The health and continued progress of linebacker Jack Campbell is still very much on the minds of coaches and players at the Meijer Performance Center this week.
"There's no easy way to do this, but you also have to acknowledge it and let's talk about it and make sure we know. But I also know they're not postponing this game," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said this week of preparing for Sunday's road contest in Miami against the Dolphins.
"And I know the only way to honor Jack, we know the only way to really honor Jack and what he really wants is to make sure that we're locked in and ready to go."
Veteran linebacker Derrick Barnes has taken that message to heart.
"This is for him, man," Barnes said. "One of our keys to victory is preparing to play like No. 46."
Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard echoed that sentiment. His message all week has been to prepare and play like No. 46.
"Everything we do. Every meeting I've told the unit. Every walkthrough. Every play. You all know how Jack prepares. You all know how he plays," Sheppard said. "The way you honor him is to wipe those tears from your eyes and make sure we prepare and play like him. So, that's the thing we look forward to this week."
Barnes sees firsthand how hard Campbell works and prepares. He's learned to appreciate that even more this week, preparing to step in along with veteran Malcolm Rodriguez to handle the defensive calls and checks.
Barnes has studied before walkthroughs and practice, and then goes home and makes the calls to Sheppard and linebackers coach Shaun Dion Hamilton.
"I was sitting on my chair the other day scrambling through my notes and making sure I got everything on point and a little nervous because when you lead a group of men you have to be somebody they can look to when things are going bad and sometimes when things are going good," Barnes said.
"I told (Trevor) Nowaske and (Rodriguez), I said, 'Now I know why Jack was sitting at his locker looking like he was overwhelmed.' But no. That just shows how much he cares for the game and wants to do everything in his power to help us. I have to obviously carry that on."
Sheppard said both Barnes and Rodriguez have made the calls before and both have been Campbell's backups in that regard all season.
"It's time for the brothers to step up," Sheppard said. "To be quite frank with you, I raised these other guys who's about to play -- (Rodriguez) and (Barnes). Those are my little brothers and they know the standards.
"They both have worn the green dot before, so this isn't like a first-time ordeal for either one of them because that load might get shared. We're still working through that. But I'm confident in either one of them and even a guy like (Joe) Bachie. He's going to have a role in this game and we trust him wholeheartedly."
Barnes said making sure everyone is in the right place for the defense to be successful is his top priority this week.
It's something Barnes is taking seriously this week as the Lions take on a Miami offense that's struggled to consistently score points (16.7 ppg) but is 11th in rushing (123.3) and ranked in the top 10 converting on third down (55.6 percent).
"Your preparation is a little different," Barnes said. "You have to be on the same key as the defensive coordinator. Going into games you have to literally know everything he's thinking."
VAKI'S DEVELOPMENT
Scottie Montgomery currently holds the title of associate head coach and wide receivers coach on Campbell's coaching staff, but he started as the assistant head coach and running backs coach in 2023 and 2024 when Sione Vaki first came into the league in 2024 via the NFL Draft. Montgomery was Vaki's first NFL running backs coach and has kept close tabs on his development since moving rooms to work with the receivers starting last season.
Montgomery said he was proud watching Vaki rush for 65 yards on 11 carries in the win vs. the Vikings.
"What you're seeing is the maturation process of a guy that has all the skillset has all the tools but came in with a lack of experience," Montgomery said Wednesday. "One of the things a lot of people don't know about (Vaki) is that he played a lot of defensive football in college and didn't play very much (running) back."
It's always been about trying to find enough reps at running back to let him see the fits in the run game and adjust to the speed and quick decision-making that has to happen from that position at this level. Montgomery said he was most impressed with some of the reads Vaki made last week turning possible small gains into chunk runs.
"I was pretty emotional on the sideline with him," Montgomery said. "Because I know what it takes, I know how hard he's worked. I know some of his setbacks. Sometimes when you're playing behind two great backs you're getting judged by everything they've done and not your continual development.
That sometimes can be overbearing and a little bit of a load on you.
"It had me emotional to hear 'Vaki. Vaki. Vaki.' From the stands. That felt pretty good. I can only imagine what it felt like for him."
The next step, according to Montgomery, is to get Vaki more involved in the passing game because he thinks Vaki can be a weapon in that part of the offense too.
Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said it was terrific to see Vaki affect the game last week and hopes that's a trend we see more often moving forward.
"You always want your second running back to touch the ball and affect the game for a number of different reasons," Petzing said Thursday. "But then as you start having success and you see his energy and his momentum, there's definitely that like, 'Oh, we're rolling a little bit. I've got to keep this guy going.'
"And I think he brought that spark a little bit, just the way he was finishing runs, running through contact. You could see him getting up with a little bit of motion. I think the fans got behind him a little bit. And I can't say that didn't lead to another carrier or two. I'd be lying if I said that, but I thought he did a really nice job."
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Punter Jack Fox was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against Minnesota in Week 8.
Fox totaled 186 yards on four punts (46.5 avg.) with no returns, a long of 54 yards and three punts inside the Vikings' 20-yard line. Fox is currently fifth in net punting average (43.7) this season and has the second-longest average hang time at 4.7 seconds.
"Yeah, I thought he did a great job. He had some big punts. We had the field punts, and he really hung the ball up there and got the fair catches," Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said.
"And then he had the plus-50 punts or kind of fringe area where he hit the ball down the 10-yard line. I thought he controlled field position and he also controlled the returner. You're on the other side, you've got a great player, you want to get him started, you want to get the ball in his hands, but ultimately the gunners and the punter kind of eliminate that play and that's what the really good players do. And he did that in that game for sure."
