Dan Campbell sends strong message to his team and to fans amid big expectations for Lions in 2023
The Detroit Lions enter the 2023 season as a trendy pick to win the NFC North. Detroit showed significant improvement last season in Dan Campbell's second year as the franchise's head coach. The Lions went 9-8 and finished second in the NFC North, narrowly missing a trip to the playoffs. With Aaron Rodgers off to […]
The Detroit Lions enter the 2023 season as a trendy pick to win the NFC North.
Detroit showed significant improvement last season in Dan Campbell's second year as the franchise's head coach. The Lions went 9-8 and finished second in the NFC North, narrowly missing a trip to the playoffs.
With Aaron Rodgers off to the New York Jets and the Chicago Bears still going through a rebuild, it's the Lions that are best positioned to compete with the Minnesota Vikings for the division crown this season.
Campbell, however, isn't interested in hype that Detroit hasn't earned yet. While he believes the Lions will be a better team in 2023 than they were in 2022, he's cautioning fans and his team against listening to the outside noise that's been hyping Detroit all offseason.
"We expect to be a better team than we were last year," said Campbell during a recent appearance on Pardon My Take. "We fully expect that. And we've got the same goals as most teams. Yeah we want to win this division. We want to get the playoffs. We want to make some noise. We want to win a Super Bowl and all of that. But I think for us, what's interesting, we know what's out there. But we haven't done anything….And so to me the message stays the same in the regard of, no, we didn't win the division last year. Minnesota won it. And Green Bay won it for years and year after year after year before that. And so to me, those are the kings in this division right now. And we have to go earn that. We didn't go to the playoffs last year. We got to earn that. We're still on the outside looking in and that's what keeps us hungry, man. We gotta go get it."
How can you not love that mindset from Campbell if you're a Lions fan?
Campbell knows that the outside noise is loud. And he knows it's impossible to avoid at times. That's why he's making sure that his team keep its "edge" entering the 2023 season. He doesn't want his team to read the positive reports from the media/optimistic predictions and start thinking they've arrived when in reality they haven't.
Complacency can be a team's worst nightmare. But Campbell is doing a great job of making sure that no one in Detroit is complacent as the Lions prepare for a new season.
Lions head coach gives update on former Vols QB Hendon Hooker’s progress in training camp
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell gives an update on former Vols QB Hendon Hooker’s progress in training camp
Featured image via Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
