2014 Lions V. the 2023 Lions

The Den
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The last time the Lions had a good roster was 2014. 9 seasons ago. Which roster would you take if you were the GM of the Lions?

The Lion’s offense 2014 featured:
Stafford, Golden Tate, Calvin Johnson, Eric Ebron, Jeremy Ross, Corey Fuller, Pettigrew, Ryan Broyles (for 5 games), Joique Bell, Reggie Bush, RB Theo Riddick, K Matt Prater, C Dominic Raiola, LOT Reilly Reiff, LG Rob Sims, RG Larry Warford, RT LaAdrian Waddle and P Sam Martin. 22nd in scoring.

On Defense the 2014 Lions featured DT Suh, DT Fairley, LDE Ziggy Ansah, RDE Jason Jones, DT CJ Mosley, LBers Ashlee Palmer, Tahir Whitehead, Tulloch, DeAndre Levy, CB Slay, CB Mathis, SS Ihedigbo and FS Glover Quin. That unit was 3rd in points allowed and they were amazing against the run.

Which unit do you take? I could go through the 2023 Lions roster but I think we all know that. There are parts i take from the 2014 team (Calvin/Tate, Suh/Fairley, Levy/Tulloch) but damn, I gotta say this is MUCH closer talent-wise than I expected.

2023 doesn’t have Slay but we have Cameron Sutton. We don’t have Quin but we have Kerby Joseph and I’ll take many other 2023 defensive players like safety CJG. Tulloch V. Anzalone is a wash for me. Ziggy V. Hutch is Wash for me. But I’ll take 2023 edge rushers over the 2014 edge rusher options. I’ll take the 2023 Lion RBs at this point.

The depth for 2023 is WAY better overall. The 2014 team was VERY reliant on the big guys (Suh, Calvin, Tate) but the 2023 team has better options at TE, RB and yes, I think WR with a deeper position group. Jameson Williams is a HUGW wild card for the 2023 team but hell, Corey Fuller and Jeremy Ross (he started 13 games for us that year) would not even make the 2023 Lions. Josh Reynolds and Marvin Jones are better #3 and #4 options. Kalif Raymond is WAY better than any option on the 2014 team too.

I’ll take 2023 Goff over 2014 Stafford too. Matt was broken in 2013 and Caldwell fixed that. BUT…Lombardi sucked and I’ll take Ben Johnson over Lombardi and Stafford.

We all know what happened in 2014 but at this point overall I think I will take the 2023 Lions. Better OL, RB, secondary and better QB at this point. Thoughts?

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Biggest difference = coaching staff & culture.
New Lions are best lions ever.
Offensive Line
Soon to be defensiveLine too.

This thing in 2023 = a freight train going down a hill.
This year = very serious contention
Next = super bowl

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I’m thinking the 2014 roster with our 2023 coaches.
If you broke it down by units, I’d take the 2023 O and 2014 D. That was a really really good defense.
If you start picking from both teams it would get interesting.

Our coaches today would have gotten that 2014 team to the NFC championship.
And that’s pretty much where our 2023 team is going.

All in all, I’d take 2023.

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Suh, Slay, Calvin, Warford that’s the only guys I’d take from that team.

We are loaded now wow + the culture/coaching staff as @BigNatty said.

DUUUDE, why did you bring him up.

Now I am totally doubting my Antoine Green lovefest. He is probably just Corey Fuller 2.0

Bryan Cranston Reaction GIF

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Gibby will blow everyone’s mind
He & Monty are what ben will use to rub their nose in it (how good the OL is)

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QB- wash
RB- wash
Tackles - 2023
Interior OL - pretty much a wash in pass pro, 2023 has an edge in running
overall OL - 2023
WR’s-2014 (due to Calvin)
DL-2014
LB - tough one, Levy was very good, but hoping for big things from Captain Jack, based on accomplishments- 2014, based on potential - 2023 (similar to RB).
Secondary - 2023, even though Slay is the best player overall
ST - 2023
coaching - 2023 by alot.
dawg factor - 2023, although Suh was the biggest dawg of all.
overall - 2023

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If the current coaching staff and front office had that 2014 team the 2014 Lions are division winners and would have won, at least, a few playoff games.

If the coaching staff and front office from 2014 had this current team…this current team would be mediocre at best.

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this year by an ocean of difference

Matt>Goff, though the system we currently employ helps neutralize a ton (by dexign)

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Was 2014 the year the refs picked up the flag in Dallas? I think it was, we beat Dallas and I liked our chances from there. 2014 should have been special!
I’d take our current young roster loaded with potential over the 2014 team. We are set up to be in the playoffs for years to come!

