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Lions Star Thumbs His Nose at NFL’s Warning Ahead of Buccaneers Game
Last week’s 30-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs is one that the Detroit Lions would presumably like to forget.
Not only did the team pick up its second defeat of the season, but two of its key players ended up on the league office’s radar — and not for a good reason.
Safety Brian Branch was suspended one game for striking Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in the face after the contest ended, and linebacker Jack Campbell warranted a league-wide memo sent out about his actions from the same game.
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According to Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, the NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams along with a video of Campbell trying to punch the ball out, stating his behavior was “too aggressive” and warning teams that players should be trying to punch the ball and not opposing players.
“Look at Jack — I mean, they just sent out a memo and the tape,” Sheppard said, via Pro Football Talk. “I mean, the way Jack is doing it, it’s violent; it’s aggressive; and it’s the way we play. We won’t make excuses, and I hope it continues to show up and uptick as we progress in the season.”
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The Lions have the second-most forced fumbles in the NFL this season (seven), cand Campbell is responsible for two of them. He recorded a strip-sack against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 and a punch-out against Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5.
The 25-year-old linebacker, who leads the Lions with 56 tackles along with three tackles for loss, two sacks, a fumble recovery, made it clear that he’s not changing how he plays the game despite the league’s warning.
“I don’t know how many people have played in an NFL game, but when you’re going full speed and you’re trying to get the ball out, punch-outs are hard to come by,” Campbell told reporters, via Yahoo Sports. “So, I don’t really care. I’m going to keep punching, and if I miss it, [expletive] it. Screw it.
“… I’ll probably have 150 personal fouls by the end of the year, so that’ll be fun.”
The Lions made it clear they felt like the NFL was singling them out — and more specifically Campbell.
Sheppard pointed out that the despite San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Alfred Collins punching Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams in the helmet while trying to knock the ball loose the week prior, that the league chose to use video of Campbell’s incident.
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