Lions coach Jim Schwartz has heard all the stuff about how his team is dirty, the accusations that his players take cheap shots and taunt injured opponents, that he made a mockery of good sportsmanship through his handshake-turned-confrontation with Jim Harbaugh.
And Schwartz says that, all things considered, he’d rather be known as a nasty team than the opposite.
“It’s better than the alternative — meekest, least aggressive, softest team in the NFL,” Schwartz told the Detroit News. “People are entitled to their opinion. If you try to fight that, you’re gonna be miserable in this business. Whatever the perception is, whatever people think of us, that doesn’t mean anything to us.”
I doubt there are any Lions fans who disagree with that sentiment. If the Lions gain a reputation as the dirtiest team in the league, that’s a lot better than the well-earned reputation they had for the last decade as the worst team in the league.
