Why Dan Campbell Sees 'Better Days Ahead'

The Detroit Lions should be a healthier football team when they travel on the road to play the Dallas Cowboys.

While starting the 2022 NFL season with a record of 1-4 is disappointing and surprising, the Detroit Lions are going to take full advantage of their bye week. 

The team is entering the break battered and bruised, but its resolve to get back to work and solve the myriad of issues impacting the team has not been broken.

Appearing on 97.1 The Ticket, Lions head coach Dan Campbell expressed that he sees "better days ahead." 

"I think the good news is that our defense got a little bit of life in it. Offensively, I don't believe that's who we are, what we showed yesterday. Special teams was pretty consistent again," Campbell said. "So, to me, it's something to build off of. I do think the bye has come at a perfect time for us. I think it'll help us reset, look at each other, look at what we're doing really in all three phases. Also, we will get some of our guys back. Not where we want to be, but I see better days ahead."

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While the team will not be fully healthy when taking the field against the Dallas Cowboys, several players are expected to return who missed the contest against the Patriots, including Charles Harris, DJ Chark and D'Andre Swift. 

Campbell indicated, at this point of the season, that rookie Josh Paschal is further along than the team's No. 12 overall pick in the 2022 draft, Jameson Williams. 

"I think we're a lot closer to seeing Paschal than we are 'Jamo', at this point. Paschal started working last week, and did some good things. We'll get him a couple of days here this week. We will start working him next week and see where he's at."

Practice to win

The bye week will afford Campbell and the coaching staff an opportunity to explore how the modifications that need to be made can positively impact the roster. 

"I need to take a real good, long look at how we practice," Campbell told the "Stoney and Jansen" morning show Tuesday. "We've had these injuries. Man, you back way off, because it would benefit us more to just do longer walkthroughs and shorter period of time on the field, because at least the guys that are hurt can get the walkthrough reps. But, yet, we're a young team, and we need more reps for some of those guys, particularly defensively. 

"That's where I've got to really look long and hard about how we practice," Campbell continued. "I'm not so sure we don't need to be back in pads. We haven't been in them in a long time. I don't know if it needs to -- do we need to have more intensity or more volume? I kind of think we're getting some volume. I just think I got to look at all those things. We got to get to where we're preparing to win, not just preparing to play."

Controversial roughing-the-passer calls 

The NFL has seen a drastic reaction to the plight of quarterbacks, in the wake of Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa being in concussion protocol after playing on Thursday Night Football, a mere few days after suffering a potential brain injury. 

The NFL world has reacted strongly, and has also been debating controversial roughing-the-passer penalties that recently have been called. 

On Monday Night Football, Chiefs fans and players were livid when Chris Jones seemed to strip Raiders quarterback Derek Carr of the football, only to have been flagged for roughing the passer for tackling the Raiders signal-caller. 

Campbell expressed, when asked about the recent calls made by officials, "You're trying to take care of them. But, it is difficult to tell your guys to go all out, but then you got to try to pull off to the side. But, make sure your face makes no contact of the body or anything. You got to roll a certain way. It's tough. But, that's also what they're doing right now. That's how they're calling it. So, we have to adjust."