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Caldwell Takes Blame For Sending 10 Men On Field For Two Packers Field Goal Attempts

By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby

It's always something, even in a win.

The Lions had already inexplicably let a Packers onside kick bounce through Calvin Johnson's hands on Sunday, with Detroit clinging to an 18-16 lead. Green Bay, and its perennial Pro-Bowl quarterback Aaron Rodgers, had driven to within kicker Mason Crosby's range for what would have been a game-winning field goal.

Crosby shanked the 52-yard attempt, after making a 44-yarder previously, and the Lions went home from Lambeau Field as winners for the first time since 1991. But if the Packers had sent that field goal through the uprights, the ball would have sailed over only 10 Lions players.

For the second time that day, Detroit had lined up only 10 men for a field goal try.

"Actually twice it happened, and both of those are my fault," head coach Jim Caldwell said when asked about the unit on the field for the final missed field goal. "We just have to make sure we get it done. But we had it on the rush side, I didn't want to call a timeout because we decided we were rushing on – we had the number of people that we could have on that particular side, the back side didn't hurt us as much. But yeah, that's my fault."

The Lions had had several injuries during the game, including cornerbacks Josh Wilson and Nevin Lawson, who is now in concussion protocol.

With several players being shuffled around because of injury, it's possible there was a miscommunication about who actually was supposed to be on the field goal unit at the end.

"We always make adjustments," Caldwell said. "Anything where it's an issue, we talk about it, we get it ratified, we get it adjusted and hopefully that sticks. Sometimes it doesn't, but in this particular case, we haven't had that issue with seven men on that side of the line of scrimmage."

Caldwell was asked during his Monday press conference how a miscommunication like that could have happened (much less happen twice), but he responded with a call for the next question.

Asked again how the situation had happened, Caldwell said more of the same.

"I just told you. It's my fault," he said. "I've got to do a better job."

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