games.
By drafting and signing the right mix of players, the hope is the momentum gained will be sustainable for the foreseeable future.
"Once we got in our rhythm, got in a groove, and it was the belief in what we were doing, the belief in the guys around them, the coaches, the teammates, was at an all-time high," said Campbell at the league meetings, about his phone call with Decker. "And, I think there's a feeling that’ll be hard to lose. It would be hard to lose that, because I think, there again, when you get the right type of guys and have been put through the pressure our guys have, and have come from where they've come from, man, you appreciate it a lot more."