The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers will meet on Sunday Night Football in a game where both teams have playoff aspirations. More than that, it sounds like there is some bad blood between the NFC North rivals and a lack of respect.
While the issues between Aaron Rodgers and the Lions’ defense likely go back way further, the Packers‘ quarterback took a shot at the team during an interview two weeks ago, making sure to note Detroit was not a winning football team at the time. Rodgers also went out of his way not to give Detroit any credit when he and the Packers played poorly against them in November.
“Look, no disrespect, but did they play great?” asked Rodgers in November. “I mean, we had 400 yards of offense on them. Moved the ball up and down the field. I threw an interception off a helmet. I threw an interception about five yards short of Dave. I didn’t play a great game. We still made a lot of mental mistakes. But I don’t think that really stopped us. We had three possessions in the first half and went up and down the field. So, it’s more about us than them.”
it sure sounds like Lions safety DeShon Elliott took all of those comments to heart.
“This means a lot, because I feel like they don’t respect us,” safety Elliott said Friday, via Kyle Meinke of mlive.com. “[Rodgers] doesn’t respect us; that team doesn’t respect us. We shouldn’t be an underdog, no matter what the record says. Going out there, I think we’re going to fight our ass off, play smashmouth football, just cause of the respect factor.
“Like, we all got here someway, somehow. Yeah, he’s a Hall-of-Famer, but I just don’t respect the way he’s been talking about my guys all year, and the way that team views us. So we’re going to go out there and prove something.”
Elliott was asked what it is about Rodgers that bothers him and he was happy to answer.
“Shoot, whatever,” Elliott said. “The way he carries himself. I don’t like none of that s***. So, we got to go out there and show what we can do, and show who the big dog [is], back up all the talking we do. We’re going to go out there and do that.”
Elliott and the Lions will have the chance to sweep Rodgers and Green Bay, all while keeping them out of the playoffs, when the two teams meet on Sunday.
