As Dan Campbell stood in front of reporters Monday, he took off his hat, scratched his head and let out a deep sigh.
“Oh man, that’s a tough one,” he began. “I don’t know if I gave you an answer if I’d even be correct.”
The Detroit Lions head coach was trying to answer a question about how many roster spots remain up for grabs entering the final preseason game.
With just six days left in training camp and only one more fully padded practice Tuesday evening, everyone around the program knows this is make-or-break time; the roster must be cut down to 53 by Aug. 30.
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“There’s — I mean, eight to 10, somewhere in there probably.,” he finally estimated. “I mean it’s going to be tough; it’s going to be a tough deal this year.”
While cuts are “tough” from an emotional perspective every year, this year the talent component makes it all the more difficult.
“It just goes to show what Brad’s done, it’s a credit to him, the talent he’s brought in,” Campbell said of Lions general manager Brad Holmes. “We’re a lot further ahead than we were last year.”
At different times throughout the preseason, coaches have discussed the wide receivers room, the offensive and defensive lines as well as the linebackers as positions where some of the margins are razor thin.
It’s why Campbell cited the need for versatility and special teams ability as key in the evaluation process.
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“(Special teams coordinator) David Fipp is as good as they come, as a coach, but you got have some guys that that’s kind of what they do,” Campbell said. “You can’t just have a bunch of backups who they may be the next guy in on offense or defense, but they can’t play special teams because you won’t ever be good in special teams, so we look at that too.”
As far as problems go, too many talented players is a good one to have, but that doesn’t mean it’s no problem at all.
On Monday, Tim Boyle, in a competition with David Blough for the back-up quarterback position (one that Campbell called, “neck and neck” on Monday) talked about the personal element.
He said Blough is a “salt of the earth” kind of guy and probably “one of the top-five people I’ve ever met in my life.”
However due to the depth at other positions, it’s increasingly likely that the Lions keep just two quarterbacks, putting one of the backups on the endangered list.
Boyle said it’s not worth worrying much about a roster spot since he doesn’t “get paid to make those choices,” but said he’s well aware of the importance of this final week.
“I’m going to control what I can control, do well on the reps that I have and see what happens,” he said. “But it’s definitely in both of our minds, he’s in a similar spot.
“He’s been in this kind of competition before, I’ve been in it and he will tell you the same thing, it’s about taking it day by day.”
The Lions were able to rush for 174 yards on Saturday in Indianapolis, averaging 5.3 yards per carry despite sitting their entire starting offensive line. Starting left tackle Taylor Decker said it’s a sign of the standard that has been set in the room and everybody adhering to it.
Offensive line coach Hank Fraley joked he would like to be able to keep 10 or 11 guys in his room.
“This profession is all about competition and making each other better and that’s what they’re doing,” he said. “We’re not going to be able to keep everybody, I’ve been in those shoes too, I can relate a little bit.
“But there’s 31 other teams watching this film … if their shot happens to not be with us, it’s going to be with somebody and I hope every one of our guys lands a job.”
Defensive line coach Todd Wash echoed a similar sentiment. The beginning of summer and fall camp is about instruction and fundamentals and while those things will always be stressed, the closer it gets to the season, the more roster construction is evaluated.
The goal is to always take the most talented players, but each unit can only have so many. That’s when it comes down to fit.
“We’ve got to do what’s best obviously for the roster,” Wash said. “For us as position coaches we worry about game day. Are we going to have eight up, are we going to have seven up, how are we going to make that work, who’s your flip guys, who are your multiple position guys?
“So you’re seeing guys in different spots right now too so we can start to figure that out, but flexibility is huge for the defensive line game.”
The depth on the roster has improved. And while it will be tough when the team needs to make cuts, Campbell hopes it’s a buoy for the long term.
“It’s one thing to have more talent, but that talent also makes the talent around it better,” he said. “That’s the other thing, you kind of get an uptick there because you’re going against each other on a daily basis.
“When you have better talent, it makes the other talent better and it’s just highly competitive and you make bigger strides.”
Contact Tony Garcia at apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him on twitter at @realtonygarcia.