The Detroit Lions turned in their most complete performance of 2021 on Sunday afternoon, taking down the Arizona Cardinals by a 30-12 final and looking as though they were the team on their way to the playoffs rather than a potential 1st overall NFL Draft pick.
And of course, thanks to their win, the Lions are now in the No. 2 pick slot for the top selection while the Jacksonville Jaguars have leapfrogged them into the 1st overall selection spot. While this may come as bad news to fans, Lions head coach Dan Campbell had a special message for anyone wishing to see his team lose games in order to better secure a chance at picking first.
While speaking on “The Stoney and Jansen” show on 97.1 The Ticket earlier this morning, Campbell said that there’s no way that he and his team are going to throw games.
“I mean, think about it for a minute,” Campbell replied. “You want me to go in front of these guys and say, ‘Hey, guys, we’re just going to go and see if we can lose this game so we keep the number one pick.’ I mean, that makes no sense.”
“So, I understand the frustration for some looking down the road, but man, when you’re a coach and you’re playing, you’re in this moment, it’s all about winning and competing,” he continued. “That’s what we’re in it for. I know we got a damn good GM and he’ll find a way to get good players on this team no matter where we’re sitting.”Lions have continued to be affected by the ongoing spread of the latest COVID-19 variant, as quarterback Jared Goff was placed on their COVID-19 list yesterday afternoon.
“You won’t believe me hone I say this, but honestly, I wasn’t even upset,” he said. “To me it was like ‘yeah, this is the next thing up’. I’m not even surprised. I feel like that’s where we’re at, man. You know something is coming, what’s the next shoe to drop, and we’ll deal with it and go. I just kind of laugh at it. We’ll find a way and move on.”
“We’ll have Blough and Boyle ready to go.”
– – Quotes via Audacy Link – –
Campbell is right! He’s a good coach, and we do have a lot of very good players on the team…AND YOU PLAY TO WIN!
Looking for the first draft pick is just pushing things back another year!
GO LIONS!
Herm Edwards. You play to win the game.