Let's Talk Dan Campbell

[Iggloo]

He has obviously changed the culture in Detroit and is overall a huge positive for the Lions. But does he need an analytics consultant or something? His clock management and 4th down decisions were highly questionable in that second half. Sure, if he converts a few of those plays, and Josh Reynolds catches balls etc. it is a different outcome. But he played a role in that loss. Was Campbell to blame for the loss?

Dan Campbell: This may have been our only shot

For as aggressive as Lions coach Dan Campbell likes to be, he's also pragmatic.

www.nbcsports.com

 

[Gman]

No way do I put that loss on Campbell.

Reynolds has to catch those passes.

Campbell put his team in a position to win. So did Jared Goff.

 

[Iggloo]

It's tough because he played aggressive all year and that worked tremendously for the most part. I was 100% in favor of him taking the FG to end the half and go up 17. But I guess you could argue that if they had really stepped on their throats there with a TD, maybe the outcome is also different?

Lions fans have to be sick this morning, and not just due to their thundering hangovers. That reminded me of the Eagles losing last year's SB up 10 at the half. That kind of loss stays with you for life.

 

[Tapey]

No

 

[Edonidd]

They had 2 kickers in the preseason. Both sucked. They kept one. Part way through the season they cut the one they kept and brought the other guy back. I don't think Campbell would ever throw his players under the bus, but I don't think he has any confidence in his Kicker at all. And I think that plays more of a role in his decision making than people know.

Definitely not 100% of the reason but he is already an aggressive guy and I think that pushes him over the edge.

I believe the analytics is pretty clear that going for it on 4th down is almost always the right call anyways though. So without using hindsight and revisionist history or having your results color your perception of his decision making I'm still not sure it was the wrong call. Although I have been against a lot of his calls personally, I still trust him to run this team.

Full stop. No caveats to that statement or anything.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

He's a meathead that can still read a 4th down bot. They Lions have a bad D and gave up 34+ points. Going for it was very obviously the right call, imo. The fundamental problem is the 49ers are just better. Detroit had the right plan, and still couldn't knock them out.

Campbell doesn't "suck," for going for it when he is supposed to... the better team just won, imo.

 

[jayfan]

Anyone defending the way he coached that 2nd half is as dense as he is. Don't fall for that hubris BS. You're ahead 24-7. Not behind 24-7. He did as much to lose a game as a coach possibly can. I really want to fire him this morning.

 

[redskinsfan1963]

reynolds should have caught those 2 passes and campbell should have kicked the fg to tie the game.it was,nt his fault his team could,nt tackle purdy either.

 

[Stakesarehigh]

They had 2 kickers in the preseason. Both sucked. They kept one. Part way through the season they cut the one they kept and brought the other guy back. I don't think Campbell would ever throw his players under the bus, but I don't think he has any confidence in his Kicker at all. And I think that plays more of a role in his decision making than people know.

Definitely not 100% of the reason but he is already an aggressive guy and I think that pushes him over the edge.

I believe the analytics is pretty clear that going for it on 4th down is almost always the right call anyways though. So without using hindsight and revisionist history or having your results color your perception of his decision making I'm still not sure it was the wrong call. Although I have been against a lot of his calls personally, I still trust him to run this team.

Full stop. No caveats to that statement or anything.

Patterson didn't miss a single field goal under 50 yards

yes he missed two XPs. No one would question him going on 4th for a long distance field goal but passing up chip shots has cost him more than its helped.

 

[Stakesarehigh]

My apologies he missed 1.

in his entire career he's missed 3 kicks under 50 yards.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

Coaches with a style similar to Dan Campbell‘s usually have a few years of success followed by a steep decline. That over the top passion gets old for players after a few years.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Both 4th down tries were unnecessary and stupid, that's not hindsight, that was in the moment coaching malpractice. You lost by 3 and left 6 points on the table. Not only that the first failed 4th down gave San Fran the momentum. His choices led directly to this loss.

There's a reason why the Brady Pats and the Mahomes Chiefs have so much success, they never beat themselves. Dan Campbell's tough guy schtick cost them this game.

 

[Iggloo]

 

[fightinfunbags]

The first decision early in the 3rd quarter is defensible in my eyes. You can disagree with Campbell’s balls to the walls philosophy and that’s fair. But based on who he is through 3 seasons, it makes sense why he goes there.

They had the play call. Goff makes a great play to step up and extend the play. He throws Reynolds open and Reynolds has to make that catch.

