Earned, Not Given: Dan Campbell Hits Up-Downs At Training Camp (Of Course), Thinks The Lions Hype Train Is Out Of Control
Yep, I think we can all sit here and agree with Dan Campbell. I mean, it happens every year. There are always 2-3 teams that everyone assumes is going to be awesome, 1 may end up being in the playoffs, the other stinks. This year it's clearly the Lions and Jets. Two teams who missed the playoffs yet everyone is assuming they'll be there this year.
Not Dan Campbell though. I was wondering what angle he'd take here. I mean this is a guy who openly talks about wanting to be great and has the balls to throw it to an offensive lineman to seal a game. I could 100% see him embracing the hype and running with it. Instead he went the traditional football coach route, which is a little uneasy. That's not the Dan Campbell I know. This is the Dan Campbell I know:
Looks miserable doing up-downs. That brings back horrendous memories for any single person that played basically any level of sports. Get sore just looking at it. But Campbell is of course going to go up-downs. This is what he does. He says wild ass things like biting kneecaps and then gets involved in practice. It's part of the reason why the Lions hype train is off the rails, people want them to be good.
I'm not saying they won't be. But they were 9-8 after starting the season 1-6. Again, all good there. Part of it also the NFC North. Green Bay obviously loses Aaron Rodgers and all his best friends. People don't want to trust Kirk Cousins despite being the star of Quarterback. The Bears, yeah, I mean I'm not going to insult my pals from Chicago, but people aren't buying them.