Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell on the sidelines during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Zach Bolinger)AP

ALLEN PARK -- Everyone expected a lot of Dan Campbell on “Hard Knocks,” and we got it before they even got around to rolling the opening credits for the season premiere. One ass cheek and three toes is, well, it’s hard to forget, that’s for sure.

The following week, the spotlight smartly shifted to players like D’Andre Swift, Malcolm Rodriguez and Amon-Ra St. Brown. This week, the cameras moved over to the roster bubble, where something like 8-10 jobs remain up for grabs heading into the preseason finale on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. More on that in a moment.

But one thing is clear no matter where they point those cameras: Everywhere you look, Dan Campbell and his staff are trying to teach these guys how to win. Look no further than his locker-room speech to the team after it pulled out a 27-26 win in a preseason game on Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts.

“There is nothing like (expletive) winning, man,” Campbell said at the conclusion of Episode 3. “There is nothing like winning. And I’m telling you right now that it doesn’t matter if it’s freaking dominoes, it’s spades, it’s Booray, it’s croquet, it’s (expletive) chess, it’s preseason, (expletive)-kicking, it does not matter, man. Winning is winning, and it feels good, man. And we needed to taste that, all right? Because that’s where we’re going, and that’s what we got to get used to.

“... They hit a play (at the end). But they’re down one, right? They’re down one. They got a decision to make. They’re going to go for the win. We got one more chance, defense, and what’d you do? You (expletive) played the down, and we win the (expletive) game. That play before that is all for naught. We’ll clean that up. It doesn’t matter. What mattered is you made the (expletive) play when we had to have it to win the game. That’s how you win. That’s how winners are (expletive) made. That’s how winning teams are made.”

In a vacuum, maybe that’s cliche stuff, particularly in the preseason. But anyone reading this doesn’t need me or anyone else to tell you just how much this organization has never really known anything about winning at all. This sport is built for parity more than any other, yet the Lions have somehow won just one playoff game in 65 years. That defies all manner of mathematics, logic and the laws of God himself.

No one loses quite like the Lions. No one knows that quite like Dan Campbell either. He played three years in Detroit. Heck, he played in 2008 in Detroit. He might not have had a conventional resume to become an NFL head coach, but part of his appeal was he knew exactly what he was walking into. I don’t think Matt Patricia ever did. He flinched every time someone brought up how much the Lions lost. He wanted nothing to do with the history of the franchise. I guess he figured the glare of his Super Bowl ring would win everyone over. Alas.

Campbell is taking the opposite approach, literally painting the back wall of his meeting room with:

These guys are acutely aware of the unshakeable stench of mediocrity in this town. Instead of running away from it, they’re leaning into it, and challenging their guys to do something about it.

“Men, it’s time for a change,” defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said during a team meeting, as shown on last week’s “Hard Knocks.” “It’s time for change for you as players, for this organization, for us as coaches. Man, I’m trying to get something that’s gonna stir you up from the inside, that is going to change exactly who you are as a player. Right? Who this organization is, so we can get ready to move forward in this journey.”

Then Glenn called out offensive lineman Jonah Jackson.

“How many games did you lose at Ohio State?” Glenn asked. “One game? Every game you played, every time you woke up to play that game, you felt like you’re gonna win that game.”

He did the same thing with Michael Brockers, who won a national title at LSU.

“It’s time to get that feeling back,” Glenn said. “You all dig what I’m saying? Time to get that feeling back. At some point, man, we got to draw a line in the sand and say enough is enough.”

So much has been made about the culture change underway in Detroit, the new, more open, more collaborative approach to this football thing. But I don’t think enough has been said about this regime’s attempts to change the losing culture too.

Among the 80 players on the roster, just two have ever been with this team for a season where it didn’t finish in last place: Taylor Decker and Jarrad Davis. That’s it. That’s the list.

Like I said, nobody loses quite like the Detroit Lions.

Then again, nobody knows that quite like Dan Campbell, and one of the best parts of the latest episode was getting yet more insights into how he’s trying to go about changing that.

