ALLEN PARK — From the Jared Goff trick-play snafu to Brian Branch’s recent postgame actions, the Detroit Lions have been on the radar of the league office in some shape, form, or fashion.
It now appears once again they’ve caught the NFL’s attention, centering around the on-field play of one of their key defenders.
When speaking to reporters on Friday, Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard answered a question regarding Aidan Hutchinson’s recent knack for knocking or punching the ball out of the opposition’s hands.
At that point, Sheppard not only praised his other players’ ability to do it but also shared that the league office had sent out correspondence about defenders attempting to punch out the ball of the opposition, using Lions linebacker Jack Campbell as an example.
“Look at Jack. I mean, they just sent out a memo and the tape — I mean, the way Jack is doing it — it’s violent, it’s aggressive, and it’s the way we play,” Sheppard said. “We won’t make excuses, and I hope it continues to show up and uptick as we progress in the season.”
Sheppard went on to say that the memo emphasized ensuring defenders are punching the ball and not the players.
“Whatever that means,” Sheppard followed up with.
While Campbell’s aggressiveness in attacking the ball has gone up a tick — something Lions executive Chris Spielman noticed in the offseason — one could say it’s interesting that the NFL sent the memo out using video of the Lions linebacker and not that of defensive lineman Alfred Collins from the Week 5 matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams.
With 1:06 left in the game, the Rams were down 23-20, in position to potentially pick up the go-ahead touchdown as they were first-and-goal on San Francisco’s 3-yard line.
As Rams running back Kyren Williams ran up the middle, seemingly having a path to the end zone, Collins punched his helmet, which resulted in Williams fumbling the ball and the 49ers recovering it.
While the Rams were still able to send the game into overtime off a Joshua Karty 48-yard field goal with two seconds remaining, the 49ers ultimately picked up a 26-23 win.
Through six games this season, Campbell, who leads the Lions with 56 total tackles, is fifth in the NFL with two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery as well. Hutchinson is tied with Buffalo Bills defender Joey Bosa in forced fumbles with four.
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