Detroit Lions Coach Dan Campbell updates fans on Jack Campbell

Nate, certainly good to welcome you back to the show with a big announcement expected from Dan Campbell following this injury with Jack Campbell from the Detroit Lions. And really excited. I mean, I think it's important. We mentioned it before we went to break about the importance of getting this announcement out there, but maybe more importantly, Ronnie, addressing this head on. And I think that's the important part is that the Lions aren't skipping any steps when it comes to updating the people of Detroit with what this is. Again, the good news and what we saw on that Instagram post is that preliminary signs are positive. And again, when we talk about the neck and head area. That's the most important part in all. More than that, but again, the good news so far, positive signs coming out of the Lions and Jack Campbell. Yeah, you know, and that statement, which we just saw on our air, says Jack Campbell continues to rest and recover at a local hospital. Preliminary indications are positive. And out of respect for Jack and his family, we will not share further information at this time. Certainly a reminder that, like you mentioned, even before we had gone to break, This goes beyond a Detroit Lions player. This is a husband, a father, a father of a newborn. I mean, certainly we're all just praying and hoping he's okay. And it, it always is a reminder too. And I'm sure this will be something, a conversation that he has with his family and with his peers and the people that are around him. Once this is all done, it all comes back to the human, right? And will there be, I don't think anyone's thinking about a football future right now for Jack Campbell. I think we're just thinking about what does this look like moving forward after this? And I, when you look Back at the replay and what exactly happened. Sometimes it is something as subtle as that. It's a bad angle. The timing is bad. Maybe you came in. He didn't put his head down. He just got caught in an awkward position. I think the scariest thing is obviously when he's laying there motionless. You don't really know. But from what we've seen again, from what we know, which is not much. All the signs are positive. Again, it just comes back to now the question is, you know, is it worth it to play again if you can come back? Because I think now the most important thing is that he's back to full health. And the reason why it's so important is because we saw the emotional outcry from the likes of Aiden Hutchinson. I mean, if you don't know how much he means to the Detroit community, the team, the community, everybody in the 3-1-3, really and beyond in this state, Look at the emotion, right? Look at the tears from someone like Aiden Hutchinson and other people around. That should tell you the type of person Jack Campbell is. So again, hopefully all good things to come. Yeah, this is more than just a team. This is a family. And so given that we're waiting for this update and anyone that's tuning in right now, these are live pictures coming to us where we're expecting Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell to speak any minute now with an update. On Jack Campbell, and there was a statement that I want to bring this up one more time for our viewers that has just been released just a few minutes ago from the Detroit Lions on their Instagram page saying Jack Campbell continues to rest and recover at a local hospital. Preliminary indications are positive and out of respect for Jack and his family. We will not share. Further information at this time. So while we wait for that press conference and the update on Jack and his medical situation, the Lions had a lot of injuries, Nate. They do. And again, we talked about the problems with this team. I think yesterday, as much as we want to really dig into Calvin Shepard, right, and where this defense lacked. For the, for the overt majority of this season, I think he deserves a little bit of credit for what was yesterday. I think they prepared for the shape of Minnesota. Well, I thought that defense looked really good. The defensive line, very impressive. Three sacks in that game against Minnesota showed that they got the pressure and they got the, they got the stops when they needed to. And so I thought that was very impressive. The ground game was also really amazing. You look at what this offensive line could do in the second half. And again, against a Minnesota team that blitzes a lot more than any other team in the National Football League. But we were able to protect Jared Goff and get the first downs. And again, third consecutive week that this defense has allowed the least amount of yards, first downs, as well as touchdowns in three consecutive weeks. That shows progress, right? And so for Lions fans, I think that's a really good sign. How many, and I'm trying to look this up right now, do we have six major injuries right now? I believe it was, yes, six of them yesterday. And so, to your other point, and I know you mentioned that, and that's something that I think is really important. Everybody else is making moves to get better. We saw what the bears did