The criticism of how aggressive Dan Campbell is in going for it fourth down can be easy, but Tedy Bruschi stretched too far to lay his down.
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To paraphrase what Al Michaels said on the Prime Video broadcast last Thursday night, there’s thin line between crazy and genius. Dan Campbell straddles that line for some “football” people, going for it on fourth down more than any other coach in the NFL during his tenure as Detroit Lions’ head coach, now deep into four seasons .
There are people across the opinion spectrum when it comes to Campbell’s aggressiveness, and some of the negative or skeptical opinions are well-reasoned. Then some of those negative or skeptical opinions go too far that way.
Tedy Bruschi goes to a lame extreme to criticize Dan Campbell
On “Sunday NFL Countdown” Sunday morning, ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi went all the way in to critique Campbell’s aggressiveness.
“Give me Dan Campbell on the field with me, I’ll take it. Don’t put Dan Campbell on my sideline. I just don’t know, I don’t know the emotional control of this coach,” Bruschi said. “I mean, every single time? Does it have to be every single time? The fourth-and-1, when you’re on the 30-yard line going out, that was obvious to me. This can’t happen.”
“This guy wants to go for it, even now, and they get stopped right here and basically give Green Bay a touchdown because all they’ve got to go is like 29 yards and they score a touchdown here and it’s a different game,” Bruschi continued. “So, you wouldn’t have been in this situation, maybe, if you punt it and you let your defense play against a quarterback that has a tendency to throw it to the other team. Every single time? Why does it have to be every single time?”
Bruschi then referenced Campbell’s now famous introductory press conference to offer a lame punch line.
“There’s no more ankles and knee caps to bite. You’re on top. Start playing like it and start coaching like it.”
Dan Campbell takes every gamble, but @TedyBruschi thinks it’s time to play like a top dog 👀
“There’s no more ankles and knee caps to bite. You’re on top. Start playing like it and start coaching like it.” pic.twitter.com/Y6ZkULpEKB
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) December 8, 2024
Remember Bruschi played his entire career for the New England Patriots, and most of that for Bill Belichick. Belichick was not known to be aggressive on fourth down, even as going for it when it makes sense has become more accepted. Bruschi is a product of the “Patriot Way”, and anything else has to be wrong.
Yes, Campbell’s aggressiveness on fourth down could bite the Lions in a big spot, in a big game (and arguably it did in last year’s NFC Championship Game, even considering he didn’t have a kicker he trusted). There is a balance to strike, and Campbell does seem to be getting better there.
Bruschi wants Campbell’s to reel in the aggressiveness, in deference to “being on top” now. If he paid true attention, he’d know that’s not going to happen and Campbell’s coaching style is a core reason the Lions are having success.
