Three days after flipping the bird at Lambeau Field following an ejection, Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch apologized for losing his cool.
"I most definitely agree with the call," Branch told reporters. "My target was obviously high, but that was never my intentions to aim for the head. Moving forward, I do have to move my target down."
The talented safety indicated he does want to gain attention for negative actions out on the football field.
"That's not something I would want to show people, to notice me as that," said Branch. "That was just a heat of the moment for me. I apologize to everybody that seen that, and that won't happen again."
Branch and Kerby Joseph have garnered a significant amount of attention for their aggressiveness and their ball-hawking abilities.
With Aidan Hutchinson out of the lineup, the 23-year-old has been able to bring some additional pressure from the safety position. The former second-round pick credited defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn for putting the defensive backs in the best position to succeed.
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"I feel like that puts a lot of pressure just on quarterbacks alone. You can't really tell what one of us is going to do every time, because we're gonna switch it up," said Branch. "And, I feel like they know that, and that's what makes their job tough. Offensive coordinators, I feel like A.G. (Glenn) puts us in a right spot where we're able to dominate, dictate what the offense does instead of letting the offense dictate what we're gonna do."
Corrective actions
Detroit's coaching staff is continuing to work with the young safety in being able to bring his target down when delivering hits.
"I think that's hard. The easy answer is, 'Hey, lower your target.' But, when you are running full speed and another guy is running full speed and all of a sudden his weight drops and the angle changes, that is hard. Because you don't want to tell guys, 'Hey all of a sudden, go for their knees.' We're trying to lower their target into the sternum, but it's a bag-bang play, it's hard," said defensive assistant Jim O'Neil. "I don't think he had any malicious intent at all."
Dan Campbell expressed during his weekly radio interview on 97.1 The Ticket that he talked to Branch about flipping the bird and not doing anything to hurt the team further, especially after he was already ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit.
"Look, you’re gonna get the flag, he’s probably gonna get fined for it," said Campbell. "That’s part of it, and you don’t want it, but once you’ve deployed your artillery, man, you’re not pulling it back. Funny enough, I’ve seen guys who have tried to pull back to keep from hurting somebody that have, two different times, torn the meniscus in their knee, trying to jab their knee in the ground to stop from going.
"The big thing, man, is the penalty after that," Campbell continued. "That’s what he and I talked about, like, ‘Man, you can’t give them the 15 (more penalty yards) after that.’ So, just lower the target and go through the sternum. He was just a little bit high. But, he’ll be fine, man. He plays an aggressive style, he’s a hell of a player. He’s a hell of safety, and no, he’s not a dirty player."
