Was Brian Branch’s ejection determined by the size of the TV audience?

Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell's advice to safety Brian Branch after the former Alabama defensive back was ejected from Sunday's game for a helmet-to-helmet hit: Lower his sights and, if he's going to make a hit like that, do it against the Panthers, not the Packers.

In the second quarter of the Lions' 24-14 victory in an NFC North showdown with Green Bay, Branch was disqualified from further participation after being flagged for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Packers wide receiver Bo Melton.

Perry Fewell, the NFL's senior vice president of officiating, said Branch's action did not trigger an automatic ejection, but that his disqualification had been a decision made after consultation between the on-the-field officials and league officiating headquarters in New York.

"We reviewed all the angles," Fewell said , "and we clearly felt that he had time and space to make a different choice, as the act was a flagrant foul. And he clearly had the opportunity to avoid the head-and-neck area."

On Monday, Campbell said that's about what he was told.

"What we were told was it was intent, it was flagrant," Campbell said , "and it is what it is."

The Lions-Packers game was almost a national game on Sunday. Only one other NFL game kicked off at 3:25 p.m. CST, and only the FOX TV affiliates in the Los Angeles and Seattle markets carried the Rams-Seahawks game. The rest of the nation was shown the Detroit-Green Bay contest by the network.

"Certainly try to lower your target to where it doesn't become (a hit to the head)," Campbell said on Sunday, "but I never want to take away his aggressiveness and the skills that make him the player that he is. But it doesn't help us when he isn't available in the game either, so I would tell him just to lower it.

"And he has to get used to that, too, when you play in prime-time games. New York is going to look at all these. They don't care about the 1 o'clock games. They give us prime-time games, so understand the situation, and we will get through it. He'll be fine."

A widely used example to support Campbell's contention, not by the coach but by NFL observers, was the hit by Carolina safety Xavier Woods on New Orleans wide receiver Chris Olave in a game earlier in the afternoon between a team with a five-game losing streak and a team with a six-game losing streak.

Woods' hit drew a rain of yellow flags and left Olave stretched on the turf for a lengthy delay while he was carefully removed, then transported to a hospital.

Woods was penalized, but he was not ejected.

Branch also drew an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty after being informed of his ejection. Fewell said that had been assessed before Branch left the field saluting the Lambeau Stadium crowd with two middle fingers with his arms stretched toward the sky.

While Branch can expect a fine from the NFL for his hit and maybe the unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty, too, Fewell said he thought Branch's parting shot could be addressed through the NFL Compliance Department, which handles discipline for on-the-field actions that are deemed " detrimental to the league ."

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