All eyes are on head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard to fix what has been ailing the Detroit Lions since the start of the season. The Lions have the worst defense in the league, which has caused the fanbase to turn against Sheppard. So far, Campbell has stood behind Sheppard and reiterated that the team has enough to turn things around.
Campbell's tone didn't change as the calls to replace Sheppard grew after the embarrassing defensive performance in Week 4 against the Panthers. He took responsibility and said that he has to be better to bring this group out of the mess they are in. He added that there are still things they can try defensively to improve.
Dan Campbell's reluctance to keep Kelvin Sheppard accountable could cost the Lions the season
On Tuesday, Campbell doubled down on his trust in Sheppard. Even after some time has passed since Sunday Night Football, Campbell is still adamant in his belief that the Lions will be better without having to resort to a defensive coordinator change.
In his appearance on 97.1 The Ticket, Campbell said that he understands why fans expect a change at defensive coordinator, but showed no inclination that he is ready to go there.
Campbell said, "I believe in Kelvin Sheppard, and I believe we've got a lot of meat on the bone with this defense right now. Like I say, we're going to continue to tweak," per Josh Helmer's summary for Lions Wire.
He then added, "We've got more things that we can do with what we have here. There are different calls. We've got to be more disciplined, and then we're going to get some guys more opportunities to play here. We're going to find the right recipe."
This has been a continuation of a frustrating trend for Campbell. He consistently talks about the need to be more disciplined. He discusses tweaks and adjustments. He tries to keep a cool head and talk about how there is little need to panic.
All of this is fine if fans can see improvement. Campbell has been saying the same stuff since Week 1, but the defense hasn't improved one bit. If anything, Week 4 was the worst defensive performance of the season.
The Lions can't afford to be any more patient. They already missed the playoffs last season in Sheppard's first season in charge. The defense wasn't particularly impressive. Now, there needs to be some sense of urgency, yet Campbell is treating this season as a developmental campaign rather than one with Super Bowl aspirations.
In his appearance, Campbell went so far as to praise the fact that the defense got two stops in the fourth quarter. Finding ways to complement a disastrous performance is simply setting the bar too low.
By desperately trying to protect your coaching staff, Campbell isn't setting a high enough standard for this team. And if things don't begin to change starting in Week 5, this could cost the Lions the season.
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