On "Monday Night Countdown" before the Detroit Lions took on the Baltimore Ravens to end Week 3, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the team had taken action with the league office to highlight how defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was being blocked.
"The Detroit Lions have taken notice, and they’ve asked the league office to monitor the plays against Aidan Hutchinson,” Schefter said,via Lions on SI.“Not that that will protect him out there, but clearly people have noticed some of the plays, and the Lions want the league office to notice as well.”
As a couple of low blocks were shown, Schefter continued.
"He’s coming off the fractured tibia and fibula," Schefter said. "If you watch his performance the first two games of the year, what stands out about that is the fact that it feels like opponents have been going low on him, so much so that the Lions have raised the issue with the league office. If you go back and look at the film from the first game, take a look at how Green Bay is coming at Aidan Hutchinson's legs."
Analyst Marcus Spears, a former NFL defensive lineman, offered his thoughts on the topic.
“It’s unfortunate, and obviously, (the complaint) is raised because of the injury that he suffered," Spears said. "Obviously, I’m not a fan of the cut block. I think it should have been banned a long time ago, with game safety. But that is a normal football play. And because of those tight ends, they are not going to try to block you straight up. They are going to try to get you on the ground. It’s taught that way.”
Dan Campbell bluntly refutes report about Aidan Hutchinson complaints
Campbell spoke to the media on Wednesday, looking ahead to Week 6 on "Sunday Night Football" against the Kansas City Chiefs. Asked about Hutchinson, Campbell did not hold back his praise.
"He’s in that rare world of you don’t get the easy way out, man,” Campbell said. “He’s gotta beat the nudges, he’s gotta beat the (running) back chip then the tackle’s on him or he’s gotta beat the nudge. Sometimes the back, the tackle, and the slides coming to him with a guard, also. Sometimes you have to beat three, sometimes four, but if that’s the case somebody else is winning. They’ve got to win."
Campbell was then asked about Schefter's report from a few weeks ago, and he responded before the question was even finished.
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"That’s bogus,” Campbell said. “That’s a bogus report. I don’t know where that came from. Nobody from here ever did that. That’s bull. The game is played a certain way, that’s the way it goes. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing or (what) somebody else is doing to our guys. We know that, and we play accordingly."
It's odd Campbell was asked about ESPN's report over two weeks after it came out. His response made it clear he's aware of it, though, and he is not happy about a false narrative it invited. While the response is to be expected, it also fits Campbell's template to call a spade a spade when it's warranted.
Opposing teams will use any means necessary to keep Hutchinson away from their quarterback. But the Lions didn't, and won't, complain to the league office about it as long as the means are within the rules.