You can already hear the whispers around Allen Park, the mumblings and the grumblings.
Oh-and-17.
And this was just from the phalanx of media gathered for Wednesday’s news conference with Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell. Sorry, but enough of us covered this team in 2008 to still be triggered by a winless start at the quarter pole.
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Before I go any further, let’s get this out of the way. The Lions aren’t going 0-17.
Is it possible? Sure it is. But it isn’t likely, barring a barrage of simultaneous catastrophic injuries to Jared Goff, T.J. Hockenson, Jack Fox and both running backs.
But we’re all creatures of habit. And even though there’s an extra game on the NFL schedule this year, for years to come we’ll still be breaking down the season in “quarters.” And after the first “quarter” of this season, only the Lions and the Jacksonville Jaguars are winless.
Frankly, I don’t give a damn about 0-17. Or 1-16 or 2-15. Other than securing a better draft pick, there’s not much difference to me between no wins or a couple here or there.
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What I do care about is watching the Lions grow and learn from their mistakes in the first year of a rebuild.
There’s only so much the Lions can do about their talent and health during the season. They are who they are and they have who why have.
But the Lions can control how they handle the stress of losing, dealing with mounting injuries and a talent deficit.
That comes from leadership. Coaches and players alike have to provide the leadership that keeps a team on track.
“There again, it’s about building our foundation, man,” Campbell said Wednesday. “It’s about finding those guys that we know we can count on and lean on and we think that can help us win down the road, not just now, and how quickly can they help us win now, but down the road and you can’t ever lose sight of that.
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“And with that, as long as guys are coming back in to work and putting their best foot forward and they’re a sponge to knowledge and they want to get better and they want to help, they want to win, they want to contribute and they’re not anchors to our program, they’re pulling us down and they’re negative and they’ve got — they’re always searching for an answer, it’s somebody else’s fault — which I think we’ve done a pretty good job of. I don’t feel like we have those guys around here.”
You can see the losses starting to affect Campbell, who seems understandably more muted these days. When was the last time he uttered a bon mot? The kneecaps and racing helmets have been replaced by grindstones and hard hats. Because this is the job. Building the foundation, man.
And Campbell knows, as a former player, that ultimately that leadership has to come from the players. Because no NFL team is ever going to be any good if it relies on coaches to lead players around by the nose.
“That’s what we’ve said all along is eventually, when we get this where we want it, the players are the ones who are regulating this,” he said. “They do it themselves and they know what’s acceptable and unacceptable. And now we’ve given them the guidelines and now they handle it themselves.
“It is important and you want to get there. But until they do take it over and they’re able to make it their own and get all of the pieces where we want them and everybody in the right mindset, that’s on us as a coaching staff to have to stay on it and continue to lead them.”
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This wasn’t just a talking point from a coach, or a high-minded goal written on a whiteboard in Campbell’s office. He named names, when I asked him who his leaders were.
“Look, Michael Brockers is one,” he said. “Alex Anzalone is one. I think guys like (Jason) Cabinda who’ve kind of been here but they’re staples, they just go back to work and do their thing. I think we’ve got a ton of guys that are that way. I think Goff. I think Kalif Raymond. I think Dean Marlowe.
“So I think there are a number of guys because they know what winning looks like, they’ve been there and they don’t accept it. And I think we’ve got a lot of young guys that they follow their lead. So, yeah, I think those are guys you’re looking at.”
Even with all to those names and all that experience, Campbell admitted the time hasn’t come for players to fully take charge of this team. Frankly, there’s no way that could be possible at this point.
“We’re not quite there,” he said, “but we’ll get there.”
I wouldn’t give the Lions a very good chance of beating the Vikings on the road this week. I don’t think it’s out of the question, with Dalvin Cook clearly not himself as he plays through an ankle injury. But the Lions are losing key players at an alarming rate and lack the depth to make up for it.
And that’s where leadership has to play a role. There must be calm in the storm. I was reminded of what Goff said Sunday about veteran leadership after the 24-14 loss in Chicago, a game that could have gone the other way with a few more plays and some better decisions — not unlike the Lions’ other three losses.
“But a lot of teams you’ll look back and it will tank early and you’ll be done,” he said. “And I don’t believe that’s the case with our group at all. But you have to be intentional about it. You have to be intentional about not letting it go there. And I know our coaching staff is. And I know Dan’s as energetic about everything as anyone I’ve ever met.
“So we have the pieces, we have the people to keep it positive. We just have to be intentional about it and make those plays in practice translate to the game.”
Maybe that work will pay off this week with a win, or the next week or sometime soon. What’s more important than victories is consistency of effort. Because it’s OK for a building process to go slowly. The only thing the Lions can’t afford is a collapse.
Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.