What would Dan Campbell do?
After watching the tape of Sunday's 27-13 loss in Green Bay, Campbell said he would have done exactly the same thing as Green Bay in terms of the attention they focused on Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson with a steady diet of double teams, chips, and nudges.
The strategy was largely successful, limiting Hutchinson to only one quarterback hit and two total pressures.
"I always think, what would I do? WWDD? I would not let Hutch wreck a game, there's no way," Campbell said Wednesday. "So, (Chicago) will have answers. They're not going to let him, particularly on passing downs, they're not going to let him ever have a one-on-one. And if they do, it would be rare or balls out really quick."
The extra attention placed on Hutchinson means there are one-on-one opportunities the Lions have to take better advantage of across the line of scrimmage this week and moving forward. Detroit was credited with just five quarterback hurries by Pro Football Focus against the Packers and zero sacks.
On the flip side, Chicago allowed quite a bit of pressure in their loss to Minnesota Monday as the Vikings racked up 23 total quarterback pressures in the contest vs. the Bears' offense.
"That's the game he has to play," Campbell said of Hutchinson having to play with extra attention on him. "That's not for the faint of heart, that's for sure. But it also means other guys have to step up and win. It will be about it putting other guys in positions to where we think will draw some of those, and they have to win and win quickly."
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has good mobility and does a great job escaping the pressure, so it will have to be a smart rush plan from Campbell and defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard this week. They need more from Marcus Davenport, Derrick Barnes, Al-Quadin Muhammad and others.
"Look, there's more to give everywhere," Campbell said. "I mean, that's the most obvious. The coaches, the players, what we do fundamentally, technique-wise, how we set it up a little bit. And so, I would anticipate us being much better this week."
Hutchinson has 16.5 sacks in 20 career games at Ford Field and has recorded at least one sack in five straight against Chicago.
TESLAA USAGE
Friday is red zone day at practice for the Detroit Lions' offense. After coming down with an illness early last week, the only practice that rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa was a full participant in was Friday's. That's why we saw him play in just three snaps, all in the red zone.
He obviously made the most of the limited opportunity by snagging a 13-yard touchdown.
"When you miss a practice, you miss more than a practice," Lions assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery said Wednesday. "You miss like three days of work because you're missing the meetings, you're missing the practice and you're missing the next day prep meeting.
"The day that he was able to be there of course red zone day and that's why he was able to get in the game in some of those things. But look forward to seeing him a lot more (Sunday vs. Chicago) with his first full week of work."
Montgomery said TeSlaa has done exactly what the coaches have asked of him since stepping foot in the Meijer Performance Center. It will be interesting to see how the Lions look to deploy his size-speed combination on Sunday.
WILLIAMS EXTENSION
Wide receiver Jameson Williams agreed to a new contract extension last week that will keep him in Detroit through the 2029 season.
"It means a lot," Williams said postgame at Lambeau Field Sunday. "I'm excited. I'm thankful to the organization and my people that got it handled and everything."
Campbell sees a bright future for Williams.
"Glad to get it done, Jamo's come a long way, and we expect a lot more out of him, too," Campbell said of getting the extension done. "It's good."
HIGH STANDARDS
Campbell was asked if he was surprised by the reaction of Lions fans to Sunday's loss in Green Bay, a game in which the Lions didn't play particularly well in any phase.
"No, because that's where the standards are at now. So, that's the nature of what we're in right now. That's a good thing, that means we've risen above what we were at one time. That's our world, man. That's our world."
Campbell said all he's focused on is Chicago and getting better.
"I mentioned this the other day, all you worry about is getting better. You really do. We have to get much better with our fundamentals and communication." He said. "Just those two things alone. And if we improve that, a whole other step above what we did last week, we're going to be much better. And then, let's get a little bit better the next week, and it'll take care of itself. It really will."
