Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell has never been afraid to say things like it is, and that certainly applies for his post-game press conference after the Lions’ 24-17 preseason loss to the Miami Dolphins. When asked if the backup quarterback job is now Kyle Allen’s to lose over Hendon Hooker, Campbell didn’t mince words.
“Yeah, I mean, he’s playing better, he’s playing better,” Campbell said.“ So I would say that right now, if you’re saying—if you had to go in with the (QB) two right now, ‘Who would you trust more?’ Yeah, I would trust Kyle more because he’s proven more after these two games.
“But I’m still—we’re still going to coach Hooker up. We’re still going to see what’s there and see if we can get him better. I mean, we still got a little bit here.”
While that leaves just enough space for Hooker to work his way back into the conversation, it will be a tough climb for the third-year quarterback. Hooker has yet to lead the Lions on a touchdown drive in the preseason, and his only scoring drive came after a Dolphins muffed punt that had Detroit start on Miami’s 27-yard line. It ended in a 33-yard field goal.
Hooker’s best opportunity on Saturday came at the end of the game. He had a chance to run a two-minute drill and successfully moved the Lions into the red zone. But on a bubble screen, blitzing cornerback Ethan Robinson got in the passing lane and made an incredible leaping catch for the interception.
“It’s frustrating,” Hooker said of his lack of rhythm Saturday afternoon. “I mean, me just as a competitor, I want to jump right in there and get into my flow. It’s different coming out. As soon as you come out of halftime, it’s a kickoff, so I get like 10 balls to really get into that motion that I was in a groove during warmups, trying to get that back. But actually, finally getting into my groove and pushing the ball down the field is something that I wanted to show.”
Despite how Hooker’s final drive ended, Campbell was pleased with how he ran the two-minute drill.
“I thought that was good. Took him awhile to get going, but once we got in an end-of-game setting, I appreciated the fact that—yes, we got to score, yes we’re under two minutes, but the ball went where it was supposed to by coverage,” Campbell said. “He didn’t try to force anything. He was in it. He’s calmed everything down enough to know that, man, we don’t have to force it, just take what’s there, let the players do the rest of the work for you.
“And then that’s—it’s just one of those things that happened at the end of the game and that’s tough. He’s going to throw it and then the kid makes the play over there and it’s tough circumstances.”
But the real story from the past two weeks has been how Allen has been playing. He’s had total command of the offense whether it was with the third team (vs. Falcons) or second team (vs. Dolphins). Combined, Allen has completed 21-of-25 for 244 yards and four touchdowns for a passer rating of 146.9.
“He’s got really good command of the offense, he communicates very clearly, he doesn’t get frazzled, he doesn’t worry about anything,” Campbell said. “If he does something that didn’t (go) quite right or he makes a mistake, like, he doesn’t get frazzled. He’s onto the next play, which all of us appreciate that. So, he’s done a good job, I do have faith in him.”
Allen, too, is starting to fell that confidence in the offense and chemistry with the players around him. He’s now thrown two touchdowns to both Isaac TeSlaa and Jackson Meeks in the past two weeks.
“I feel like I have answers on every play, I know where to go with the ball versus any coverage, and I just feel confident that whatever play is called, that whatever they’re driving, I’m going to know what to get to,” Allen said. “It’s a dense offense like we talk about. There’s a lot of stuff they do a good job of coaching, knowing where to go with the ball and getting guys in the right spot.”
There’s still time for Hooker to turn things around, and Campbell admitted they want to increase his opportunities this upcoming week—the final week of the preseason. Still, time is quickly running out for Hooker.
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