From the outside looking in, Dan Campbell always respected Goff's arm. He respected Goff's resume as a winner. But there are traits you can't discern in a quarterback from afar.
Up close, Campbell has been impressed with Goff's readiness to lead.
"That’s one of the things I didn’t quite know about him," Campbell said Friday on the Stoney & Jansen Show. "Just from afar you don’t really know. But man, there’s a presence about him. He’s got this leadership ability. He’s not awkward. I’ve been around some guys that are a little bit -- like, he’s good, man. He understands how to pick up the tempo, and I love the fact that when things start to go (awry) he doesn’t get frazzled."
Goff's poise will be important this season. Things might go awry often for the Lions. The offense hasn't exactly lit things up in training camp, and it's not exactly facing the league's best defense. The Lions will take their lumps, Goff will take his, and they'll have to pick themselves up together. Campbell said Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow and running back Jamaal Williams have emerged as offensive leaders in camp as well.
"We’ve got some guys here now that are cut from the right cloth. Defensively, freaking (Michael) Brockers, man," Campbell said. "And (that was) one of the reasons we brought him in here. Dean Marlowe, same deal. Alex Anzalone, same thing, producing, practicing well and he’s a leader. We’ve got the right guys in here, we really do. And as they start to get a feel for the guys around them, and those guys get a feel for them, it will only get better."
Campbell also touched on his plans for dividing reps in the preseason, something he's been wrestling with throughout camp. With one less preseason game this year, and one extra game in the regular season, it would make sense to rest your starters while you can. But with new schemes and several new faces on both sides of the ball, the Lions might not have that luxury. Goff, in particular, will need those reps.
"It’s like, let’s talk about Goff for a minute, man, let’s get Goff real comfortable, but we want to rest Ragnow and Decker. Hey man, if Goff’s going, Decker’s going, Ragnow’s going, Sewell’s going to be in there, Vaitai. So it’s easy to say these things, but it’s like look, if our quarterback is going, those guys are going to be in there.
"They’re gaining, they’re not losing anything. There’s a whole other game and they were never going to play the fourth preseason game anyway, these starters. So it’s like, golly, but yet, we need to get in a rhythm and learn to play with each other. I just think it’s tough. I think we’ll have to be selective, we’ll have to see where we're at health wise, but my gut tells me we need to play a little bit preseason game three."