A compelling run on HBO’s Hard Knocks has thrust the Detroit Lions into the spotlight. With the regular season days away, Dan Campbell’s young roster have high hopes after a dismal 2021 campaign, when they won just three games, the latest episode in an extraordinary run of mediocrity that has seen the Lions fail to win a playoff game since the 1991 season.
General manager Brad Holmes chose against making any splashy signings in free agency, and the regime is counting on continuity breeding better results after going 3-13-1 last season.
The focus appears to be on balancing established veterans with younger prospects to build on encouraging signs from last season, not least the 37-30 victory over Green Bay on the final day.Jared Goff once again leads the Lions at quarterback with pressure growing on him to rebound from a so-so year as a salary cap hit north of $30m looms large.
Campbell’s profane praise of Goff in practice – “You’re on fire right now. I’m telling you, man, I feel ... fuck”– in the penultimate episode of Hard Knocks is what you would expect when the cameras are rolling.