NFL training camp is underway, and the kickoff of the 2021 season is just weeks away.
Hope is eternal in the summer.
And now an NFL coach used one word to describe his team that will make your head turn.
Detroit Lions first-year head coach Dan Campbell is already a media sensation.
All head coaches “win” the introductory press conference, but Campbell blew fans and reporters out of the water with a captivating intro speech about how his team would bite kneecaps off if that’s what it took to win games.
WELCOME TO THE MCDC ERA DETROIT pic.twitter.com/80TFcWwSHa
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 21, 2021
No one expects much from the Lions in 2021.
Las Vegas sportsbooks project the Lions to have the lowest win total in the league at 5 games.
The team traded franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for their underachieving quarterback Jared Goff in a move that signaled a reboot is underway.
But when Campbell addressed the media at the start of camp, the head coach expressed optimism about the upcoming season because of the character makeup of the roster.
Campbell claimed there were no “turds” on the team, and everyone had a lunch pail mentality.
“I think we’re fortunate because I do believe we have some talented players on this team that have grit, and that’s a good thing, you know? I said this when I walked in — there’s a number of guys that were here, and I think (Matt) Patricia and (Bob) Quinn did a great job of, there’s no turds here. There’s no bad guys. These guys work now. We don’t have lazy (guys). We don’t have those (lazy) guys, and that’s a good thing,” Campbell stated.
The Detroit Lions are the least successful team in the NFL.
Going back to when the NFL staged the first Super Bowl in 1966, the Lions have won a grand total of one playoff game in the last 54 seasons, a divisional playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys in 1991.
Even the NFL’s pictures of franchise futility the New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns did better.
The Lions may not be much on the field this year, but Campbell should at least entertain in the postgame press conferences.
Sports with Balls will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.