Detroit Lions: Gregg Williams' Audio Sheds Light on Loss to Saints Last December

On December 4th, 2011 the Detroit Lions traveled to New Orleans to take on a heavily favored Saints team. At the time, Detroit had not yet clinched a playoff spot and desperately needed the win. No one outside Detroit really gave them a chance.

The Lions were able to hang with New Orleans for half the game, but a lackluster secondary and unnecessary penalties were their downfall in the second. They lost 31-17.

Fast forward to last Thursday when an audio tape of a pregame speech by Gregg Williams—former Saints defensive coordinator and bounty ringleader—was released to the media. What I heard on that tape made me re-think my feelings about the aforementioned Lions loss.

On the tape, Williams can be heard extolling his players to repeatedly hit a player in the head, take out a players knee and roll another's ankles.

Did the players heed their coach's mad rantings? Who knows. The possibility exists and that is all that matters.

In an already violent sport such as football, the implications of this speech sent shivers down my spine. While there was no mention of payment for big hits, it provided evidence of much worse: targeting specific players to be injured.

The speech took place prior to the Saints playoff matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. The players targeted were Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Kyle Williams. Yet, I immediately imagined Gregg Williams giving the same speech before he faced the Lions. 

He probably spewed this type of venom before every game, but the Lions were a team vulnerable to his immoral game plan.

They had just lost one of their best defensive players—Ndamukong Suh—due to suspension. This would have been a tremendous blow regardless of who the opponent was, but facing New Orleans it was huge.

Besides being a leader on defense, Suh is also an enforcer for Detroit. If a team cheap shots a Detroit player, Suh is going to be the guy to get payback. Williams knew that the Lions were without him and his team could get away with their antics.

Detroit had also been smacked with a "dirty team" label. A development that seems downright silly now that New Orleans has been exposed. 

Back then the fans, the media and the NFL itself believed that the Lions were the team you had to watch out for. Williams knew the referees would be keyed in on Detroit's players because of their reputation after being provoked.

Again, his players could get away with anything.

Williams also knew that the Lions had demonstrated a penchant for committing horrendous penalties and lapses of judgment at the worst possible moments. Often it was their youngest stars that were at fault.

With that in mind, doesn't the way Detroit lost the game make more sense? Sure, the Lions secondary was depleted and could not keep Drew Brees in check if their lives depended on it. Yet, what really lost the game for them?

It was the horrible penalties they committed in the second half that kept giving Brees yards and more chances to score. At the time those penalties were chalked up to immaturity and poor judgment on the part of young players such as: Brandon Pettigrew, Titus Young and Stephan Logan.

Stupid? Yes. But understandable knowing what kind of game the Saints defense was playing? Absolutely.

Every one of those penalties Detroit committed were retaliatory. They were provoked by a team of cheap shot artists provoked by a violent coach.

The Saints defense had been playing that way all game. In the second half, when the game was slipping out of their control, the Lions players were unable to turn the other cheek any longer and lashed out.

The referees played right into Williams' hands and the Lions were the ones penalized. Game, set, match.

My analysis is not meant to sound like sour grapes. Any team who lost to the Saints last year could respond to Williams' revelations and say, "See, that is why we lost." 

Knowing what we know now, the Lions simply have a very good argument to support their case.

It may not have mattered. The Saints could have played like boy scouts and still won the game; but we will never know. The possibility certainly exists that the Lions were targeted. In fact, this article suggests that was the case for the Lions wild-card loss to the Saints as well.

Ultimately a loss is a loss and the Lions hopefully learned from it. Luckily no player was injured during the game.

The bigger message is that Williams' brand of football needs to be stopped and Roger Goodell has acted swiftly to do that.

One thing is certain, the Lions were not the dirtiest team in the NFL last year.