“We’re going places, man,” Campbell said during another team meeting after the loss against Atlanta in the preseason opener. “There’s no doubt about it, man. You can already see it. I have a (expletive) clear vision for where this team is going. But I know this, if we really want to go where we want to go, we got to get all the rest of this (expletive) out of our stuff, man. All this dirt, everything that is in our (expletive) jeans. Every last little bit of losing has to get out of here. The (expletive) that (expletive) crushes us. That costs you a (expletive) game, costs you a season, costs you the playoffs, costs you a championship game, costs you a Super Bowl. That’s the (expletive) we got to get out, man.”

Let’s get to some more observations from Episode 3 of “Hard Knocks:”

-- Episode 3 introduced new player arcs, and there was a clear emphasis on exploring the roster bubble heading into next week’s cuts. I always enjoy this dimension of “Hard Knocks.” Dreams are made and broken during a week like this, so the stakes are impossibly high. And “Hard Knocks” can go behind the scenes in a way no one else can, giving a sense of the drama in a way no one else can.

Having said that, I was puzzled by some of their player selections. They spent a lot of time with Obinna Eze, an offensive lineman with about a 1% chance of making the team. They spent more time with Kalil Pimpleton, a wide receiver with about a 0.1% chance of making the team. And that’s nothing against either player. But they’re at the bottom of Detroit’s most loaded position groups. So while they have great stories -- especially Eze, who went from Nigeria to the NFL in seven years -- I thought the time would have been better spent on bubble players who are actually on the bubble. Especially when they also spent three more minutes showing a standup comic, but I digress.

I was shocked not to see Tom Kennedy, a receiver who watched his bosses spend more resources at his position than any other, then played his way right back into the roster mix by just making plays every day -- and more plays than anyone else in the preseason. Yet that guy hasn’t gotten 1 second of screentime.

Where is Austin Bryant, who has lit up so many quarterbacks that he’s probably played his way off the bubble entirely? Where’s James Mitchell, the rookie tight end who just got back from an ACL injury in time to make his roster case in Indianapolis and Pittsburgh? Where’s Jermar Jefferson, last year’s seventh-round pick who suddenly finds himself battling a mid-camp signing (Justin Jackson) for one of the last roster jobs? Heck, where is Justin Jackson, who went from Los Angeles to Detroit a couple weeks ago and is playing himself into a job? Where’s Maurice Alexander?

Heck, where is Jeff Okudah? I can’t believe a former third overall pick who has been through everything Okudah has been through, and now finds himself locked in one of the last true starting job battles in camp, can’t get 10 seconds on HBO. I’d love to know so much more about what coaches are seeing from him in practice and games, what those film sessions are like, what his relationship with teammates and his family are like -- anything. Because we know almost nothing. About a former third overall pick.

I really enjoyed the first two episodes of “Hard Knocks.” I think they did a really good job accurately portraying how things work around here. They also fleshed out some of the humanity behind the coaches and players. I thought Episode 3 fell short of that bar.

-- One thing I really liked about this episode was the Craig Reynolds story. I knew his brother was in jail and that they were close, but it was something else entirely being able to watch a video call between those guys. I didn’t know they talked before every game, and it gives you a much better sense of what drives one of the best surprises from last season.

“I’m glad you stopped smiling, because I’m dead-serious,” Reynolds’ brother, Eric, said at one point. “I’ve made enough mistakes for me, for you, and for 1,001 other people, bro. So at this time, Craig, you need to keep moving forward.”

Reynolds has. He was affectionately nicknamed “Netflix” last year because the Lions quite literally signed him off his couch. He was in uniform for a preseason game without so much as a single practice, then introduced himself to teammates in the huddle and scored a touchdown. Then when injuries and illness decimated the roster for a December game in Denver, he ran for 83 yards on 11 carries. The following week, he ran for 112 yards on 26 carries to help lead that breakthrough win against Arizona.

A year later, Reynolds has settled into what appears to be the No. 3 job behind Jamaal Williams and D’Andre Swift.