In the 4Q down three it’s a different situation. The 2H has been an avalanche for you. The Niners at this point have scored 20 straight on you. This isn’t the time to play aggressive on 4th down when you have a makeable FG available. There is still 7:30 minutes left in the game. Tie it up there. With that much time, even if Niners score, they likely have time to answer.

At the same time, I admire Campbell’s philosophy. And I think he turned around a dead end franchise because players often rally around coaches who are aggressive and gamble on their player’s ability to make plays. I bet if you talk to the players today they aren’t going to be critical of Campbell’s decision making. They’ll say that they’re sorry and responsible for not making those big plays in the big moments.

Lions had a great season and I would imagine Lions fans are happy with the direction of their team moving forward.

 

[jayfan]

Both 4th down tries were unnecessary and stupid, that's not hindsight, that was in the moment coaching malpractice. You lost by 3 and left 6 points on the table. Not only that the first failed 4th down gave San Fran the momentum. His choices led directly to this loss.

There's a reason why the Brady Pats and the Mahomes Chiefs have so much success, they never beat themselves. Dan Campbell's tough guy schtick cost them this game.

This guy gets it.

 

[jarntt]

It was a monumentally horrendous coaching performance. One of my problems with going for it instead of kicking a FG has always been what you are gaining. There is no guarantee even if you convert that you get 6 in those situations. If it is a 56 yarder and you convert and end up with a 48 yard attempt, ok. If it is from the 2 yard line and you guarantee a TD if you convert, ok. But in those situations, even if you convert on the 4th down, you aren't really better than 50% to just have another makeable FG attempt. The other thing on the early one in particular is that he had one of the most important things in sports, momentum, and all he had to do was put a 3 on the board to keep it. Lastly if you want to blame Reynolds then you are judging the decision after the fact, not beforehand. Yes it should have been caught but that wouldn't have made it a good decision. I'm sorry and I don't want to hear the media saying "Campbell always goes for it" because that isn't a defense. He should have learned from Staley that a decision can be both aggressive and reckless.

 

[jayfan]

It was a monumentally horrendous coaching performance. One of my problems with going for it instead of kicking a FG has always been what you are gaining. There is no guarantee even if you convert that you get 6 in those situations. If it is a 56 yarder and you convert and end up with a 48 yard attempt, ok. If it is from the 2 yards line and you guarantee a TD if you convert, ok. But in those situations, even if you convert on the 4th down, you aren't really better than 50% to just have another makeable FG attempt. The other thing on the early one in particular is that he had one of the most important things in sports, momentum, and all he had to do was put a 3 on the board to keep it. I'm sorry and I don't want to hear the media saying "Campbell always goes for it" because that isn't a defense. He should have learned from Staley that a decision can be both aggressive and reckless.

This guy gets it, too.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

The bottom line is who the fuck really cares. The Lions went about as far as anyone could have expected and Campbell is a huge reason why. He is aggressive (sometimes maybe a little too much but whatever) and the team is aggressive and follows his lead. Instead of playing this game where we all think we are smarter than everyone who actually works at the job, let's try to remember this is the Lions we are talking about. A team that has been mired in a losing culture longer than a good majority of fans can remember. The Niners were expected to completely dominate this game and win easily and the Lions gave them a hard fight. We can play the game of Monday morning coach all we want but it was a highly successful season for a team that has not had much to be excited about. They could have won and maybe should have but San Fran got some lucky bounces and breaks and made the adjustments they needed on defense in the second half.

 

[PDay8810]

Best part about Campbell is he doesn't care what others outside that locker room think.

 

[jarntt]

The bottom line is who the fuck really cares. The Lions went about as far as anyone could have expected and Campbell is a huge reason why. He is aggressive (sometimes maybe a little too much but whatever) and the team is aggressive and follows his lead. Instead of playing this game where we all think we are smarter than everyone who actually works at the job, let's try to remember this is the Lions we are talking about. A team that has been mired in a losing culture longer than a good majority of fans can remember. The Niners were expected to completely dominate this game and win easily and the Lions gave them a hard fight. We can play the game of Monday morning coach all we want but it was a highly successful season for a team that has not had much to be excited about. They could have won and maybe should have but San Fran got some lucky bounces and breaks and made the adjustments they needed on defense in the second half.

Sorry, but that's a poor take on the situation IMO. Everyone should care. The difference was likely who plays in the SB and if a team that has never had any success was there it would have been way more exciting. I was all in rooting for the Lions once the annual early exit from my team took place. Once Campbell made those calls I found myself kind of no longer rooting for them and feeling like Campbell didn't deserve to be in a SB doing stupid crap like that