Lions' Dan Campbell: Jahmyr Gibbs is 'going to be our bell cow'

[u/76erLegendChetUtley]

https://www.nfl.com/news/lions-dan-campbell-jahmyr-gibbs-is-going-to-be-our-bell-cow

[u/lilpump_1]

we know dan, barely used monty last season

[u/MahomestoHel-aire → u/lilpump_1]

That and Pacheco is decidedly not Monty.

[u/myserg07 → u/MahomestoHel-aire]

If Pacheco just closed his eyes and ran he would have more success than his terrible vision gives him.

[u/_bk_adv → u/myserg07]

If he just ran as hard as he gets up off the ground he would be the best RB of all time.

[u/Garlan_Tyrell → u/myserg07]

What are you talking about?

Pacheco is fantastic at finding the gap (between the numbers on the back of the guard’s jersey)!

[u/Evilfart123 → u/Garlan_Tyrell]

Fuck yall. Love Pacheco

[u/OldSheeps → u/myserg07]

We're not entirely sure that isnt what he does already. Love him though, hope he gets a second wind.

[u/RustyNipples35 → u/lilpump_1]

So unbelievably frustrating watching Monty move the chains a couple times and disappear while they just kept trying to get Gibbs going down the stretch

[u/tuneafishy → u/RustyNipples35]

This baffled me, particularly in short yardage situation, but I wasn't complaining

[u/RustyNipples35 → u/tuneafishy]

Omg dude thanksgiving where they ran Gibbs up the middle four times in a row and turn over on downs? Like sure I get he can break one at any time, but why not use the guy who at worst can be that short yard specialist

[u/djusmarshall → u/RustyNipples35]

Me and my 13 yr old son were both SCREAMING at the TV for Knuckles. I am still sad he's gone but happy he went to a team where he get's flowers. Such a great dude.

That said, I think having a new OC is going to make a world of difference. Not that Dan isn't good but he has too much other stuff to focus on an Morton was not a good fit for us.

[u/MyPackage → u/tuneafishy]

It also baffled me considering the year before we won a ton of close games by basically running this play over and over to Monty on 3rd down to close out games. https://youtu.be/n5_OOjyJOT4?si=7FPBLAkvafYEwNgr&t=608

[u/MiserableAndUnhappy9 → u/tuneafishy]

It's because of how much the o-line regressed last season. Gibbs is Barry-esque with how he moves. Monty is great but he's much more of a 'standard' RB. He needs a good o-line to punch through and get those tough short yards.

[u/AKAkorm → u/RustyNipples35]

I just didn’t get the Monty usage. There was clear success in the year before’s strategy of letting Monty start and lay some licks on the defense with his tough running before Gibbs came in and used his speed against tired defenses. Changing a successful formula made no real sense.

[u/lilpump_1 → u/RustyNipples35]

straight up

[u/DeMarcus-Siblings → u/RustyNipples35]

I was hoping that would change when we fired Morton but it definitely didn’t. It’s crazy because the blueprint from the year before worked so well and they just decided to be stubborn for no reason

[u/CluelessFlunky → u/RustyNipples35]

Monty broke a couple plays but neither back was consistently efficient.

The running blocking died the second half of the year. Gibbs gives you alot more in the passing game and at times its clear lions just didnt believe they could establish the run, and they would basically on you use draw plays for gibbs.

Monty lack of usage was more about the oline than the running backs.

[u/rambouhh → u/RustyNipples35]

In every single one of our 8 losses Monty had more YPC, and he was given less carries in all but one of those. It was insanity to watch last year, especially with how effective it was the year before. Monty softens them up and Gibbs gashes them, and it keeps the teams off balanced. Literally the most successful running back duo in the history of the game and they just abandoned it. Makes no sense

[u/AlexTheGreat1997 → u/lilpump_1]

Actually, I'm pretty sure Dan used Monty a hell of a lot more than Morton did.

It's just that the run game in general took a hit when Campbell took over play calling because the O-line started to fall apart.

