Last year, the Lions were 30 minutes from their first Super Bowl apperance. But their 17-point lead evaporated, and their best shot to win a championship in decades disappeared.
Not surprisingly, as he prepares to take his team back to San Francisco, Lions coach Dan Campbell is still haunted by the loss.
“Just like my second year in the league, we go to the Super Bowl and get smashed by Baltimore,” Campbell told reporters on Saturday, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com. “I won’t ever forget that either. So those stick with you. We just didn’t do enough. You learn from every experience. Unfortunately, that’s the best way to learn is from the losses. It really is.”
But what has he really learned? Campbell still seems to cling to being aggressive for the sake of being aggressive, without pausing to be strategic for the sake of being strategic.
Last year’s lead collapsed because he eschewed a field goal try (which would have restored a three-score lead) and went for it on fourth and short. When it didn’t work, the door was opened for the 49ers to take the game from the Lions.
This year, Campbell has done the same thing, on multiple occasions. But there’s a line between gutsy and reckless. Sometimes, Campbell is on the wrong side of it.
When Campbell arrived in Detroit, the Lions desperately needed a culture change. And his kneecap-biting attitude has done the trick. At some point, however, getting to the top of the mountain will require modulating the usual approach and making a conservative decision aimed at the primary goal of ensuring the Lions will have more points than the opponent when the clock strikes zero.
If he doesn’t, Campbell might end up with another loss to be forever haunted by.
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