Here is my take. I can say a lot but we will see how this goes. First, it’s blatantly obvious that there is a built in narrative for certain teams that the NFL wants to take care of. We’ve seen for years that teams are literally allowed to break the most fundamental rules in the sport, as long as the NFL gets the outcome they want.
When it comes to Green Bay, we know they are one of those teams. The NFL and its media hype machine, every year they build and spin stories for the masses that these X teams are good, and will always be good. These X teams are bad, and will always be bad. Of course, due to the NFL’s “parity” or freak injury, some years there may be the odd blip on the radar, but by and large, these specific teams will always win. Even when those injuries happen, there is immediately rule changes made to never let that happen again. Remember the new Personal Foul for “landing on the quarterback”? That was the league’s response to Aaron Rodgers getting hurt on a routine tackle. Remember you can’t hit the QB low? That was due to Tom Brady. We all know we can go on here.
This year, one big narrative was “Jordan Love will continue the Packers QB legacy”. From the first game of the year, every story line was “Uh oh, the Packers did it again!” “Love picks up where Rodgers left off. He even did better than Rodgers his first game!” “Love leads Packers on epic comeback against Saints!” “This game will be the Green Bay Revenge for last year!” etc. Please, pay no mind to the fact that Love is doing terrible as a passer. Pay no mind to the only reason the Packers beat the Saints was because Carr got hurt, and a barrage of HORRIBLE calls were made that let Green Bay back in.
Last night, we all saw a clear attempt by the NFL try to fix this game, and maintain the narrative that the Packers are a good team. The Lions destroyed the Packers for every minute of the first half. The Green Bay fans knew they were outmatched and booed their own team. They Bronx cheered a first down which only happened on a penalty. Then halftime hits. All of a sudden, here comes a barrage of HORRIBLE calls, again. Unnecessary roughness for tackling in bounds. Pass interference for hand checking. Anything they could do to keep the drive alive. Up to, and including, literally ignoring the game clock and letting a play continue WELL after time expired. You literally have a ref whose only job is to watch the clock, and blow the whistle at 0:00 if the ball is not in play. That gifts the Packers their longest play of the night. Now, all of the talk is “Here comes the Packers!” “Comeback part 2!” “Can he do it again??”
Thank God, Dan Campbell has built the Lions to not be as mentally weak as we were previously. Instead of trying to fist fight everyone like Jim Schwartz’s teams did. Instead of going ultra conservative and waiting to die like Jim Caldwell’s teams did. Instead of choking time and again like Matt Patricia’s dagger time teams did, the Lions did something different. Yes, they got way to slow and conservative coming out of the half. Yes, they let the Packers offense have too many open looks in the 3rd quarter and lost momentum. However, once they stopped Green Bay’s 2 point conversion, the Lions came back out and absolutely punched Green Bay back in the face. They stormed straight down the field, and reminded the Green Bay Packers that this was never a game. The Lions toyed with them. I will say something Green Bay fans are all used to hearing. The Lions stood in Lambeau Field, during the Green Bay Revenge game and screamed “I still own you” to every Packer present.
The Lions are threatening the NFL narrative machine by taking the media darling teams one at a time. The NFL media wants to maintain their narratives that they spend time and money cultivating. They want the Lions to remain loveable losers. They don’t mind seeing us beat bad teams, or going 50/50 against middling teams. They do not want us walking in and beating the powerhouses. They don’t want the Lions taking down teams that the NFL media themselves have been propping up for years as unbeatable. This is why you have comments like asterisk wins, and all that BS. It’s just ways to explain away something that doesn’t match up with the narrative.
I know a lot was made about the Brad Holmes Villain stuff, and CJGJ took it in a very bad direction. To me, the whole Villain thing is not about being an evil menace. It’s about being different, and refusing to comply to an accepted standard. Holmes does this by making draft picks against the norm, taking a QB everyone said was trash, and he takes great pride in doing his own thing and standing up for his own beliefs. When you start to do things people don’t think you should, they try to make excuses, they try to play it down, they try to figure out ways to stop you because you are threatening their belief system, and threatening a safe world they have created for themselves.
I for one am very happy and excited to see Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell’s vision coming together, and watching the rest of the NFL freak out because they can’t even fix games anymore. This is the team I’ve been waiting to see step forward. One that didn’t have that one bad break beat them, and one that doesn’t even give a ref the chance to make that game turning call. I liked what Dan Campbell said after Hutch’s hold against Seattle wasn’t called. Don’t let the game come down to one call. He is exactly right. Last night, the ONLY damage Green Bay did to us was two drives that were both helped by officiating. Once the Lions put their foot back down, we did to Green Bay what elite teams used to do to us. Get a quick lead. Coast for awhile, giving the Lions hope that they are back in the game. Then a loud resounding NOPE, and they pounded the ball back in to remind us that the game was never in doubt. Last night, the Green Bay Packers got to feel what being a Detroit Lion used to feel like. Welcome to the new world!