Mike McCarthy chides Mike Daniels for ‘totally unnecessary’ penalty

GREEN BAY - Coach Mike McCarthy wasn't made aware until after Monday night's game of defensive tackle Mike Daniels’ plea for the Green Bay Packers' defense to “deliver some blows” against the Detroit Lions.

In reaction to seeing quarterback Aaron Rodgers and receiver Davante Adams knocked out of games against divisional rivals this season, Daniels said Saturday it was time for the Packers' defense to hit back.

In light of Daniels’ 15-yard penalty on the game’s initial third down, on what would have been a failed conversion for the Lions, the comment didn’t please McCarthy.

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Given new life, the Lions scored six plays later to take a 7-0 lead and never trailed in the game.

In the wake of a three-game losing streak, McCarthy said his message to Daniels was the same he told his entire team.

“They need to put their nose down,” McCarthy said Wednesday, “and I’m not really interested in talking right now. We need to play better. We need to coach better. We need to get the practice to show up on Sunday for four quarters, and it’s in the details.

“We need to focus on the details, and that was a big play in the game. Big play in the start of the game. It would have been momentum off of that, and so forth. Totally unnecessary.”

After the game, Daniels said it was “a really stupid-ass penalty” on his part.

Daniels long has been an emotional leader for the Packers. In recent years, he has been perhaps their best defensive player. His season started in dominant fashion, with Daniels recording seven tackles and 1½ sacks in the Packers' opening win against the Seattle Seahawks.

He hasn’t had a sack or tackle for loss in any of his five games since.

Daniels missed two games with a hip injury — and he exited with the injury early in a Week 2 game at Atlanta — but it isn’t the type of production the Packers have come to expect. When asked Tuesday if Daniels has underachieved this season, McCarthy said he wouldn’t place that description on him.

“I get the negative nature of how we have to operate in this climate right now,” McCarthy said, “but I’m not going to put those type of declarations on any of my players.”