Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell spoke to the media Monday, a day after Detroit dropped their season opener, 27-13, to division rival Green Bay. Here are all the key questions from Campbell's Monday media session after getting a chance to watch the tape and evaluate the performance:
What was the most disappointing part of the performance in Campbell's mind?
He talked Monday about there being way too many missed assignments and communication issues that came up at the worst times on both sides of the ball. He was disappointed in the fact that he thought their fundamentals were off Sunday, and he took the blame for that.
"It wasn't clean. We didn't play well," he said. "We had a lot of MA's (missed assignments) and so that tells me we had too much on their plate. That's my fault. That was really the story."
Campbell admitted they had some young players that struggled Sunday. The good thing about missed assignments and communication issues is that stuff is easier to clean up moving forward vs. simply getting beat physically.
What did Campbell think of the offense's performance in the first outing under new OC John Morton?
Campbell thought Morton did a good job calling the offense other than a couple calls he said Morton wanted back after the game.
Detroit's offense struggled on third down (5-for-15) and had just one explosive play of 20-plus yards, but Campbell made the point that they must master the bread and butter of the offense before they can get to the explosives and the razzle dazzle plays.
"The other stuff won't matter if we can't find a way to run the football more than 2.1 (yards) per carry," he said. "That's where everything starts for us. You're out of play action and you're out of everything."
They did have some deep shots dialed up, per Campbell, but they either didn't have the time to get the ball down the field or didn't see the right look, and quarterback Jared Goff had to check it down and take what's there. Unfortunately when they were patient and moved the ball down the field, they either didn't convert in the red zone (1-for-4) or turned it over.
What does Campbell want to see most from his team heading into Week 2?
Simply put, he just wants to see tangible and significant improvement in all three phases. He wants the missed assignments cut in half and to be much more efficient and productive overall.
He talked about finding a way to create takeaways, which the Lions had none of against the Packers, and protect the football better. He wants them to get back to the basics this week and tune into the little things. He thinks they'll be just fine if they do that.
Why didn't we see more of rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa?
TeSlaa played just three plays on offense with one of those being a spectacular one-handed 13-yard TD catch in the final minute of the contest for Detroit's only touchdown.
TeSlaa dealt with an illness early in the week and missed some practice time. That impacted his usage in Green Bay. Campbell said the plan is to use more of TeSlaa on offense starting Sunday vs. Chicago.
Is there any update on the groin injury suffered by second-year cornerback Terrion Arnold?
Arnold suffered the injury on the second defensive series of the contest and played through it for the first half until the team shut him down and sat him the second half.
"I don't feel like this is serious," Campbell said. "Can't say for certain he'll be ready to go (vs. Chicago), but don't think it's a serious injury."
Why was Detroit's pass rush mostly ineffective Sunday?
Detroit didn't record a sack in the contest and only hit Packers quarterback Jordan Love twice as Love completed 16-of-22 passes for 188 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 128.6 passer rating.
"They did a good job. They short set and (Love) does a good job bouncing in there. He's got pocket mobility," Campbell said of the Packers' passing attack. "(RB Josh) Jacobs did a really good job of shutting down some of the twist game the stunts the picks all those that we do some of."
Overall, Campbell said it comes down to some of their defensive players upfront having to win more of their one-on-one battles. Players must step up and make plays when they are there. He didn't rule out tweaking the rotation and moving players in and out to try to find the most disruptive combinations moving forward.
