Lions head coach Dan Campbell isn’t dwelling on how last season ended, he’s just excited to get his guys back on the field again.
“I’m very excited. I really am,” Campbell said. “I can’t wait to get started. And I know the staff’s that way, too. I think, if anything, when you get over the licking your wounds a little bit, and you really step back and take a look at it for what it is and where you can improve, you get really excited. I got really excited. So, I feel like every day, I’ve just gotten more and more energy back and more and more desire.
“I feel like we’re gonna be battle-hardened and ready to go. Like, man, that’s the next one. We gotta get over that hill, and we can do it. And I love that we’ve got something to shoot for and something to go get.”
Lions looking to build on historic season
“It’s been pretty special, really,” Campbell said. “You’re not always able to stay with the same guys. It doesn’t always work that way. You hope to. That means you probably have success. And so, we’re doing a few things right here.”
“But to be able to be around all these guys from where we started in ’21 and see them grow and develop, and what we’ve added and watched those guys grow, from Hutch (Aidan Hutchinson) to even (Brian) Branch to the end of last year, (Sam) LaPorta, (Jahmyr) Gibbs, you know, (Penei) Sewell, Alim (McNeill), Jack Campbell, (Derrick) Barnes, Iffy (Melifonwu) — it’s pretty special, because you’ve been with them in the highs and the lows, the inconsistencies to grow into what they’re becoming and what they have become. And we’ve kind of all grown together.”
Few, if any, pundits were picking the Lions for the playoffs, let alone being a stones throw from the Super Bowl in 2023 so 2024 will be a much different beast that comes with expectations.
GM Brad Holmes also gave a little insight into how the Lions will approach this pivotal draft so as not to lose momentum. “You guys know us by now. We’re just going to pick the best player,” Holmes said.
“I know everybody always wants to say, ‘Needs! Needs! Needs! We’ve gotta get needs!’ No. There is a lot of appreciation for our process for free agency, because I always said about the whole ‘needs’ train: Free agency is a time to do that. Free agency is the time to pull out the depth chart and start plugging holes and all that kind of stuff. But you guys have heard me talk openly about it. When it comes to the draft, man, you can really make some mistakes when you’re trying to reach for a need and missing out on impact players.”
Holmes comments go a long way to explaining the Lions rapid rise from no-hopers to expectation. By taking best player available the Lions have ascended to a level of play far quicker that anyone expected.
If the Lions can continue to get better at this pace, 2024 could be an even more historic year for the one-time underdogs.
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