Dan Campbell knows the Lions have to be better defensively, and believes they will be. For the most part, he liked what they did in last week's win over the Saints. He just didn't like how they finished.
"Everything we said about defense is, we get ourselves into position for third down and that’s our money down," Campbell said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "Make them earn it on first and second down, let’s get a TFL, let’s get a stop and let’s get in manageable thirds defensively. We had five of those."
Detroit yielded conversions on third and 17 after a roughing the passer penalty on Bruce Irvin; third and 16 after Tracy Walker was late picking up receiver A.T. Perry; third and 13 after Brian Branch deflected a pass to Chris Olave that likely would have been picked by Jerry Jacobs; third and 12 after Olave beat Jacobs at the line of scrimmage and down the sideline; and third and 9 after Olave got inside leverage on Kerby Joseph over the middle.
"Here’s the thing, one of them is a (missed assignment), one is a technique issue, leverage, we had the roughing the passer, and the other was a tipped ball that Branch had and Jerry’s sitting there and they got. You make one of those or two of those stops, it’s a totally different game. So we’re where we need to be," Campbell said. "We just gotta clean a couple of these things up."
Campbell called the technique errors and missed assignments unacceptable. He also objects to his players feeling sorry for themselves after bad-luck plays, like the tipped pass to Olave.
"Bad luck happens. I don’t want to see them poopy-faced over there when, 'Aw man, I can’t believe that happened, that’s bad luck.’ Go to the next play. There’s nothing we can do about it. We’re fine. We gotta clean up our errors, man. Just do your job, handle your business and we’ll be just fine," Campbell said.
The Lions have been a solid third-down defense most of the season, ranking 12th in the NFL. Their defense ranks 14th overall, though they've slipped over the last month. If they keep creating third-and-longs like they did against the Saints, it stands to reason they'll get back on track.
Two defensive bright spots in New Orleans? Jack Campbell, who had one of the best games of his young career while splitting green-dot duties with Derrick Barnes, and Irvin, who recorded a sack and a (flagged) quarterback hit that knocked Derek Carr out of the game and changed the course of the fourth quarter, in his Lions debut.
Stepping into the middle of the Lions' defense with Alex Anzalone sidelined, Campbell had nine tackles and two tackles for loss, both career highs. The 18th overall pick rose to the occasion as "the mouthpiece of the defense," as Aaron Glenn and the Lions thought he would. He was, after all, the winner of the Butkus Award last season as the best linebacker in the country.
"I thought he played real well," said Campbell. "We weren’t worried about him with the flow of the game, getting the call in, getting it to the guys, that’s right up his alley. He handled all of that spotlessly."
And when it came time to key and diagnose in the face of a lot of fast motion, said Campbell, the rookie was "able to see it and hit some of these runs without delay." The Lions held running back Alvin Kamara to 3.6 yards per carry and the Saints to 3.1 as a team.
"And then watching him in space in the pass game, they tried to put AK on him a couple of times and his patience to sit there, force him to make a break and then drive on the ball, I thought he did well," Campbell said. "... We love seeing him at Mike (linebacker). We know he’s got versatility, but the Mike is a natural fit for him."
Irvin, meanwhile, gave the Lions exactly what they were looking for in just 11 snaps. The 36-year-old, who has 56.5 sacks on his NFL resume, could give the defense a significant boost down the stretch if he keeps getting to the quarterback.
"We’ve watched him the last three weeks in practice and we’ve seen it," said Campbell. "It’s just about, let’s make sure we don’t set him up for failure and make sure he’s got his football legs under him. This was the week and I’ll tell you what, he got some pressure, you saw the sack. He can still bend the corner, he’s got a quick first step and he’s violent.
"Listen, it’s encouraging and it’s a piece that we can certainly use here."