Dan Campbell: 'We'll Go to War With the Guys We've Got'
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell isn’t concerning himself with matters occurring with other teams or what is occurring collegiately.
After playing Sunday without 20 percent of his active roster, and losing two more players to injury early in the game, he didn’t use the low roster numbers as an excuse.
“I don’t care who we have,” Campbell said. “We’ll go to war with the guys we’ve got, and it may be the same guys that you saw yesterday and we’ll have them as prepared as we can get them and go and see what we can do.”
Sunday, the Lions were defeated by the Broncos, 38-10. It was a tight first half that saw the Broncos pull away in the second half of the Week 14 contest.
Detroit was playing without several starters, including T.J. Hockenson, D’Andre Swift, Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Julian Okwara.
To make matters worse, cornerback Jerry Jacobs was lost to an ACL injury on the first series of the game. Linebacker Alex Anzalone, meanwhile, suffered an ankle injury, but is day-to-day.
“Certainly, you loved what you saw out of Jerry,” Campbell said of his young corner, who will miss the rest of the year. “I think it gives us at least a jumpstart on what we have in the room.”
Asked Monday if he believes this team can still compete for victories, he was steadfast in his belief.
“Yeah, I do,” Campbell said. “Look, they fought yesterday, but the effort wasn’t good enough. The intent and all those things are there. I think these guys understand what’s expected and the vets that we have, that trickles to the young guys. So, yeah, I think we will. We’ve got to be able to put together a good gameplan, and we’ve got to be able to adapt and function with that gameplan. It really goes without saying.”
Notes
- Campbell told reporters he has not paid too much attention to Michigan and Oregon this season. Those teams boast potential No. 1 overall picks in Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux, respectively.
- Swift and Hockenson were feeling better on Monday, and Campbell is hopeful they can return soon. They are both day-to-day, and will be monitored throughout the week ahead of the Cardinals game.
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