Amon-Ra St. Brown and his Detroit Lions: Arguably the best worst team in the NFL

Amon-Ra St. Brown and the Detroit Lions are doing poorly on paper with a 0-7 record. But many things about the current shakeup give hope for better times ahead. Like, for example, a coach who scores with mentality and courage.

Munich – Dan Campbell did not disappoint. He delivered. Again. Because verbally, no one can fool the 45-year-old so quickly.

“I’m frustrated like everyone else. But that also gives me motivation and anger. That’s just the way I am, man,” the Detroit Lions coach said at a press conference on Monday after the next defeat. The coach of the only franchise that has yet to win a game doesn’t let misunderstandings get in the way.

He hasn’t from the start, when he called for his players to bite off opponents’ kneecaps when he took office in January. He himself was in no way inferior to that when he said he would sacrifice his arm immediately for a Super Bowl victory.

Pithy words that are supposed to stand for mentality.

Detroit in October: bleak and bitter

Well, the Lions are 0-7 just under ten months later, which is bleak. Bitter. And in a results-oriented sport, a little embarrassing too. When Amon-Ra St Brown was selected by the Lions in the 2021 draft, he must have known what to expect, because it was equally clear even then that there would be upheaval. And those can hurt.

And there’s no question that 2021 hurts a lot, even though Detroit has seen many grey seasons and a whole three playoff appearances since 2000.

That’s where patience is required, thick skin. Perseverance. And a coach like Campbell.

Because all this spurs him on. “It makes me try harder. Maybe I’m stubborn,” Campbell said.

You can’t let yourself become numb, he stressed. “You can’t. Because I’m not. It just makes me more angry. And it only motivates me to get out of this mess. I’m made for trouble,” Campbell said. “I’ve been to the highest highs and I’ve been to the lowest lows. So I’m ready for it and I’m not giving up. I’m not giving up on any of these guys, I’m not listening to the talk about lack of talent, I’m not buying any of it.”

In the same breath, he praised the league’s second-youngest team (25.2 years), adding St. Brown, for whom it is unquestionably a special challenge as a rookie on a team in transition, alongside talents such as Jerry Jacobs, AJ Parker and De’Andre Swift.

Amon-Ra St. Brown paler of late

Lately, the young wide receiver’s performances have been paler than they were earlier in the season. But, “The young players are getting better and better. That’s encouraging. And that’s going to pay massive dividends sooner or later,” Campbell said.

So you face a team that, despite the upheaval, is also being beaten well below its value. For what at first glance looks like a team without a chance, driven more or less ineffectively by a coach who himself seems to have fallen a little out of time, is in fact a team that is clearly better than the table indicates.

And Campbell himself has surprised and impressed with aggression, risk-taking and creative playcalling. So the Lions were competitive in five of the seven games, losing two games only in the last second. Then a tearful Campbell stood in front of the press and searched for answers.

It was also bitter in the last 19:28 against the Rams. The Lions recovered the ball after a touchdown on the first play with a surprising onside kick.

After a fake punt, it was suddenly 10-0 before former quarterback Matthew Stafford could even step on the field.

Fans are celebrating the coach who is a breath of fresh air in the Motor City. “Dan Campbell is the great bastard the NFL needs. He’s desperate, hungry and wears his feelings on his sleeve. Who the hell wouldn’t want to give their best for this man?” wrote one follower on Twitter.

His inventiveness is also coming through. There are a lot of things going on in Detroit that nurture the tender little plant of hope for better athletic times.

But even in the Rams game, the team that works its butt off for the coach still remained hapless. When at 19:17 in the final quarter it initially looked like the first win, Stafford’s Jared Goff threw an interception at 19:25.

When do the Lions deliver?

And what does Campbell do? Exactly, “I would blame that more on me – on design. Or us, or whatever. Don’t blame it on him.”

Coach delivers. All that’s missing is for his team to start doing it too.