Brian Branch incites brawl between Lions, Chiefs after loss | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC

Brian Branch incites brawl between Lions, Chiefs after loss | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC

I was sitting there watching it. You know, you’re you listen to Mike Tico. He’s like, “Okay, we’re going off the air. We’re going to go into commercial.” Turned it off. I know that I’m an NBC employee. You’re tired. I wanted to go to bed. I was tired. I turned it off and then I got a text on the PFT writers. I think I texted at first. No, no, from NBS or somebody. It was Miles Simmons. Somebody I’ll post one about the fight. And it’s like, what fight? I I I I think and then I texted our little chain and I was like I Brian Branch is going to get suspended for quite some time like he’s he’s first off he has history right yeah he’s got a lot of history actually in this type of you know scenario but this is Brian Branch where well it started before that started before that shake his hand and he brushes him off and Mahomes like hits his arm and then Ju Guu comes over to shake his hand and he pops him in the face. Exactly right. So that Brian Branch, we know it was uncalled for, but you see the melee here and this is this is not really going to do it justice because it goes on and on and on and on. And as I tried to explain to you, and I know you still got to go back and watch it and digest it a little bit more. It gets to a point where I can’t tell what the hell’s going on. It gets to a point where you can’t tell what’s going on, but then at the very end, all of the sudden, guys get up and there’s a DB that I don’t know who exactly who it is. And I mean it becomes punches thrown. There’s punches thrown without people having helmets on. It got to that point and into that point Mike Trico and you know Mike I mean he’s as smooth as it comes. He is literally like whoa whoa whoa. There is some melee going on down there right? I mean he was even like this is beyond your normal like jawing after a game. We’re mad we lost. We got in your face Ronnie Lville Sim style or something like that. Right. This was not that. This was Brian Branch and Guju Smith Schustster who are both as tough as hell were on the ground in a wrestling match for it seemed like about 50 seconds and they could not be separated and then there was people on top not only trying to separate but I also think people on top trying to add to the fight as well and I to me definitely one of the more memorable postgame interactions I’ve ever seen before and Mahomes was visibly angry and shooken up about it. Well, when when he when he was being shaken, shooken, shaken, tomato, tomato, when he was being interviewed by Melissa Star after the game, you could tell he was still pissed. Yes. Right. He was still pissed. I’ve never seen him like that. Never either. He was pissed. And at one point, Mike Trico said the officials basically said, “Peace out.” They when they got to about right here for a for a few, they literally were like, “Okay, this isn’t going too crazy, and I want to be see.” Here we go. There we go. That’s what I wanted to see. See right there? And this looks like his own teammate who’s not dressed takes the Detroit Lion person. Who is this right here? That’s who I don’t know. But that was a that was punches thrown. And that’s where it went to a whole another level. And it looked like it was actually one of his own teammates trying to, you know, help out another teammate from infliction. No, it was a Kansas City Chiefs guy. I’m wrong about that. But it was it was remarkable. They’re going to have to subruuer film this. This is going to be going to take some digging through and figure out the fines, figure out suspensions. The league has emphasized this year sportsmanship. And there is no worse display of poor sportsmanship than to take a shot at somebody during the good game phase of the endeavor. Right. And they they claim and I’m not advocating that Brian Branch be suspended. It’s up to the league, right? But based upon what we know of the league, we look at this and say, “This guy’s getting suspended.” Yes. And if the goal is we want to send the right message to all lower levels of football, all the way down to the pee-weees, all the way down to flag fiveyear-old kids running around, anybody who ever touches a football and plays competitively. The message is when it’s over, it’s over. And there’s a fundamental difference, Chris, in my mind, between somebody taking a shot at someone after a whistle while the game is still live, right, and the game is done, the uniforms are off, they’re meeting for the prayer circle in the middle of the field. At that point, it’s no different than walking down the street and punching someone. And if you walked, and I remember when Albert Haynesworth did the, you know, stomp on the head of Andre Gar, the Cowboys center. I remember saying like like that’s no different than stomping on someone’s head on the street. Yeah. You know, it’s after the plays ended, but this takes it even to another level because the game’s over. The game’s over, right? And I I think that the punishment, given the NFL’s emphasis on sportsmanship this year, the punishment is going to be significant. Branch started it. If