Lions player says Jim Schwartz 'lost control,' entire team needs to be accountable

Are you ready for some more anonymous comments? I hope so, because another set of them came out on Monday. This time, the comments are from an unnamed Detroit Lions player who sounded off on the 2012 season. He put blame on the players, but he also made some interesting comments about Lions head coach Jim Schwartz and the team's lack of discipline. Here they are via CBS Sports' Mike Freeman:

"I think players first and foremost are at fault," said the player. "I also think Coach [Jim Schwartz] lost control of the team a little. I hope he comes back. It would be stupid to fire him, but we were an undisciplined team. Most of that is on us.

"But everyone needs to be accountable. The coaches, the players, the front office. Guys need to stop acting like assholes off the field. Need to stop getting stupid penalties. The truth is coaches need to punish guys more when they screw up."

I'm really not sure why this player decided to remain anonymous, because he's exactly right. The offseason was the start of the Lions' issues with all of their off-field problems, and as Stephen Tulloch said last week, these distractions lingered into the regular season. The Lions lost their focus, and although the players do need to straighten up, it's on the coaches to keep the team disciplined as well.

Clearly, the Lions need to change their ways this offseason. Call it a culture change or whatever you want, but the Lions have to become a more disciplined team. This means no more incidents off the field, and it means playing smarter football on the field come next season. Basically, this is a problem that can't be ignored any longer, and it does seem like the franchise -- from the front office on down to the players -- seems to understand this.

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