recently. I don't think it was an overpay. I just think they're selling out. They realize this is the time to do so, right? So as we come up on the trade deadline on Tuesday, it's good that you got away with it on Sunday. I think operating with the emotions that you had in that game. And again, I think that really is something that forged this team forward. And you saw the way that Dan Campbell addressed it after the game. Now the question of what do you do leading up to and on Tuesday to still build up this defense so that we can continue to build towards the postseason. A great win. A win is a win is a win. And I know that there are people out there that are going to say that. I know that the Vikings offense is not the greatest in the world. We know Kyler Murray has his issues, but now it really It really comes down to, again, can you go out and get someone to bolster that secondary? bolster this defense and really now at this point it's not necessarily finding the star player it's we need the depth to be able to hold down this team to get to that point but yes six injuries yesterday just continue to get banged up but again we talked about the problem that it is I know this is an NFL wide thing injuries have been on the rise lately but how do the Lions address this going into the trade deadline that's the biggest question. Yeah you know it's a tough We'll What's the next game? I'm trying to remember here. Is it next weekend? be Yeah, next game, next Sunday, against the Miami Dolphins. right What do you expect? Oh, looks like the announcement might be coming soon. back. This might just be a mic check. Let's check real quick. Yes? Yes. My name is . . All right, Leah, maybe just a quick mic check. . . . So at any moment, Nate, we're going to hear from . . . Dan Campbell. Certainly a lot of people are worried . . . . and the emotions running high. We even saw . . . Aiden Hutchinson, I mean, in tears on the field. . . . . So I can only imagine what's happening, not just . . . . . You know, with the team, but fans, everyone's concerned. . . . . But in the meantime, while we wait for Dan Campbell, I want to talk about the Detroit Lions versus Miami Dolphins come next week. What do you think we can expect in the next few days? And how will this be? I mean, the game's in Florida. From a scheming perspective, yesterday was a very good sign for this Lions team. I thought they schemed well defensively, offensively a little bit of a concern, but listen, when Minnesota does what they do and they take away a lot of your offensive weapons in that first half, what do they end up doing in the second half to respond? They get vertical, they run the football, right? And they, they established the line of game, 230 rushing yards, by the way, that's the most Minnesota has given up this year. And they got behind their big guys up front. I think one unsung hero, Rania from that game yesterday was Siani, Siani Baki in the way he ran the ball. 11 carries for 65. That doesn't pop off the page necessarily, but what does it provide for a lion's team? It's a level of depth. Okay, you get to take. Some plays off if you're Jameer Gibbs, right? And the way that he runs, he runs hard, he hits the holes, he's downhill. All of those things kind of fit the type of back, the prototype that you want for an offense who needs that offensive depth. So I was really impressed by him. I'm more focused on us and maybe a little bit less on Miami. I think you keep running the ball physically. I think this defense schemes well. I think we got some of our pieces back, but I want to continue to see this defensive line. And again, this team apply pressure the way that they did yesterday. And while we wait for Dan Campbell, if you could briefly talk about, you know, all things Detroit sports right now. What's going on with the Red Wings? My goodness. Great. Well, you know, when you look at that team, where does blame fall? Right. Cause you are either in one of two camps when it comes to the red wings, right? Part of you thinks that again, the NHL has changed a lot in this way. We saw this movement in the NBA when it became a player centered league, LeBron kind of ushered that in, right? And then you started to see players go, if they didn't like the situation they were in go. I'm just not going to play, right? I'm going to demand a trade. You move me or I'm not going to play. That's just what it is now. And so when it comes to, you know, we look at that situation, well, do you blame the player? Maybe there's some of that to go around. But on the other side, this is an organization that has not shown Red Wings fans. It's not instilled us with any level of faith that they can find a way to get it right with him. So is there really a lot of blame to go around for the player or is this an organizational issue that is, that has just gone on way too long in figuring out who your GM is in figuring out what your identity is. Ronnie, I grew up in an era where the Red Wings were the standard in Detroit and now the question becomes, well, how do we even get back to the playoffs when you have the longest drought? In the NHL right now, it's tough to call yourself hockey town in that