CAMPBELL HOLDS THE FORTRESS

There have been a lot of injuries at the linebacker position as Derrick Barnes, Alex Anzalone and Malcolm Rodriguez are all currently on IR. The only constant in the room since Day 1 has been MIKE second-year linebacker Jack Campbell. He’s played great football all season, but especially recently.

“Man, he’s a rock. And I’ve said this several times, but the MIKE linebacker, if you had a picture of a MIKE linebacker, he would probably be in front because of the way he plays,” Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said of Campbell.

“He’s a man, he loves standing in front of the group to shout to the boys and they really, really respect him. They respect him because he is personal, but they respect the way he plays the game.” . It’s 100 miles per hour the entire time, even in the walkthrough.

Campbell is just 10 tackles away from his first 100-tackle season and has five games left. He also has five tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, three passes defended and a forced fumble. He ranks as one of the best run-defensive linebackers in the NFL this season, ranking No. 7 on Pro Football Focus’ list of run stops with 26. A run stop is categorized as a solo tackle or sack that results in an offensive failure.

“It definitely means a lot coming from him,” Campbell said of Glenn’s comments Monday. “I just try to be who I am every day and if that’s how the image is portrayed then I love that. I just focus on me and focus on getting better every day and making sure that “This defense is just playing as top-notch as I feel.” We played all year.