ALLEN PARK — Dan Campbell believes the Detroit Lions are close.
Particularly, that they’re close on offense.
The Lions have struggled in recent weeks, losing two of their last three games and posting an average of 21.7 points in the process. The run game has been inefficient and the pass protection troublesome, especially in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, where quarterback Jared Goff was sacked five times and pressured on nearly half of his dropbacks.
With the offense’s woes appearing to snowball, it’s reasonable for fans to be worried whether these issues are fixable. Campbell assured they are.
“I’m telling you, you tweak one little thing and all of a sudden it just cleans everything up, and it just takes off, and the knock in the engine is gone. … It’s not as bad as people think it is,” Campbell said Friday. “And it really doesn’t take much (to fix), just a little tightening here. I really believe that.
“I know you’ve been hearing me say that for two weeks. I got it. But it’s coming, man.”
There’s been a bit of disconnect this week. Offensive coordinator John Morton has placed much of the blame for last week’s struggles on a lack of execution. The players (specifically, Graham Glasgow and Taylor Decker), meanwhile, have pointed to being outschemed by a Vikings defense led by coordinator Brian Flores.
Has Campbell’s role in the offense’s preparation changed ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Washington Commanders, given the recent downtrend?
“Everything we do offensively, we do together,” Campbell said. “We all have ideas, we all have input, we all come together. … That’s all we think about and talk about, is, ‘Man, how do we become more efficient? How do we help our guys?’ Just find the rhythm, that’s all. … You’re trying to get that fire started, and it’s smoldering. It’s just smoke and you see some embers, but you can’t get it lit, and you just need a little oxygen. That’s what us as coaches (have to do), just give them a little oxygen, and they’ll do the rest, this thing will go.
“That’s what we’re charged with. I like our plan to this point, and we all have to do our job.”
Asked for an example of a tweak he’s implemented in the past that resulted in the offense finding it’s stride, Campbell didn’t want to give away any competitive secrets. But he did mention play calling, and the different players you put an emphasis on getting involved.
“I told the guys, and they know this: I’ve got a million ideas, and I believe it’s going to work this week,” Campbell said. “And if it doesn’t, I’ve got another idea. I’ve got plenty. We’ll get this thing going. But I trust these players, I like the plan. We’ve got to do our part as coaches and get them ready and make sure they have a plan that they can win with, and they’ll do the rest, man. They’ll roll.”