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Lions: Campbell talks Week 1 loss to GB
Full press conference: Coach Dan Campbell's Monday presser with media.
ALLEN PARK. Mich. (FOX 2) - One day after the Lions fell flat in the season-opener at Green Bay, Coach Dan Campbell shared more thoughts on the 27-13 loss Monday in Allen Park.
Campbell said it starts with fundamentals for the Lions which dug a hole and couldn't get out of. The Packers led the entire way including with a quick 10-0 first quarter.
"We weren't good enough on third down either side of the ball," Campbell said. "We didn't play well. Fundamentally we were off. We have to get our fundamentals back.
It really is that simple. Nothing is easy about it, but it really is that simple to diagnose."
On the positive side, the Packers were held to 10 points in the second half as the Lions hung around but failed to put together many offensive drives.
"We had two or three players who played really well, but not enough," he said. "We just didn't have enough good performances and really, we didn't coach well enough, you know? That obviously starts with me."
One of the biggest surprises Sunday was the lack of a run game. David Montgomery led with 25 yards on 11 carries of the team's 46 yards total on the ground. And usually electric tailback Jahmyr Gibbs had nine carries for 19 yards and 10 catches for just 31.
Campbell fielded a question about new offensive coordinator John Morton, who he said thought did well.
"We've got to be able to master our bread and butter before you get to all that other stuff," he said. "It won't matter if we can't find a way to run the football more than 2.1 per carry. that's where everything starts with us."
Campbell pointed toward 5-for-15 on third downs, 1-for-4 in the red zone and seven penalties as three other big issues.
On Jared Goff, Campbell said the Packers defense dictated more of a check-down offense which he admitted can make for a boring game.
"You do have to be patient, but when you do that, you can't miss on third downs, and you can't turn the ball over," he said. "The defense has got to get you some stops and has to get some takeaways. Special teams have to do their job.
"We got to be able to play field position. And we didn't do really any of those at the end of the day."
Campbell said they had young players who struggled and added "there's nowhere to go but up, and up we will go."
He said teams and coaches don't really know the full picture of where they are at until Week 4 or 5.
"All I'm concerned about, honestly, is getting ... I just want to get better from last week," he said. "I want to cut our enemies in half. I want to be much more efficient and productive and find a way to get some takeaways, protect the football and then we'll go from there - and get better the next week. That's really what I'm looking for."