M2 - It's still tough to hear a player yell "grow the F up" to the team when he's the first to flip off a fan. It's tough to call someone a leader when they're as black as the kettle they're chastizing, and it DOES reflect with his play on the field. He gets called for tripping, leg whips, personal fouls, etc. just as much as anyone else. He may have been frustrated watching everyone else do it, but he does it just as much. IMO Raiola is part of the problem, not the solution.

Is what Raiola said wrong? I don't think so, and neither do any of you. So what should it matter who said it?

And you guys are looking at this from a fans perspective, not a players. You think the players give a damn that Raiola flipped off the fans, or argued with some of them? They don't. As a matter of fact, it is likely that they wanted to do the same thing, but had their reasons for not doing it. This is about Raiola being one of the more vested veterans on this team. He has every right to call out the guys that were pulling that AFTER THE WHISTLE crap.

wjb - when's the last time you heard of Raiola getting flagged for a personal foul after the whistle?
Those are the penalties in question. And as far as his getting penalized as much as anybody else on the Lions o-line....well, check the stats and you'll find you couldn't be more wrong.

The game that Raiola called out Jeff Backus for holding, RAIOLA HELD THE SAME DAMN GAME! Leg whips, tripping, holds, illegal blocks, etc. The guy gets flagged ALL THE TIME. I tried looking it up, but every story on the first three pages was all about the Saints game and his blow up, but Raiola has been called out for after the whistle stuff too. Just because he didn't do it one game, and called people out for it does not make him a good leader.

The bottom line is somebody has to say something

VERY well said. I dont care if Peter Griffin was the one to say it, SOMEONE had to stand up and say it.

Dom is the least penalized linemen on the team. He draws less than the TEs.

Tell that to wjb. He thinks Raiola gets just as many flags as anybody else on the line. The truth is, he's one of the least flagged centers in the game.

Maybe Raiola has more credibility as a (former?) hothead.

Like I said, Raiola has credibility among his team mates. Wjb and others are thinking of this from a fans perspective, not a players perspective. It really doesn't matter where the message comes from. The fact is, the message has merit.

I know this whole line of discussion has gotten off track when someone starts to tell me they know for sure what's going on inside all the players heads.

As I said from the outset of this discussion:

I am happy Raiola is speaking out! The message is an important one. I just don't think he's the best or most credible leader and I hope he's not the only leader on the offense who has spoken out in the locker room re: this issue.

You either believe that there is more than one leader in the locker room, or, you don't. And you either believe that different players will be drawn to the leadership they feel most comfortable with, or, you don't.

LF57, I understand what you're saying, but the players did name Raiola as a team captain, so I can only assume that he has their respect. As a result, his voice should carry more weight than most others in the locker room.

The bolded part is all that matters. You don't play on the team so what does it matter how credible you think he is? The players responded to him so....

I just don't understand how you seem to think that only certain players have the right to speak up when something is clearly wrong. It could've been Ricardo Silva yelling that out and it still would've been true.

I've watched every game this season from start to finish with the exception of the second Bears game. (I had to shut that one off due to frustration)

I can't remember Raiola getting a single flag all season. He hasn't been perfect in previous seasons, but this year he's been pretty disciplined.

+1

His being named team captain is ALL you have to know about how the PLAYERS view him on this team. The players could care less what the fans have to say about it.

Raiola did exactly what was needed at that moment. Standing up in that locker room and calling out the team publicly like he did was perfect given the circumstances. Someone needed to say it. I'm glad he did it.