ALLEN PARK, Mich. — The last time they played the Bears, Lions players were told by their coaches to make sure to hit a scrambling Caleb Williams unless he was clearly out of bounds.
It was nothing personal.
“If you’re in bounds,” defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said Thursday, “we’re going to hit you.”
Williams took umbrage with one particular tackle, saying he “didn’t appreciate” when linebacker Jack Campbell hit his knee when he scrambled toward the right sideline on Thanksgiving.
“If he’s toeing the line, I’m going to toe the line with him,” Campbell told the Sun-Times on Thursday. “It’s no disrespect. I’m just trying to respect the game, honestly. There’s no intent.
“If [Williams] didn’t like it, I can see where he’s coming from. But I’m not going to ever have the intent to hurt someone. If people don’t like that, then it’s on me I guess. They can hate me.”
Cornerback Terrion Arnold said Glenn preaches an old-school attacking style.
“We’re going to instill fear into our opponents by the way we play,” Arnold said.
Glenn figures to be targeted for coaching interviews this offseason, although giving up 48 points to the Bills on Sunday undoubtedly hurt the buzz surrounding him.
Asked about Williams, Glenn shook his head at what he said were unfair narratives.
“He’s very resilient,” he said. “There’s no quit in that player. It’s that the narrative that so many people want to put on someone when they don’t really know who they are. That’s funny to me, and that happens to a lot of these young quarterbacks that’s in this league. They get beat down so much that people really don’t see the things they go through to be a top player — especially a No. 1 pick.”