situation. So I think it's a fresh start for this team. I think you were able to cut off the player that maybe in some ways was being most problematic, and that opens up opportunities. And Nate, the breaking news right now, an update on Jack Campbell. You know, just to start with Jack, I know that there was a release that we put out, you know, and it's positive, you know. So your prayers are working. Please continue to do that, and, you know, we'll leave it at that. So just continue to pray for him, but it is positive news on Jack. Thank you for that. You know, we did get hit a little bit on the injury front. Jimmy Roller is going to require surgery, or he could. The point is this is a significant injury. He'll be out for the season. We're in the second half of the season. And then, you know, the rest of these guys we kind of know. You know, Cade's got this ankle. Thank you, Michael. You know, he'll be, I don't see him practicing, certainly Wednesday. Thank you. You know, DJ Reed got a hip. I don't see him practicing Wednesday. Thank you very much. You know, Sailors has got a little something. I don't see him practicing Wednesday. And then obviously our two concussion guys, you know, they'll have to go through protocol there. So we just, you know, we got a little bit of the bug, but everybody goes through it, and it's our time. It's been a long time. Thought we did a good job of those players, man, you know, filling in where we needed them. The coaches did a heck of a job keeping the plan alive yesterday. And, you know, we overcame a lot. We overcame a lot of adversity. So I was really, you know, I was proud about that, too. The other thing I want to bring up, just, you know, you go through these games in this league, And the competition of it and the, you know, everything that you go through to try to win and you're going against an opponent like we were with the Vikings, you know, and just, you know, Kevin O'Connell, man, he's class act, you know, just. You know, looking out for him, checking in on Jack. I know those guys said a prayer for Jack, you know, and that just says a lot about the humanity of it, man. Man, we are highly competitive. This league is highly competitive, but it is a brotherhood, and it just puts things in perspective. And, you know, these are human beings, man, that have families, real lives, and so it's just, you know, a classy deal, man. Questions? No, you said you can't say a lot or anything. I can't, so I'm not going to. Next question. Can you see, does the team get the same update? Did you tell the team that there's at least... Team knows what's going on. I've given it to the captains. How do you prepare at the linebacker position going forward? Well, luckily we have some depth in there, you know, with Rodrigo and Nowowski and Barnes, you know, those three guys. And Amon's been up for us, which is good. And then we've got Bocce ready to roll, you know. So we may need a little bit of help. You know, we're looking at everything. We'll adjust as we go. Brad and I will get together here, you know, this afternoon, tomorrow, and figure some of this out. From a communication perspective, Dan, who do you foresee handling the green dot? Who's that? From a communication perspective, who do you see handling the green dot? Oh, I don't know if we're that far yet. Honestly, they could all handle it. Between, I mean, Barnes ended up taking it the other day, you know, because of where we were at. But Rodrigo's done it before. He could do it, and so could Nowowski. So we're kind of in the beginning stages of that. But I feel pretty comfortable with all of them. Dan, I don't know if you care to share this, but have you had a chance to converse at all with Jack's family, and what have those communications been like? I did. I got to go see him last night. It was good. It was positive. You know, I got to see his parents, talk to his wife, and, you know, everybody's in good spirits. Yeah. It's about the recovery and it's it's a small setback that's you know, that's the family there, you know, very positive, you know, so that that's good in that regard. And if his teammates able to see him last night, a lot of people went over there, but it you know, not everybody got to go see him. He was running some testings of that nature. And so just, you know, at some point it gets hard to have everybody in there. On that note, Derek Barnes was saying last night that he won't leave Jack's side until he knows he's fine. I'm sure others feel the same. Yet you guys also have a job to do this week. So how cognizant do you have to be as a coach that hearts and minds might be elsewhere in this building this week as you try to prepare for the next opponent? Well, I think we acknowledge it, right? I mean, it's not going away. That is what it is. And it's important, you know, and he's important to us. You know, that he's okay is important, and so we acknowledge that. We talk about it, and at the same time, we get ready for this next opponent. I'm not going to dwell on it. So, you know, I think you kind of do a little bit of both, honestly. Can you describe how much Jack means to this team just as a player and more importantly as a person? Well, he's – Well, I don't even know if I can put it into words, you know. It's one of the reasons why. Look, you get voted captain. I mean, that says a ton, especially with this group of guys that has been assembled. I mean, he earned every bit of that. He's a guy that, you know, he's trustworthy. He's dependable. Yeah. You know, he gives you the shirt off his back. He's just all heart, man, all effort, and just an unbelievable person. I mean, he's just an unbelievable person. So, down to earth, very genuine. And he just – I mean, there's not a man on this team that doesn't respect Jack Campbell, you know, and care about him. Dan, one of the ways you were able to counter Minnesota's blitz yesterday was a lot of unique offensive looks. Some of them seemed maybe wing T-based. I don't know. Like, what was kind of the genesis of the conversations to come up with some of these unique loaded backfield looks to counter what they do? We've had some stuff, you know, that we've had on the stove for a while. We've let it simmer, and we just really haven't quite used it yet, so we just wanted to force the issue. We felt like this was a good week, just as a change-up, and felt like our guys could handle it. It'd be good for Gibbs, too, and they did a good job, so it was something we felt like we could handle. It wasn't that. Off base for us schematically, you know, or rules wise, and we could still play fast and identify everything. But yet, you know, go play ball and give them a little something different. So anyway, you know, it proved to be good for us. And people acknowledge, obviously, the human side of it, as you did. But you never really, I don't think you ever really prepared for it. When you see it, when it hits you right there, how did it hit you? Like, how hard and how do you keep that perspective? Yeah, it's difficult. You know, it's difficult. So you don't ever want to see somebody like that on the field. But when you, you know, when you see Jack, Jack never lays on the field ever, no matter what it is. And that's when you're like, you know, it just, like I say, it puts it in perspective. It's hard, you know, and it was hard on everybody. You know, it's hard on the players, man, you know, to see your guy down there like that. But, you know, I mentioned this, when you're in the world we're in, You know, you got to snap back in and it's not an easy thing to do, but they did, you know, and we found a way to overcome a lot of adversity between that and the officials and all the other stuff that came about and then we just kept coming back. We got it done, we found a way and then it was back to Jack, you know, so it's hard, but, you know, we did what we had to do. The severity of concussion is kind of hard to tell in the early phases, but Wanham's looked particularly scary from the outside, so I wonder if you have an update on that. Thank you. He's, like I say, he and Branch are both in concussion protocol. Thank you. You know, I don't, I really don't have anything else that, you know, he came in. I wouldn't say it was any better or any worse than, you know. A concussion anybody else has had, really. So I can't really swing one way or another for you there. With really he or BB, we won't know until they, you know, today wasn't a negative. Thank you. You know, you go through the next day and we'll see what happens. So, yeah, we'll see. Dan, you talked about that with Branch, maybe in a slightly different context, but not wanting to take away his stinger with the way he plays the game. Is there anything that he needs to change about the way he tackles that put himself at risk and, in this case, also a teammate? Not necessarily. I mean, certainly keep your eyes up. You know, a lot of it, once he's going, he's going for his target, and then that target drops, you know, and so that ends up where it goes, you know. You can certainly say go lower, but now you've got to be careful. You start going real low, then you start taking out knees and stuff, and you don't want any of that. So just keep your eyes up, see what you hit, try to drop it just a little bit. But listen, this is a violent game, man. There's no way around it. Any way you cut it, it just is, and it's what we signed up for, and that's hard. It's hard. But it is what has been signed up for. Anybody that plays this game and, you know, anyway, it's tough. Thank you, Dan. Thanks, Ian. Appreciate it. Coming back live right now as we wrapped up that press conference, Dan Campbell speaking. Nate. It was an update that really didn't update us much. In fact, it felt almost a little cryptic, but I get it. A medical situation certainly doesn't want to expose too much out there, but we did learn a lot about the team, how everything is being handled, and a lot about the other injuries. Well, and here's what I kind of take away from what he said. Just doing a little bit of reading in between the lines. If it wasn't good news, they probably wouldn't come out and say anything. There's no point in really painting a good picture while, while it's the complete opposite that there's no room to do that, especially with the genuine concern that people have for Jack Campbell. So I think. The fact