“He’s a year better, definitely,” running backs coach Duce Staley told me on Tuesday. “Once again, another great story. Kind of reminds me of (Jackson) a little bit. Coming in, being able to take advantage of opportunities and every opportunity, no matter what it is, he’s going to take advantage of it. ... I’m a big Craig fan.”

-- The highlight of Episode 3 were the joint practices with the Colts. No surprise there, either. Those things are made for TV. Every NFL practice is intense, but joints just take it to a whole other level. “Hard Knocks” did a great job showing that, especially with clips of running back Jamaal Williams going at it with the Indianapolis defense.

“Hey, when you got to grab, you suck,” Williams screamed as he had to be separated from the Colts. “Holding! Holding! You can’t go without holding, bro.”

“Hard Knocks” could have done a better job illustrating just how badly the Lions practiced on Day 1 of joint practices, and how much they learned from those mistakes on Day 2. That was especially true with guys like Okudah and Amani Oruwariye. But you can’t follow everybody, and “Hard Knocks” also did a great job following upstart linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, a sixth-round pick who already looks like Detroit’s top inside linebacker.

“This (expletive) fun, man,” Rodriguez said.

Then HBO immediately cut to Rodriguez whipping guard Will Fries to the ground, even though Fries outweighs him by 79 pounds.

As Glenn said before practice on Tuesday: “I’ll tell you what, he’s a pretty amazing player, isn’t he?”

-- Aidan Hutchinson was one of the best players in Indianapolis, and you needed only three reps to see it on “Hard Knocks.” He blew past tackle Jordan Murray with a speed move to the inside during one-on-ones, then powered through Wesley French with a bullrush before overwhelming Braden Smith for a third straight win.

“My man,” Glenn is seeing telling Hutchinson at practice. “I’ll tell you what dude. Everything I thought I knew about you, man, it’s good to know it’s real brother. I’m serious. I’m serious when I say that though man. Because a lot of time with (draft prospects), you don’t get the true self. And man, you stand true. Because I’m going to be me, and I’m going to be different, but I’m going to be me. At least you know. And I appreciate that about you.”

-- The “Hard Knocks” director told MLive before the premiere they wanted to develop the assistant coaching staff more than usual, and they’ve certainly done that. Duce Staley might be the biggest breakout star of the season, and it does make me wonder whether it has helped his candidacy to become a head coach. That’s why he left Philadelphia in the first place. Campbell promised to give him opportunities for advancement, like adding “assistant head coach” to his responsibilities and letting him conduct press conferences with the other coordinators.

During “Hard Knocks,” the connection Staley has with his players is obvious. You can tell he has the respect of that unit when he rides D’Andre Swift as hard as he has, and the guys still love him.

“I want you all to hear me,” Staley says at one point, voice cracking after a long day of joint practices. “We got our (expletive) asses kicked, and that’s not up to our (expletive) standards. So if you like what the (expletive) happened today, you don’t have to (expletive) be here. Because I don’t (expletive) like it. What the (expletive). Not (expletive) good.”

A day later, they were much better. In the preseason game, they were very good.

Glenn has also gotten love on the show. This week, offensive line coach Hank Fraley got some screentime too. He’s obviously very good at what he does -- Detroit could have one of the best offensive lines in the league this season -- but he rarely says anything that means anything to reporters. Pretty sure he went to the Crash Davis School of Cliche.

But “Hard Knocks” has a knack for getting to the other side of guys, and they did so with Fraley during a film session with the offensive lineman.

“Who are you cheating?” Fraley yells at Eze, the UDFA offensive lineman out of Memphis. “Who are you cheating? Who are you cheating?”

“Nobody,” Eze said at one point. That clearly wasn’t the right answer.

“YOURSELF,” Fraley bellows. “You’re cheating yourself. You’re cheating us.”

Buy Lions gear: Fanatics, NFL Shop, Amazon, Lids

Buy Lions tickets: StubHub, SeatGeek, Ticketmaster

Stream Lions Games Live: fuboTV, Hulu + Live, Sling

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022).

© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.