The Detroit Lions could be without veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone this weekend against the Arizona Cardinals.
In Week 2, the veteran linebacker was struck in the helmet directly by teammate Derrick Barnes, and is currently in the league's concussion protocol.
Anzalone is a defensive captain who has a complete grasp of Aaron Glenn's defensive scheme.
Should the 29-year-old have to miss an extended period of time, Jack Campbell, Barnes and others are expected to continue their solid start to the season.
"Yeah, Jack's proven himself. Jack continues to get better," Dan Campbell said, when asked by Lions OnSI about the former first-round draft pick potentially replacing Anzalone this week. "He understands the defense. He communicates well. He's gotten better in the pass game, he's aggressive in the run game. Runs coast-to-coast. All-out effort, goes after the football, so I'm confident. Anytime you lose someone like Alex, if he's not able to go, it's gonna hurt. I mean, Alex is a helluva player for us, and so we'll just take it as it comes with that. But, I've got all the confidence in the world with Jack, and really all those guys."
Campbell expressed that Anzalone must do whatever possible to care of himself, as head and neck injuries are monitored and treated carefully. Should he be tasked with being the next man up, the confidence is there in the coaching staff and the roster that the unit can still execute at a high level.
"Not much, honestly. We've got a really solid room, and obviously, (Anzalone) Anzo's gotta take care of himself personally. On a personal level, head and neck stuff's never something to mess with," Campbell said after practice Wednesday. "Just with the other guys, just keep doing what we've been doing. Obviously, if we don't have Anzo, others are gonna have to step up. It's the NFL, and you're gonna have to do that sometimes."
Experience last year with Anzalone out of action
Much is made of who wears the green dot, but Campbell and others have plenty of experience relaying the defensive calls to the rest of the defense.
"Honestly, man, the green dot, it is like the signification of the leader on the defense," Campbell noted. "But, when you're out there, the green dot's getting the call, and as a collective unit as linebackers, we do a good job of just echoing the call. When Anzo's on play 12 of a drive, he's out of breath, I can step up and call, or (Derrick Barnes) D-Barnes can go call the call. I feel like everyone kind of has experience with that.
"Last year, too, we played in New Orleans without him because he had his kid. So, preparing that way, I guess, but at the end of the day nothing's gonna change. We're gonna be the same defense, we're gonna rely on playing hard and playing with great effort. Just relying on each other honestly, and I feel like, the linebacker room, we have a lot of great veterans in there. So, we're in great hands."
MIKE linebacker's role
Campbell enjoys playing the position of linebacker due to the ability to "do it all" on the defensive side of the field.
The MIKE linebacker is tasked with many different responsibilities, which gives Campbell appreciation for the position.
"Gotta know a lot, I'll tell you that much. I feel like linebackers as a whole, you've got to know a lot. You've got to be able to play in the box. Teams are gonna try to isolate you outside of the box, so you kind of have to be the best of both worlds," said Campbell. "You've got to be able to stop the run, you've got to stop the pass, especially nowadays. It's a little bit of everything. I guess that's what I feel like linebackers appreciate about the position. You pretty much get to do it all on the defensive side."
Explosive plays bother young linebacker
Against the Buccaneers, it is hard to argue the defense didn't do enough to help the team win.
Unfortunately, explosive plays, most notably a deep touchdown to Chris Godwin and a scrambling touchdown from quarterback Baker Mayfield, ended up being too much too overcome for Detroit's offense.
"Just the explosive plays are what bothers me. It's just tough because we played really good, and then you just give up one play," said Campbell. "You can never look in the past, you just keep going forward. Now, we know we've got to win even more to put ourselves in a place to win, because we have a great offense and we have a great special teams unit. So defensively, we've just got to limit points and keep ourselves in games."
Detroit's next opponent, the Arizona Cardinals, is coming off a performance in which it scored 41 points against the Los Angeles Rams.
"The offense we're about to see, it's gonna be a challenge, and it's something we're excited to get to have the opportunity to go against," Campbell said. "But, at the same time, just respecting what they do. They have competitors over there, man, and I'm just excited to get out there Sunday and just let it rip."
