Lions head coach Dan Campbell sends a strong message about quicksand
It’s important eveyone in the locker room hears and undestands this
Ok, before you ask, no, there are no quicksand pits inside of Ford Field. You do not have to worry about Amon-Ra St. Brown or any of the Detroit Lions falling into one on Sunday. At least not literally. Maybe figuratively, though.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell was asked on Wednesday where the Lions’ urgency is going into these final seven games of the season and when it might start to ramp up. He gave a good answer that I think a lot of Lions fans need to hear.
“I know this if you say, ‘well, let’s ramp up more urgency.’ That’s when you start making mistakes. That’s when you start panicking.” Campbell said. “That’s when guys start doing things they shouldn’t do. They’re trying to make plays, and then they cost us all. You know that’s where bad stuff really happens. Because that means you don’t really believe in what you’re doing, you’re grasping for straws.”
When I heard that, the first thing I thought about was Shane Falco. That’s right, Keanu Reeves from The Replacements. He has an awesome speech in that movie that correlates really well with what Campbell said on Wednesday.
“You’re playing. And you think everything is going fine, but then one thing goes wrong, and then another and another, and you try to fight back, but the harder you fight, the deeper you sink, till you can’t move, can’t breathe, because you’re in over your head like quicksand.”
Keep calm and carry on, keep your composure, don’t freak out. It’s all the same thing. That’s the message that’s being sent right now. The Lions care, and they want to get it done and win games and win the Super Bowl and all that, but it’s important to keep a level head and be smart and intentional about what you’re doing. Because the first rule of surviving quicksand is to remain calm. The more you freak out, the deeper you’re going.
I think that’s pretty applicable to a lot of the things the Lions are doing right now. They’re in the pit, and everyone wants them to freak out, make a bunch of changes, and fight out of it. Just let them “lean back to distribute their weight over the largest possible surface area. Slowly and gently wiggle their legs to create space for water to seep in, which helps to break the suction and allows them to free their legs.” They’ll get out.