The Detroit Lions got a glimpse of their backup quarterbacks in the preseason opener, and head coach Dan Campbell has realistic expectations of them.
After the first series of Friday night’s preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons, it was the Tim Boyle and David Blough show under center for the Detroit Lions as the two battle to be the No. 2 quarterback.
The first preseason game round, however tentatively, went to Blough. Not because he was great, but because he was a little more interesting and seems to have a bit more to offer overall. A bar set at Boyle is a low one, yes, but Blough edged over it against the Falcons.
After the game, head coach Dan Campbell gave his assessment of Boyle and Blough’s performances.
Via Lions Wire:
"Both of them, I thought made some really good plays, man. But then there’s a couple of these plays that leave a bitter taste in your mouth,”Certainly, the interception that Tim had, he didn’t quite lay out in frontenough. And then the snap – the exchange there, the critical play there in the red zone by Blough. Those two hurt you man and that’s kind of what all this is about at the end of the day, you know. You do a lot of good things, but those will bite you.But look, I thought they ran the huddle well, I thought they made some really good throws….and they had command of the huddle. So all of those were good and certainly something to build off of. I’m not displeased with those guys, at all. You just wish you would have had those couple plays and so do they…"
Dan Campbell has realistic expectations of Lions backup quarterbacks
Campbell saw what Boyle had to offer as a starter in three games last season the same way everyone else did. And it’s telling that Blough never saw meaningful action when Boyle was working his way back from a preseason injury, and Jared Goff was struggling early last season. Yet, no fruitful effort was made to upgrade the situation behind Goff this offseason.
"I’m not displeased with those guys, at all.”"
That’s the punchline quote from Campbell here. It also confirms the obvious–the head coach’s expectations are so low for Boyle and Blough that he can’t be “displeased” with their performance. Not that his expectations should be anything but low, but it almost seems as though Campbell thinks harsh criticism of those guys is not worthwhile. It’s not as if they can change what they are.
Getting down to it, the door remains open for someone to be added to the Lions’ backup quarterback competition as roster cutdowns start.