Branch doesn’t do that, we don’t have this whole thing. And so I think there’s going to be a lot of money that is involuntarily contributed to the charities of the NFL’s choice because that’s what they do with the fine money. And I’ll be surprised if Brian Branch isn’t suspended. I I would think so. I mean, listen, I I I’m not trying to say anything either. And and I love Brian Branch and the way he plays football. Like you know me, I’m old school. I love those kind of guys. You know, he is a pedal to the metal, try to knock your head off type of safety. He’s that way. Well, yes, he is. He is that way. Yes, we know he is a try to knock your head off. Literally, but there’s a point where it has to end. It has to end. And I think Dan Campbell tried to say that after the game. I mean, he was very, you could tell distraught about it. Let’s You want to show it? Here’s Dan Campbell after the game talking about what Brian Branch did. Let me start with this. Um, I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable and, uh, it’s not going to be accepted here. It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about. And I apologize to uh Coach Reed and and the Chiefs and uh you know and Schustster. That’s not okay. We we that’s not what we do here and uh it’s not going to be okay. He knows it. Our team knows it. And uh so that’s that’s that’s not what we do. I did a little childish thing, but I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it. like they trying to bully me out there. I don’t I don’t should have never did it, but it was childish. Were there other things that they were doing just in terms of maybe rubbing it in at the end? Yeah, they were It was a lot of stuff, but we I should have showed it between the whistle uh not after the game and I apologize for that. Yeah, he was upset because apparently late in the game Juju Miss Schustster pushed him from behind, right? Which I don’t think it was really after the whistle. Here’s the play right here. I mean, man, he’s still running. Look at the top of your screen. Play it again, guys. I mean, this is not late. Now, this is what happens on a football field sometimes. He gets caught off guard. Juju sees him not looking. Juju takes the liberty of going, “Ooh, somebody that hits a lot of people, is not going to see me and I’m going to take my shot.” And a guy like Brian Branch, who we know is Mr. Alpha male, bring it. I’m the man all the time, he just he’s got a hard time swallowing that. So, he was still pissed off. Sorry, London. Let me say this. That’s the kind of play that the NFL is hoping to avoid by being aggressive with the taunting fouls cuz th this feels like Brian Branch said or did something to Juju Smith earlier and Ju Guu was going to get him back. He was going to get him back. That that’s why that’s why even though it’s ridiculously inconsistent and it’s like roll the dice, flip a coin, light a match. Who the hell knows when they’re going to call taunting? They called taunting on Cam Scataboo the other night. We see that all the time and it’s not called. But the reason that they emphasize it is they want to take away that incentive to be looking for a guy later between the play, right? Where you can you can exercise discretion. Do I block him normally? Do I take a shot at him? Do I maybe give him a pop? Now, they could have flagged him for blocking the back. Yeah. I mean, where where are the the Chiefs weren’t flagged once last night, apparently. Do they have a single penalty? I saw on Twitter they weren’t penalized once. Let’s check this in the game book. No, not one penalty against the Chiefs last night. Well, it was not not a lot. There was only four on the in the whole game in general. So, it was a a refereeing crew that certainly was not flag happy. There’s so much holding that doesn’t get caught. There’s all that time. I that play right there. Listen, you know, do we love that what we just saw from Juju Smith Schustster? No. I think the NFL is trying to get some some of that those type of hits out of the league, right? They’re going, “Wait, you’re not really close to the play. You’re not affected. Did you have to hit him like that? But is that illegal? No. Does that warrant Brian Branch after the game not shaking hands and then of course throwing an openhanded, you know, right jab right into Juju Smith Schusters’s face certainly didn’t warrant that. And now they’re going to have to deal with it. And the bad thing is is just what we we started the segment off. It’s a depleted secondary anyways. This was the best and last guy left. So now he’s going to be out, you know, for some time here. I don’t know if it’ll be one game, two games. I’m betting it’s it’s multiple games with that one right there. Uh but but we’ll see where it goes. But yeah, certainly unfortunate and and not Brian Branch’s best moment. I couldn’t think of another moment like this and I was racking my brain where it’s after the game. Yeah, because after the game is no different than and I know that I know that the word assault is a punchline now because that’s what Sheffy tweeted when Miles Garrett assaulted Mason Rudolph with his own helmet and that became kind of a joke and like the pardon my take guy. So anytime somebody punches him, assault, but it is when it