The Detroit Lions got in a little scuffle during Tuesday's practice, and head coach Dan Campbell apparently loved it. After the fighting calmed down, Campbell went on to tell his team how he got in a fight in his first practice as a rookie. He obviously wanted it to be a teaching moment about competition and tenacity, but it didn't really come out too clearly at the time.
The Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell tried to clear things up a bit during a press conference with the media, per Pro Football Talk. When asked about the scuffle between Amon-Ra St. Brown and Ifeatu Melifonwu during the Lions practice on Tuesday, Campbell admitted his excitement, claiming, “Yeah, I mean, I was fired up.” He explains his thoughts further:
“Because they were competing, man. It was good to see both of them, two young bucks, go after it. They were, uh — look, we had a pretty good idea of Amon-Ra, you know? The Sun God? What he's capable of? His aggressiveness shows up — it would show up on tape — in college. Look, this guy will mix it up. And there's things you see with Iffy in school, but I didn't quite know. And to know he's got, ‘Hey man, I'm not your punching bag,' that encouraged me, it really did.”
Campbell just loves the idea of having tough, physical football players on his Lions' roster. He doesn't condone fighting, but he wants his team to be highly competitive. The Lions head coach goes on to explain how “small scraps can make you practice better.” According to Campbell, it brings out the ultimate level of competition during practice, which (hopefully) translates to games.
Even so, Dan Campbell almost immediately turned around, saying he wants his players to “remain under control” during practice. So he's open to small fights that don't interrupt practice too much but at the same time, the players need to control themselves. A tad confusing, but this is a riddle the Lions must figure out for now.
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