Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini suggested today that the Detroit Lions’ defense may have faked injuries during Sunday’s game in an effort to slow down the Browns’ no-huddle offense.
When told about Mangini’s comments, Lions coach Jim Schwartz wasn’t pleased.
“He’s way out of bounds on that,” Schwartz said, per the Detroit Free Press. “That couldn’t be further than the truth. There was no need to do that to slow the pace down, because the officials were doing a really good job of standing over the ball for us and them.
“We used a lot of no-huddle also, and I thought that the crew did a really good job of making sure that substitutes were allowed to come from either side if the offense substituted. So that game was under control that way.
“There was no need to do any of that stuff. That couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Schwartz also dismissed the Browns’ complaints about the pass interference penalty that set up the Lions’ game-winning touchdown with no time left. Schwartz said he thinks the Browns don’t understand the pass interference rules.
“They don’t know what they’re talking about,” Schwartz said. “You can quote me on that.”