A look at what Detroit Lions players and coaches are doing during their bye week, as they wait for the Division Round of the playoffs.
“We’ll come back Friday and do a full game, all out, three hours, full hitting, goal line, short yardage.”
That was Dan Campbell’s initial answer when asked how the Detroit Lions players and coaches would spend their bye week. And for a second, it was easy to believe him. We’ve all seen the “Hard Knocks” videos of Campbell insisting to his players in training camp that the intense practices were good for the team in the long run.
But for a team that has been playing for 13 weeks straight, even Campbell knows the value of rest this time of year. So as the Lions enjoy their earned bye week to the Divisional Round of the playoffs, the players are going to get some time to rest—but not completely.
“Just sit back for a minute and it’s really one of those things where for the players, you just want to keep the engine idling, that’s probably the best way to say it,” Campbell said. “So, you don’t want to turn it off, but let’s just leave it in idle and really tomorrow (Wednesday) they’re going to have off, we’re going to bring them in Thursday, we’re going to go good-on-good, practice. Most of it will be situations, end of half, end of game.”
After Thursday, the players get a three-day weekend to be with family and rest.
It’s important, too, for the coaches to get their time off. The regular season is often spent with sleepless nights of preparing game plans, crunching film, and searching for any other edge they can find for the upcoming matchup. With Detroit’s next opponent unknown at the moment, Campbell is sending the coaches home for a long weekend, as well.
“My plan is to give them off three days this weekend, refresh, get your sleep, get your rest,” Campbell said. “We’re going to know hopefully by Sunday night, and then we come in and we’ll know the opponent. Then we are full force on that, full game plan, we’ll know who we face.”
For a pair of Lions coaches, it won’t be as relaxing as others. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn are already booked solid for head coaching interviews this week—with each of them scheduled to talk to four different teams over the next three days. And while that may prevent them from getting the rest and relaxation they deserve, Campbell was quick to point out it’s a much better situation than last year, when both interviewed for jobs in the middle of playoff game planning.
“This time last year, they’re trying to do it, we didn’t have a bye or anything and so you’re trying to get things—they’re trying to figure out ways to fit this in,” Campbell said. “And you’d love to have the opportunity to go to the next thing, but you also have an obligation with the team you’re with. That’s impossible, that’s an impossible task.
“Whereas this, we put this game to bed, we have the players in today, we don’t know who we’re playing yet, it’s time to kind of rest, relax for now, a little bit of that focus for those guys can go to, ‘Okay, here’s the interviews that I’m getting ready for, let me look at their rosters, let me figure out what’s going on over at those other teams, who I can call, who I can –’ I just think that it’s really good for everybody.”
Campbell, himself, is making sure his batteries are recharged.
“I plan on getting out of here a little bit,” Campbell said. “I’ll have stuff with me and there will be some little things that I’m working on, things I know that I can do better, get better at, things that I want to look at, do my own checklist as it pertains to us like over the last call it five weeks, six weeks. But other than that, I want to spend time with my family and just sit back for a minute, and just charge back up and be ready to go.”
Well earned, coach.
