For the second year in a row the Lions were ravaged by injuries, which played a part in their disappointing finish. And begs the question: Why?
In a conversation on his podcast with 49ers linebacker Fred Warner, whose own team faced significant injuries this season, St. Brown said, "We have hella injuries every year, too. I'm like, 'f**k!'"
Warner, who missed most of the season with a broken ankle, offered a theory as to why the Lions have been especially afflicted by injuries: "Y'all go hard. Ol’ Dan Campbell be over there telling y’all to bite kneecaps."
The Lions are unique in that they have full tackling practices in training camp, which most NFL teams, including the 49ers, have left in the past. This level of physicality and violence is essential to the Lions' identity under Campbell, but it's fair to wonder if it catches up to them as the season goes on.
"See, at some point, ol' Dan is going to come to his senses, man, and be like, 'Listen, this ain’t making nobody better, brother. We can still get our work in without bringing guys to the ground," said Warner.
"Every time new players come on our team, they look at me, they look at us during practice, they're in the locker room like, ‘Y’all practice like this all the time?'" St. Brown said with a laugh. "I just be like, ‘Yeah, this is all I know, bro. This is what we do.'"
Warner said he understands the "the mindset that (Campbell) is trying to instill" in his players, abiding by the theory that "you can’t become better at tackling unless you practice tackling, right?"
Campbell has said a version of this himself.
"But tackling is about getting all the way there, thudding the guy, wrapping him , and then you just don’t gotta do the extra to bring him to the ground," said Warner. "And half the time, guys are just in desperation trying to get somebody on the ground where you’re putting yourself and the person who you’re tackling at risk. That’s improper tackling technique. But if you’re doing it correctly, you can be in a position where you can tackle and be like, ‘OK, I ain’t bringing you all the way to the ground.'"
Campbell, though, is pretty staunch in his beliefs. The Lions have had live tackling practices from the moment he showed up in 2021. He feels strongly that it improves his players' tackling technique and callouses their bodies for the strain of a long season. And for what it's worth, the Lions had the third fewest missed tackles in the NFL this year -- the 49ers had the 10th fewest -- and the sixth fewest last year.
While it's possible that Campbell could change his stance moving forward, it doesn't feel likely. The Lions, in all probability, will practice how they practice, for better or worse.