I gotta say, what's really been impressive to me is just how well Campbell has turned things around but also how patient Detroit has been with him.
Same here, but I'd also add that I'm shocked by how quickly he did it and how well he stayed under the radar. 3 years ago, the Detroits were the worst team in the NFL; today I think they're the best. And nobody saw it coming.
I don't think I've ever seen a team turn around like that, so completely and so fast. They did in less than 3 years what Chicago has been trying to do for 30, and is still not one step closer than they were 30 years ago.
There've been some discussions here lately about how Chicago could change the culture of their tream from a culture of losers to a culture of winners - well, this is how. This right here. Ownership picks the right GM, gives him the tools and the time he needs, and the GM picks the right coach. And gives
him the tools and the time he needs.
The coach picks the right assistants, and the GM gives those coaches the right players, and the next thing you know the team has completely turned around.
As impressive as it is to see happen, I have to say I'd rather be watching it happen in a different division. Different conference, too, for that matter. Because it looks like Detroit is going to make it really hard to get out of the North and the NFC for some years to come.
It's amazing how people don't realize what goes into game planning. On every play, the defense has a play caller, and on offense, an O-lineman, usually the center, calls the line assignments based on the defense he sees, and the QB calls options within the play, or even changes the play.
When you break down all the things the coaches and the players have to process in the short time between plays, it's almost incredible that they can navigate their team through a game at all (one step at a time) in the time they have.
From the whistle to the next snap, the offense has no more than 40 seconds (sometimes 25) to evaluate the result of the previous play, and the down and distance, and figure out what is working and what isn't... call the next play, get the right personnel package on the field and the previous play's personnel off, count to 11 and then do it again to be sure... make sure every player is up to speed on the play and their responsibilities... and in fact, this really has to be done in 15-20 seconds, to give the offense time to set properly and efficiently.
And, while all this is going on, the defense is running down a similar list, on the same general timetable.
There's a great deal of detail being attended to between every play, and very little time to do it. And what makes it even more imnpressive is that it all needs to done nearly perfectly, every time, 120-150 times a game. If a team screws up even once, it can literally mean the entire game, because the other team is ready and waiting to take full advantage of it.