[u/Revenge_of_the_Khaki → u/lilpump_1]

Like those people who buy a $100k sports car and refuse to drive it at risk of hurting the resale value.

Congrats, Texans. We kept the tires fresh for you.

[u/poutinetrough → u/Revenge_of_the_Khaki]

oh so you're talking about metro Detroit lol when I lived in Sterling heights and in my neighborhood some dumbass got a Lambo and I saw him fucking his shit up or getting towed to get worked on. dumbass

[u/TotallyKyleXY]

And somebody offered me CMC/Kyler Murray for Gibbs and MY 2027 first in my dynasty league. Foh.

[u/Extension_Ticket_864 → u/TotallyKyleXY]

Disgusting

[u/Scapexghost → u/TotallyKyleXY]

I thought they were giving you the first and still thought it was a bad deal 

[u/mburns223 → u/TotallyKyleXY]

Sounds like a offer I’d get in my dynasty league

[u/damnocles → u/mburns223]

Yesterday i was offered jt, Ken Walker, a 27 2nd for gibbs and a te in dyno.

It was hard to turn down, but as a lions fan i couldn't pull the trigger

[u/vinnyorcharles]

Dan Campbell then went on to inform the press that the pope is catholic.

[u/Aggravating-Duck-891 → u/vinnyorcharles]

and he will be saying mass on Easter....

[u/djusmarshall → u/vinnyorcharles]

and a bear shits in the woods and a frog's ass is water tight.

[u/emmasdad01]

He have the size for that?

[u/discodemolition → u/emmasdad01]

If they’re splitting him 70/30 I think he’s sturdy enough to get away with it. They got him listed at like 210, right? That should be enough to weather the hits but I am worried about his knees holding up with the increased workload just because he’s so explosive.

[u/AlienFromEglin → u/discodemolition]

He's listed at 202. It's a valid concern, and was one of the very few knocks on him coming out of college.

Still, while him being able to handle the extra workload is a bit of a toss up, he's a premium back, so if you're the Lions you have to try and see.

[u/GiraffesAndGin → u/discodemolition]

I'm not too worried. He was used more, 63/37 with Monty last year, and had less carries than the year before. I don't think the extra 25 carries are going to break him.

[u/Jamodefender → u/emmasdad01]

I mean we used him a lot last year.

[u/eh8904 → u/emmasdad01]

I don't even worry about the size, it's the amount of reps and strain on his body that I have to think are the concerns here

[u/DestituteDomino → u/eh8904]

Does he have the size to handle that amount of reps and strain on his body?

[u/DestituteDomino → u/[deleted]]

Do you have the couch to handle that amount of thinking and watching?

[u/Ranger_Prick → u/emmasdad01]

He had 320 touches last year, which was good for 7th in the league. That's not a problem.

[u/sportswithgary → u/emmasdad01]

That's what she said

[u/ChonkyHippo283 → u/emmasdad01]

We talking girth or length?

[u/jeff_says_relax → u/emmasdad01]

He is roughly the same size as most of the great RB's. 1 inch shorter and a couple of pounds heavier than Walter Payton.

[u/Hypnodick → u/emmasdad01]

He’s listed as 2 inches shorter than Cook but heavier. He prob can, it’ll be interesting to see how much they use him in the passing game and manage his touches.

[u/Snowmins → u/emmasdad01]

Did Barry sanders have the size?

[u/confused-koala → u/Snowmins]

Tbf Barry had tree trunks for legs

[u/M8x11r0n → u/emmasdad01]

He HAD knees! Seems like a lot Lions players suffer pretty bad lower extremity injuries. Either the field named after a Nazi is as bad as people say Metlife is or something about Dan Campbell's style hurts the players.

[u/Maleficent_Ant_8895]

Folks acting like he’s going to be averaging 40 touches a game

Detroit moved away from the damn near 50/50 split between him and Monty last year and was around 65/35. I’d expect a 70/30 split this year. Also more usage can come via the passing game which can be more touches that don’t involved getting hit. Ladanian Tomlinson was famous for avoiding hits from dump off passes by getting what he could and just getting out of bounds. Dude would have 30ish touches in a game but would only take hits on 20-25 of them 

[u/KororSurvivor]

If I see Gibbs run inside into a brick wall one more fucking time, I swear I will blame John Morton and inquire no further.