that, again, we talked about this willingness to address it head-on, I think that's a good sign. And the fact that those preliminary signs are positive means that, obviously, the first thing that they're going to try and test for is sensation, right? Movement. Do you have feeling in all of your extremities, especially when you're dealing with a neck injury? And, you know, I think back to someone like a Ryan Shazier, you know, with the Steelers and what happened with him in the spinal injury. Those are the things that when you're talking about the spine, the neck, it's all connected. Those early signs, those early tests, do they come back positive? In the case of Jack Campbell, if that is the case, if we are to believe what he's saying, that's a really good sign. We're not out of the woods yet, but I think it gives at least Lions fans an opportunity to breathe a little bit easier, maybe, than what they were yesterday. Yeah, absolutely. And he does mention it. NFL is a tough sport. Obviously, highly competitive. But the injuries are expected. Thank Also mentioning the concussions. I believe it was Branch, and I can't remember who was the other player. Thank But certainly, oh, yes, yes. So certainly a pretty much a big setback all around for the Detroit Lions. But it also seems like Dan Campbell, such a great coach, focusing you. on humanity over anything else and saying, you know, at this point, it's all about recovery and just figuring out the humanity of it all. you. I remember, you know, I had a friend who played at the major division one level and he talked about sometimes even when there were injuries in practice, you felt for the person that got hurt. But there's always this saying in football, you know, move it 10 yards up. The game moves on despite a lot of these injuries that we saw. And I think Dan Campbell's just going, hey, listen, we need to realize that that is a part of the game. It's what we signed up for. You realize it coming in. And I think all of these guys know What it is when they sign up for this and when they play this sport, but that doesn't take away from the feelings that are associated with it, because I think even these players and their teammates, it is a brotherhood. They realize the danger that they are voluntarily putting themselves in. Now, the question of where do we go from here? That's where it starts to get really interesting for the lions. When we think about what's coming up on Tuesday, Brian Brant's just got back. Now he's out right with injury or could be out DJ read. Well, I thought at an unbelievable game yesterday, including that interception, he's out of the picture now, right? So you almost feel for someone like Calvin Shepard. What do you do with this rotating carousel of players? How do you manage any sort of consistency? Well, I think the first step is you have to go out and you have to try to make a move in the deadline. We've seen Brad Holmes do it before. We are pleading for a Detroit GM to make an aggressive move. That's what these fans want. And so is it Dante Jackson from the Chargers? Is it Fulton from the Kansas City Chiefs? You have some options out there. Go out and make that move to, again, instill that confidence. You got the win. That's big. No more undefeated teams in the NFL. Now, what do you do moving forward to supplement that? But it's still hard to see, but you're right. It's a part of the game. Yeah, it sure is. Certainly a lot more, hopefully, to expect. We'd love more updates from the coach in the coming days. And the only biggest concern that I had is, you know, the coach mentioning that he went and saw Campbell last night and he also was there with a few others. But never really mentioned if Jack was communicating with anybody. And that's a little bit of my fear. I think a lot of what goes on in those rooms is probably kept close to the vest. And I think because they want to stay away from speculation, right? And I think that's why Dan Campbell goes, listen, we need to give them something. We need to give the media something. We need to give the fans something. Because if you don't give them anything. That's where the speculation gets even worse, right? So tell them that the signs are positive, and then we'll figure everything else out from there. But, you know, I don't blame them. Listen, I don't blame them for saying a lot of what goes on in there stays right here because it should stay right there. But, again, the first signs are positive. We'll go from there. Yeah. We'll wait and see what happens. Nate, always good to have you join us. And hopefully we'll check in with you this week and see where things stand. How can people find you and follow you? Yeah. At Nate, the broadcaster on Tik TOK at Wengler underscore Nathan on all my other social media accounts, but I'm, I'm hoping for the best of news, Rania. That's all, that's all we can really hope for. And again, it's about the human being, but an exciting future for this lions team. They just need to, they need to stop getting hurt at the end of the day. Yeah. We've got a long way to go, right? I mean, months to go. Nate, always a pleasure to have you. Thank you so much. Absolutely. Talk next time.