The Detroit Lions have been one of the best teams in the NFL through the first 11 weeks of the season.
If the year ended after Monday night’s game, the Lions would have won their division for the first time since the 1993 season and wrapped up a playoff spot with the hopes of winning their first playoff game since the 1991 season.
Herman Moore was a rookie when the Lions last won a playoff game. He developed into one of the best receivers Detroit has had before Calvin Johnson came along. He had 670 receptions for 9,174 yards and 62 touchdowns from 1991 to 2001. He finished his career in 2002 with the New York Giants.
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Detroit Lions’ Herman Moore, left, pulls down a pass against Green Bay Packers’ Tyrone Williams during the third quarter, September 28, 1997, at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. (Matt Campbell/AFP via Getty Images)
Moore is enjoying what he’s seen so far from the 8-2 Lions and is surprised with one aspect of their year so far.
“I’ve been impressed with the fact that they’ve stayed very steady and stuck with their process,” he told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “[Head coach] Dan Campbell came in with a plan, and when you face adversity early in a new coaching tenure, especially being a first-time head coach, typically you shift and you do a lot of things to break away from what you initially thought.”
“But Dan Campbell has stayed pretty true to it, and I think the players have leveled in on the consistency of the culture that he is expecting. And because of that, I’m not only surprised at the success as much as just the fact that they’re doing it with such confidence, and they’re not making the mistakes that you would think a team that was in a rebuild phase would make.”
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Head coach Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions is shown during the second half against the Chicago Bears at Ford Field, November 19, 2023, in Detroit. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Campbell has been a fan favorite with his intense mentality to coaching the game he loves and dropping quips that have stuck with fans since he arrived in Detroit.
But Moore said it goes beyond that, pointing to players being able to buy into his philosophies and dynamics as a coach because he just didn’t hold a clipboard his entire career. He played the game, too.
“What I saw that was different with coach Campbell from day one, and I think that contributes to a lot of his success, is that he’s a coach that has played the game,” Moore said. “He understands it. I think it gets understated and not given as much credibility as it should be.”
Campbell was a tight end in the NFL from 1999 to 2008, even playing for the Lions toward the end of his playing career before he got into coaching.
Moore also pointed to Campbell’s coaching staff, which includes former players in key positions, to help with player development.
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Detroit Lions receiver Herman Moore is shown in action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tampa Stadium. (Lou Capozzola-USA TODAY NETWORK/File)
“He’s created a blueprint to show what can happen if you bring in the right people who understand how to work with the personnel; that being the players,” Moore said. “Those players understand how important culture is. They understand how important accountability is. I think the channel of communication is a lot smoother than typically what it is when it’s just a coach who doesn’t understand but one side of the game.”
Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and David Montgomery have all made huge contributions to the team’s success this season.
Moore praised Brown for how he’s been able to emerge as a star wide receiver after the team selected him in the fourth round of the 2021 draft. He has 73 catches for 898 yards and five touchdowns this season.
“You have to tip your hat to him because here’s a young man that came in, and even though he was drafted later, he was the one that took the mantle and became the leader at the wide receiver position,” Moore said. “He’s now consistently proving that not only was he deserving of a first-round status, but he’s proven to be a perennial star, in my opinion, in the NFL at the receiver position.”
“He’s carrying a tradition of really having that superstar guy that we’ve had in this franchise through the years. It’s great to see that he’s doing that, and I think because he’s doing it so consistently and he’s doing it so almost effortlessly, he can get overlooked.”
Moore believes the team’s success could earn them a bye week, though they’ll have to overcome the defending conference champion Philadelphia Eagles to get there.
“If you look at the remaining games on their schedule, I think they could still afford to have a loss or two and still be in a very, very good position to either get a bye or at least have a home playoff game,” he told Fox News Digital.
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Chicago Bears, November 19, 2023, at Ford Field in Detroit. (Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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“I’m super excited as an alum, and it’s just been a long time coming for this franchise and for this fan base.”
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