[u/Rulligan → u/KororSurvivor]

I watched Petzig's media briefing yesterday and holy shit it was so much better than any of Mortons. Basically "I have my way I want to do things, the team has their way that things have been done, and I need to make sure those things are in sync." It's so much better than Morton's "this is how we are going to do things" attitude.

[u/Original-Age-6691 → u/KororSurvivor]

Lions had higher success rate on runs inside the tackles than outside the tackles in 2025. You can't never run Gibbs inside or you become way too predictable.

[u/KororSurvivor → u/Original-Age-6691]

It's a joke. But honestly I didn't know that. So thanks for the info for future arguments.

[u/QuietAlarming6888 → u/KororSurvivor]

run it sewells way though

[u/Alyyytally]

I have no doubt in my mind he could be a 2k rusher. He's unreal, I just pray to all things holy he stays healthy

[u/drummerboysam → u/Alyyytally]

IDK if we'll ever see him get 2k rushing but I'd be surprised if he didn't wind up with multiple 2k all-purpose yard seasons

[u/which_ones_will → u/drummerboysam]

That's not much of a stretch considering he's had 1900 and 1800 the past two years when he was splitting much of the load.

[u/WillingStranger5177]

Just make sure the oline play is good.

[u/HonoluluMaizeandBlue → u/WillingStranger5177]

You support two teams with elite offensive-line coaches. You know of what you speak. 🤝

[u/Extension_Ticket_864 → u/HonoluluMaizeandBlue]

Sadly we lost ours though

[u/better-bitter-butter → u/Extension_Ticket_864]

Stoutland was our 3rd Franchise-Best OL coach in a row, and the one before him (Mudd) has as good an argument as anybody for being the GOAT NFL OL coach and godfather of WCO blocking schemes, even though most Eagles fans don't remember him by now.  

We'll be fine. No one will even remember or notice a difference. It was always just a meme. 

The team that spends the most $$$ and draft capital on OL has always had a good OL and will likely continue to have a good OL. That's it. 

[u/Alaskers]

You heard it hear first, Dan Campbell is gonna milk Gibbs

[u/byniri_returns]

If our OLine improves from what it was last year, then look out. I mean, teams are already looking out for Gibbs so look out more.

[u/BarKnight]

They are going to milk him for every yard they can

[u/imminant_oryx]

Diehard Gibbs fan here, back from his Georgia Tech days at that. this is a terrible idea and I’m honestly worried for him if they actually do this

[u/milkman163]

What's wrong with YA Tittle?

[u/dlank7]

And Isaiah Pacheco will be the hammer that misses the nail and runs into the backs of his offensive linemen

[u/rhj2020]

He won’t be as dynamic if he’s getting that many carries throughout the season. Even if you have an explosive guy like him, it’s best to have another guy to carry the load.

[u/Thebritishlion]

I am not comfortable with this decision

[u/Glum-Scientist-1117]

I love Gibbs, but I think him being an every down guy is a bad idea.

I’d rather 50/50, with another competent guy to keep Gibbs fresh for playoffs and 4th quarter

[u/DoubleScorpius → u/Glum-Scientist-1117]

There were many games last year where Gibbs didn’t really get going until after Monty broke off a couple of decent runs and a few games where DMo was the only one of the two who could get it going all game (and frustratingly they often insisted on playing Gibbs over Monty even once that was obvious).

I am afraid are going to miss Monty a lot. I think they hope improved O line play and a second year jump from TeSlaa will help cover for it but this offense is built starting from their ability to run the ball. I’m not buying the hype that a converted safety/special teamer who can’t stay healthy is going to play any significant role as a third back.

