AP

Lions receiver Nate Burleson says that the Lions need to get back to being bad boys. Appearing on Wednesday’s Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network, Lions defensive end Cliff Avril echoed that assessment.

“I would agree, I mean last year we had that going,” Avril told Erik Kuselias. “Lot of people calling us nasty because of the way we play. I think if we embrace that in a sense of play hard and playing physical then they’ll give you that name and we’ll embrace it. You know, as long as we do what we need to do which is win and play physical and fast.”

The problem is that guys who are nasty on the field sometimes can’t turn it off when they cross the white lines. And too many of the Lions got in trouble this offseason, proving the connection between being nasty and being nasty.

Still, most fans are willing to tolerate a few mug shots if it means that ultimate success will be something less than a moon shot.