The Detroit Lions are approaching rock bottom and Dan Campbell has only been on the job for six games.
The first-year head coach showed up with plenty of hype and flair, only to fall to 0-6 after an ugly 34-11 loss this past Sunday to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Following the loss he mentioned how Jared Goff needs to step up.
Here is the full quote about his quarterback:
“I will say this,” Campbell said. “I feel like he has to step up more than he has and I think he needs to help us, just like everybody else. He’s gonna need to put a little bit of weight on his shoulders here and it’s time to step up, make some throws and do some things, but he needs help.”
He is not exactly throwing Goff under the bus, but he does still call him out.
That did not sit well with NFL legend and current analyst Cris Carter, who had some strong words about what Campbell did.
Carter even shared some historical analysis for his stance.
The All-Important Locker Room
Carter explains how teams are supposed to keep things in-house, in the locker room.
Players are supposed to feel protected by their coach and Carter believes Campbell violated this trust extremely early into his tenure with the Lions.
The legendary receiver cites examples such as Terry Bradshaw with Chuck Noll and Troy Aikman with Jimmy Johnson.
Those duos had a tough-love approach, where the coach got the best out of his quarterback.
In Campbell’s case, his team is losing and his idea of motivation may have actually backfired.
Goff does indeed need to improve his play for the Lions.
He only has 1,505 passing yards through six games and a total of seven touchdowns.
Yet Campbell did note that Goff needs some help as well.
The head coach can run the team as he sees fit.
However, someone like Carter seeing a problem with this strategy is worth noting because he was gathering thoughts from others around the league.
If Campbell is losing the locker room in Week 6, his time in Detroit is already doomed to fail.
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