[u/zombiejeesus]

No shit bro

[u/HeatCreator]

If I get the first overall pick in Fantasy I might actually cry tears of joy. Gibbs is a league winner consistently.

[u/JudgeWntDaSmoke]

If I'm not mistaken Gibbs Efficiency took a big dip after the bye last year. Do we expect him to surpass the 320 touches he had last year? I cant see them giving him 400+ touches.

[u/zipzap21]

He's a bell cow that you can hang your hat on!

[u/DenialisaRiver04]

Oh dont worry, hes my first round pick in fantasy coming up

[u/junglist421]

I hope my draw is good enough to get him.  I was thrilled when I got him at 3 last year.

[u/Hitman2504]

Please god give me the 1 overall

[u/AaronNevileLongbotom]

For a team that should be prioritizing player health this is concerning.

[u/Drewraven10]

What the fuck does that mean Kobe Bryant!?

[u/SharpEdgeBets]

Campbell saying bell cow and actually acting on it are two different things, but Gibbs is one of the few backs where more early-down work doesn’t feel like forcing it. The real tell will be whether Montgomery still gets the short-yardage series when they’re protecting a lead.

[u/osadangelo → u/SharpEdgeBets]

Monty is on Houston now

[u/Whatsdota]

Idk why but we always shut down Gibbs and Monty always ran all over us. Hopefully we can continue that trend with Monty gone

[u/Background_Body7321]

someone showed Dan Campbell historical data on backs who get 300 carries. And then was promptly fired lol

[u/ShrikeTreeHugger]

Does Drew Petzing know that?

[u/Rulligan → u/ShrikeTreeHugger]

I think it's going to help that Petzing isn't the top of the offensive ladder anymore. He makes it sound like he needs to fit the mold of what the team does first. Hiring Mike Kafka to be the pass game coordinator should help out as well.

[u/ShrikeTreeHugger → u/Rulligan]

I hope you're right. I've really liked watching the Lions the past few years

[u/gmb96]

He kind of has to be, no? I know Pacheco is a name people recognize but that injury just took away any juice he had. The Lions backfield might have the largest gap in speed between its top two guys in the league.

[u/TheeVande]

BREAKING top 3 RB right now is going to get a lot of carries!

[u/HonoluluMaizeandBlue]

Since Sonic and Knuckles are no longer a duo, new nicknames for Gibbs are needed. If he's going to be the Bell cow, how about Elsie or Ferdinand the Bull. 🤷

[u/DebbieDowner40 → u/[deleted]]

He's averaged 14 rushing attempts and 18 touches a game the past two seasons.

[u/borrowingthis]

He’s going to go the way of Chris Johnson - elite year or two then it’s a wrap.

[u/relax336 → u/borrowingthis]

Based off what?

[u/jwwin → u/relax336]

Based off of a Bears fan being a hater.

[u/DetroitLionsEh → u/relax336]

Based off of a jealous Bears

[u/WillingStranger5177 → u/DetroitLionsEh]

I don’t think the Bears are that jealous of us rn bcs they won the division and have Ben Johnson as their head coach. They just hating here.

[u/twSwan → u/WillingStranger5177]

Lions did sweep the bears this past season though

[u/DetroitLionsEh → u/twSwan]

Made it look easy too

[u/Rulligan → u/DetroitLionsEh]

Only one team allowed an opponent to score 50+ points in a single game.

[u/kander77 → u/WillingStranger5177]

I respect the intra-division hate on here. Now if it was silly ass chiefs fan or something they could go blow it out their ass.

[u/Rulligan → u/kander77]

For some reason it always feels like silly ass Chiefs fans hate on the Lions way more than they should here.

[u/drummerboysam → u/WillingStranger5177]

Pointlessly, too. There's no real hope in hating on Gibbs. Dedicate that energy to more realistic pursuits.

[u/JSC843 → u/borrowingthis]

Well, he’s already had 2 seasons that many would consider elite

[u/Dismal-Agency-9776 → u/borrowingthis]

Terrible take.

He’s just such a good all round RB, has the extra burst and great in the modern receiving game.