He probably wasn’t serious, but Lions head coach Dan Campbell said he scouted the Minnesota Vikings just like a fan might on Monday night.
Fresh off a win over the Washington Commanders in Week 2, the Detroit Lions and head coach Dan Campbell will travel to take on the division rival Minnesota Vikings in Week 3. With a new head coach and new schemes in place, any way to watch or scout the Vikings could be viable for a game so early in the season.
The Vikings played Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, and lost 24-7. So as much as it might have value without being “All-22” game film, the Lions’ coaches could get some more base-level knowledge about what Minnesota is doing by watching the national television broadcast.
Campbell made his regular appearance on 97.1 The Ticket’s “Stoney and Jansen Show” Tuesday morning. He talked about the work of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and offensive line coach Hank Fraley leading up to and in the win over Washington.
Then, when the Vikings came up as a topic, the Lions’ head coach did not disappoint.
Dan Campbell said he “scouted” the Vikings like a fan might
Via Will Burchfield of 97.1 The Ticket’s website.
"How did Dan Campbell scout Vikings-Eagles on MNF?Normally, like any fan would. I fell over backwards in my chair drunk after the second half, I couldn’t even take notes anymore. Woke up, couldn’t read my notes. But I’m back in this morning, took some aspirin, we’re good.”"
Campbell was surely joking, and he did offer some genuine insight about what he expects from the Vikings coming off their loss Monday night and what Sunday’s atmosphere at US Bank Stadium will be like.
But Campbell continues to not take himself as seriously as many other NFL head coaches do when asked inherently football-y questions. He’s unpolished, quotable, relatable and at times very funny (see the film session after a running back drill gone bad on “Hard Knocks”).