Dan Campbell understands the criticism: “When you don’t win a game, I should be criticized”

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ALLEN PARK – As losses mount for the NFL’s only winless team, Dan Campbell faces criticism like never before. And no one understands it better than Dan Campbell.

Detroit Lions first-year head coach says he doesn’t read what’s in the press, good or bad, but has heard enough from people to know the scrutiny he now faces after a loss 16-14 at Thanksgiving against the Chicago Bears.

“I get the texts and I get the calls, ‘Hey man, hang on’,” Campbell said. “And it’s like the more I get, the more I know there’s gossip. I know there is chatter there. Otherwise, I wouldn’t get all those unexpected calls or texts. I know that, and listen, as far as it’s warranted, when you don’t win a game, I should be criticized. I don’t blame anyone for it. This is the reality of the moment.

“I would love to be able to say that there is something I can tell everyone that is going to make everyone feel better, but as you know it’s about winning and we don’t have it. not done yet.”

It was always to be a long season for Campbell and the new Lions regime, who launched a total rebuild after inheriting a roster decimated by the Quinntricia years. Sports betting chose them to lose every game this season. From that perspective, it’s no surprise they’re the only team without a win heading into a Week 13 game on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.

At 0-10-1, Campbell is one loss (or tied) away from matching Marty Mornhinweg’s record for the longest winless drought by a new coach in franchise history.

Then again, how they got here isn’t just a question of a lack of talent on the roster. Campbell has faced scrutiny of some of his decisions, including trying to call double timeouts in the loss to Chicago on Thursday.

The Bears were down 14-13 at the end of that game as they faced a third and-9 deep in Lions territory. Campbell called a timeout to establish his defense, who returned to the field with the intention of executing a Cover-0. But they had talked about auditioning in Cover-2 if Chicago came out with maximum protection. Then Chicago came out with maximum protection, and center linebacker Alex Anzalone called for Cover-2.

But half of high school didn’t get the message and misaligned. Anticipating an exploded cover, Campbell called for a second consecutive time-out – which is illegal – rather than allowing a potential touchdown.

“I know if (Andy Dalton) threw that in the pan it would be about to be a touchdown,” said Campbell. “So I can’t do it. “

In fact, what they couldn’t do was allow the first down, which would allow Chicago to clear the rest of the time before taking the lead. And that’s exactly what happened. After two timeouts to get it right, safety Will Harris retreated into a soft blanket behind the sticks. Bears wide receiver Damiere Byrd easily caught the 7-yard pass and the Bears buzzed 28 yards for the win.

So not only did the Lions call for back-to-back timeouts which drew a flag that turned Chicago’s third and 9 into a third and 4 with the game on the line, but they then backed up such a soft defense on the play that followed as the Bears resumed play ending first with no resistance. And Campbell took heat for the streak that denied him his first win in Detroit.

It also spoiled another good day for the defense, which kept their opponents 16 points or less in three straight games, quite an achievement given the state of the roster. But it also highlighted another bad day of the attack, which still hasn’t managed to score 20 points since week 1, and even then, only because of a few quick scores with the out-of-control game of the other side of the 2 minute warning.

The passing offense has been particularly bad, with Jared Goff ranking among the worst quarterbacks in the league in almost every way, and especially those following downstream passes. No one has a harder time dropping the ball than Goff, and fumbles remain a problem as well, as do his scuffles, which continue to get in trouble for his offensive linemen. Campbell said three of the six detention penalties for the Thanksgiving offense were in Goff.

Campbell has said more than anything that he wants his offense to grow – and especially his passing game – as Detroit tries to play spoilers in the final six weeks of the season.

“The details of what we’re doing in the passing game, we need to improve dramatically,” Campbell said. “Believe it or not, there have been improvements over the past two weeks on some things. But we just have to grow from there. Just every little thing, from the gaps to the depth, they make all the difference in the world to what we do, especially when you play against some of these teams that play the zone like we have faced. Look, Chicago did a lot of things that they didn’t really show, but that being said, we’ve got a lot of ammo, but it’s like, “Man, when you’re where we’re at, this division of where you ‘are at and that route depth makes all the difference.’ In this road, this hook road that’s supposed to be 18 yards and it’s 16 and then I’m 1 yard inside where I should be, you just covered yourself. Just little things like that.

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