DETROIT – Dan Campbell has recently started to take the football first when the Detroit Lions win the opening coin toss, and that’s by design.
Most coaches, including Campbell, generally defer their choice to the second half when they win the coin toss because it gives them the ability to plan around getting the ball first out of the break.
But in each of the past two games, Campbell won the toss and took the ball. The offense didn’t score against the Denver Broncos, but Jared Goff led the Lions down the field for a touchdown last weekend against the Minnesota Vikings.
Campbell was asked about that change of philosophy during Thursday’s press conference.
“(I thought), ‘Let’s try something new,’” Campbell said. “Let’s go another route here. Some of it goes into the, ‘Well, third quarter, are we better off getting our defense out there and they give us a better start, and our offense is better suited to start the game out?’
“So it was just, ‘Let’s change it up a little bit.’ It’s been good for us the last two weeks. Against Denver, we didn’t score, but we moved it until it was our own errors, but it’s just -- it’s been a good thing.
“Our offense has been pretty good, especially on the road. I do feel good (that) our guys don’t get frazzled. It’s an experienced group, so the crowd noise getting the ball first -- I feel like we’re in a really good place, Goff’s in a good place, to where we’re, for the most part, unaffected by that.
“Most of the time I’d like to defer, but I just felt like these last two games, let’s give this a go and change it up and see what it feels like.”
Campbell said this is a decision he analyzes game-to-game, so it’s not a guarantee that he’ll take the football if the Lions win the toss Saturday in Dallas.
But if they do, I’d expect him put the ball in his offense’s hands once again.