Allen Park — Before the Detroit Lions' first padded practice of training camp on Tuesday, coach Dan Campbell reminisced about his first time in pads, as a rookie with the New York Giants in 1999.
As Campbell tells it, he was approached by Howard Cross, a veteran tight end in his 11th season with the franchise.
"I’m a rookie and he says, ‘Hey Dan, are you ready?’" Campbell said. "I was like, ‘Yeah, I'm ready.’ He goes, ‘OK, so when this thing goes down, make sure you got my back.’ And I was like, ‘What are you talking about when this thing goes down?