Will Detroit Lions Dan Campbell be less aggressive if Jake Bates is kicker

The signing of kicker Jake Bates has led to interesting discussions regarding how Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell would handle having a kicker with a strong leg on the roster.

Detroit’s fourth-year head coach is widely praised for his ability to relate to players and for turning around the fortunes of a team not known for playoff success.

One area of criticism that Campbell has faced, though, has been his in-game decision-making. He routinely elects to keep his offense on the field rather than try for field goals. Bates will be competing for the kicking job with incumbent Michael Badgley.

With a kicker — e.g. Bates — that has successfully made kicks north of 60 yards, could Campbell change his aggressive ways in 2024?

“I think that Dan Campbell’s approach has always been odds-based. He always conducts his decision-making in the term of, ‘What gives us the best chance to score here?’ So, you’ve seen him be more aggressive in the fourth-and-3, fourth-and-4, even maybe fourth-and-5 type of situations, when you get a little further outside the red zone,” said Christian Booher. “To me, that’s not gonna change.

“Dan Campbell’s always gonna have his go-zones, his areas on the field where he feels more confident in going for it, as opposed to attempting a field goal,” Booher continued. “But, if Jake Bates can emerge and win the job, and he can hit those kicks from 55, 57, maybe even 60 yards consistently, that adds a new wrinkle. Now, I’m not saying Dan Campbell’s gonna completely abandon his aggressive, go-for-it first approach. But, it does give him another factor to think about.”

The latest “Lone Wolves” podcast explores Detroit’s kicking competition, while also examining if Amon-Ra St. Brown will have a record-breaking season and how to best utilize running back Jahmyr Gibbs in his second NFL season.

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