Caldwell Says Lions Not Overlooking Two-Win Tampa Bay
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - The next three opponents of the Detroit Lions have combined for 12 wins this season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won just two games, and the Lions have already defeated the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings this season. As a result, looking ahead to the Dec. 28 showdown against the red-hot Green Bay Packers could be tempting.
Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said he and his staff do their best to make sure the players do not get sidetracked by what opportunities might lie ahead.
"We fight it on a daily basis, has kind of been the thing that we've done here since the first day that we walked into the building, is to talk about the things that we need to do here and now, getting better today, what's important now," Caldwell said Monday at his weekly press conference. "That's sort of been our mantra here, and we try to fight to continue that because the thing that happens to you is that the minute you start, it softens you up in terms of your focus. Your gaze, the minute it starts to look beyond the horizon, you usually – there's some things that catch you by surprise, typically.
"That's human nature, so what we've tried to do is give them several examples all the time, daily basis, talk about different issues, different realms of sport, whatever it is in terms of keeping that focus," Caldwell said. "That's really my job."
Several possible examples come to mind immediately. The Kansas City Chiefs handled the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football early in the season, but a few weeks later the Oakland Raiders - then winless - upset the Chiefs.
"Every week you'll see a team that supposedly, as everybody else looks at it, doesn't have a great record, and they end up beating somebody that everybody else thinks that they shouldn't beat," Caldwell said.
"The fact of the matter is, it's about that much difference" – Caldwell held his thumb and his index finger about an inch apart – "between being 4-8 and 8-4. It really is ... All it takes is a few bounces of the ball, just a couple different scenarios that pop up, and you've got the reverse happening, so every team is very close. The salary cap has done exactly what it's supposed to do. It's made it a very, very even league in terms of talent level, and another well-worn phrase, 'any given Sunday' is absolutely right. Our guys understand that. I think they have a good sense of that."
The coach said he has already spoken to several Detroit players and noted they had watched film of Tampa Bay and come away impressed with the team's potential.
"They said, 'They've got a lot of players. That's a good football team,'" Caldwell said. "And so, regardless of what their record indicates, it's a heck of a team."
The Lions have a record of 8-4 and play two more home games before finishing their regular season with back-to-back road games against Chicago and Green Bay. The finale against the Packers could determine which team wins the NFC North.