is assault when the game’s over it does become assault and battery to walk up to somebody and punch them in the face. That’s not what we do in a civilized society. And if you do it, you can be prosecuted for a crime. It’s a low misdemeanor unless you really injure the guy. So it is assault. It does need to be taken seriously. And the one time I could remember was after the playoff game. Remember the paint the dirt green playoff game between the Seahawks and Washington. The one where Robert Griffin the third’s knee Yeah. finally imploded because we think that he had done the bulk of the damage Ravens earlier. Trent Williams. Richard Sherman without a helmet on. Yeah. Trent Williams, they’re nose to nose and Trent Williams does a lightning fast slap to the head. The fine for that was only $7,800. Yeah. Now, that was 13 years ago. And I’m not talking about that from the standpoint of cost of living increases. I’m just saying I feel like the league’s position now is a little more a little more diligent and protective when it comes to sportsmanship. Yeah, agreed. And it’s going to be hard. Now, here’s the problem. If you suspend Brian Branch, that’s when precedent, this is where the whole CBA and what have you done before, this is where it all becomes very relevant. It could be that the suspension gets overturned on appeal. And I think sometimes the league tries to to guess what’s going to happen because we don’t want it to look like we tried to impose a suspension and we failed, right? because it goes to it’s not truly an independent party, but it’s there are like four former players now jointly hired, jointly paid by the league and the union who would decide this. And we’ll see. It could be that based upon, and Gary’s making a good point here, based upon what Dan Campbell said. It could be the Lions suspend him. And it could be that Brian Branch doesn’t fight whatever it is, you know, the league suspends him. BR uh the team suspends him and Branch Branch is contrite. We’ll see how even though he could have a legal argument, right, as to why he shouldn’t be suspended because that’s the thing. Hey, I won the legal argument and now I walk back into the locker room and there’s Dan Campbell waiting for me with this perpetual dip in and I got a problem now. Like at some point you got to go along. It’s if you want to have a a long-term future with this team. That’s right. and the coach is sufficiently pissed that he knows you deserve to miss a game even if it’s gonna hurt the team. Yeah. And you fight it, you gota deal with that coach. We’ll see. We’ll see how serious Dan Campbell is about it. I mean, he was pretty strong and that that we’re not about that here. We don’t do that and apologize apologizing to the Chiefs. So, uh yeah, that’s going to be interesting to see where that would send the strongest possible message that Dan Campbell means what he says if if they would suspend Brian Branch. Yeah. Because strategically, competitively, they need him. Yeah. Because the Bucks come to town, right? Five and one Bucks come to town next Monday. Bellich move to go, wait, no. This is how this is the message to the team, and we’ll maybe sacrifice us not being at our best next week against a team that’s a power in the NFC, but I’m going to send the message to my team and a player where they want a long-term future with. They don’t want to be dealing with this with Brian Branch. Brian Branch is a special special player. I mean, he’s arguably the best safety in football. I mean, he’s incredible. So, they don’t want this to go this way, but they might have to make an example here just so they can continue this relationship and that Brian Branch gets it that we can’t keep doing this and if you keep doing this, we’re not going to be able to sign you to a big contract and you’re not going to be part of the Lions football team going forward. And I don’t think Brian Branch is going to want that either because he’s at a spot where they relish, they love guys like him and his attitude. He just can’t. He just crosses the line a little bit every now and then and that’s where they got to keep him in check to a degree. Can I just say one thing? Yeah. Well, I’m going to anyway. I just I’m just transitioning. When you said that’s the ultimate Bill Bich move. Yeah. I don’t want to like have him catch a stray here, but doesn’t that have less of a shine than it used to have? Well, I right now maybe in the immediate like right like yes, what we’re talking about. Sure, I get you. But I am also capable of going, “Well, yeah, you know, Michael Jordan in his last year’s career, the fatal eight jumper didn’t look good.” I still think of the prime one. Right. I know. But I’m just saying it hits a little different now. Yeah, it definitely does. It definitely does. Yes. No doubt about it. Hi, it’s Mike Florio. 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Mike Florio and Chris Simms react to the postgame brawl that began following the final whistle of the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday night. #NBCSports #NFL #ProFootballTalk
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Brian Branch incites brawl between Lions, Chiefs after loss | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC https://www.youtube.com/NFLonNBC