The Detroit Lions have decided that they're getting an unnecessary reputation and would like to clear that up: the team wants to be physical, but they'd rather not be saddled with the "dirty" moniker.
The Lions were the topic of a Chicago Tribune column this week that painted Detroit's football team in a bit of a bad light following a tumultuous offseason, but the team was quick to dispel any notion that they play a "dirty" brand of football.
Receiver Nate Burleson puts it this way: "We don't want to be too much of the bad guy. But this is Michigan. We do represent Detroit. That means hustling hard and not getting pushed around. If we can tighten up the screws around that attitude and not have so many mistakes, that can work. We definitely embrace a little of being the bad guy."
Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh spoke up in the Chicago Tribune column as well, essentially taking the same stance as he did when he was asked whether he plays angry earlier this week.
"You want to be a team that can impose your will, be a team to be reckoned with," defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said. "As a defense, we want people to feel our wrath. We don't want to be pushovers, especially the way some Lions teams have been pushovers in the past."
It's interesting that Detroit has been given the "dirty" label, but the team seems ready to disprove it.
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