Caldwell Says Lions Do Not Condone Raiola's Conduct In Sunday's Game
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell has spoken with longtime center Dominic Raiola about his dirty play at the end of Sunday's game against the New England Patriots. Raiola was the most egregious offender of several Lions who appeared to let their frustration get the better of them as the game progressed.
Raiola dove at the knees of the defensive lineman across from him when the Lions took a knee for the final play of the game, which the Patriots won in a landslide. Video shows Raiola also took swings at defenders earlier in the game. Caldwell said the Lions do not condone his behavior.
"He and I talked," Caldwell said. "We addressed the issue. What we talked about is a private matter, but he knows how we like to do things around here, and that's the end of the story."
Caldwell said the league is looking into Raiola's play but indicated the Lions will not be punishing him.
While the coach said he talked with Raiola, he did not speak with defensive tackle C.J. Mosley, whose penalty on New England's final field goal attempt gave the Patriots a first down and set them up for their final touchdown - the one that offended Raiola so much.
"It was flagged, and it was flagged appropriately," Caldwell said. "Penalties are something, obviously, we've been harping on, and we just can't have excessive penalties. Anything we can avoid, and things like that, are things that we want to stay away from."
The coach would not say - as Patriots coach Bill Belichick did - whether the infractions could be chalked up to frustration over the lopsidedness of the loss.
"I'm not attributing it to anything," Caldwell said. "I'm just telling you what we want, what we don't want, what's acceptable for us, what's not acceptable, plain and simple. To get into the thought process of an individual, that's not my concern."
The Lions have a long history as a team prone to thoughtless penalties, and they have hurt themselves at times this season as well. Sunday's game was fodder for that bad reputation, but Caldwell said he is not at all worried about whether his message about discipline is getting through.
"In particular when you're dealing with a place where you haven't been before, it's a constant battle, every single day, every single moment, so that's not anything unusual," Caldwell said. "Most of the time our guys are guys that listen. Every once in a while you run into a guy that's not swayed by either threats or eloquence, and so if that's the case, you've got to get rid of him, but nevertheless we don't have guys like that. Our guys just keep striving to do what we want to get done."
The Lions have a record of 7-4 after losing their last two games.