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2023 Lions have much more growth potential. The 2014 team will probably be a bit better than the 2023 Lions will wind up being simply because they had more established vets driving the team but it was also a win now or bust team for the most part with some of the core moving on. The 2023 Lions are just starting their journey.

I’m still chapped about that year. That’s the only Lions team in my lifetime that I thought had a shot at a SB run (1991 was smoke and mirrors IMO) and they got robbed of that chance.

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Give me the 2023 team and staff.

There are a few quirks to remember about the 2014 squad.

LB - Don’t forget that the 2014 squad had Tahir Whitehead in the middle, not Stephen Tulloch. Tulloch tore his ACL celebrating part way into the 3rd game of the season.

OL - This one isn’t even close. Riley Reiff was solid at LT. I like Raiola more than most, but he’s no Ragnow. Warford was solid but seemed to take a step back from his 2013 season. We had a real weakness at LG and RT. Rob Sims was in his last season in the NFL and it showed. He hit a wall. The RT position was a turnstile most of the season and Stafford and company had to try to overcome the issues over there. LaAdrian Waddle and Garrett Reynolds were manning the spot. Both of them were out of the league a few seasons later.

GIF: Detroit Lions Stephen Tulloch Injured His Knee Doing Discount Double-Check Celebration

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Yep and agreed with the rest of your post. That year was set up for the Lions to make a run and Suh knew that was their shot as you can see him showing rare emotion in the post game presser.

And agreed with the second part. I think the 2014 were better equipped for short term success while this version is set up for long term success.

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For the record I am not factoring in injuries overall. That includes Tulloch, Fairley and so on.

I also didn’t factor in age. My guess is the 2023 Lions are significantly younger overall.

Here is something to consider:
Amon Ra has 8 less receiving yards than Calvin through his their first two seasons. Calvin had 3 more receiving TDs than Amon Ra.

I am not saying Amon Ra is better…BUT…I am saying it might be easier to win with a WR like Amon Ra as he is SO damn flexible. A back breaker guy. Hines Ward. Edelman. Calvin’s catch rate (targets to catches) was 51% while Amon Ra’s is 74%. Yes Calvin is the more explosive WR with a higher average but I believe Calvin was easier to take out of a game V. trying to take Amon Ra out of a game in terms of stopping a guy (not injuring a guy!).

If Marvin Jones has something left AND Jameson proves himself to be a stud the NFL better watch out.

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I’m taking the 2023 Lions, all day.
Top to bottom, the far better organization.

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I think Suh cried after that game. A few years later he said it was the best team that he was ever on. Before his super bowls, though.
This official’s error ranks right up there with the shoulda-been perfect game. It was just as clear an error.

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That team had Golden Tate opposite Calvin. Tate had 99 catches for 1,331 yards that season.

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[quote=“BigNatty, post:8, topic:24309, full:true”]

this year by an ocean of difference

Yeah, I’m basing it on proven pro’s. Bush is alot like Gibbs but you have to give Bush the edge at this point. Joique Bell is a tougher but less elusive Montgomery, but here I gave Monty the advantage. Then the 14 squad has Riddick. I hope Gibbs tears it up and makes this look ridiculous, but I wasn’t grading on potential… similar to LB and Captain Jack.

Yep, hit the nail on the head

Thanks to the OP - fun post!

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Beat me to it. You have to give Megatron/Tate the edge over Ra and ? Jamo?-all potential. Jones-Tate, even in Jones’ prime. Reynolds? not a dscussion. Lif? similar to Ross. Plus, even double teams sometimes didn’t work on Calvin. He’s the only receiver that I’ve seen clear triple-teams on. Again, this could look very different a year from now if Jamo can finally get it together.

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As long as we’re talking about all-time Lions teams, I thought that this piece was done very very well, and found myself agreeing with this guy very often. Of course, the 1950’s teams weren’t in there, but it was before most of our lifetimes, so I don’t mind that. He has the 1991 Lions beating the 1970 Lions in the “Super Bowl”. Some pretty good content and trip down memory lane. The 1970 Lions were at a very impressionable time for me, so they are my favorite team, although I’m ready to hop on the 2023 freight train!

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Here we go…

QB- I would take 2023-2026 Goff over 2013-2016 Stafford… and the combo of Sudfeld and Hooker over Kellen Moore by a wide margin…

RB- I would take Gibbs and Monty over Bush and J Bell by a fair margin. The Lions and Saints used Reggie in such a predictable manner, that his talent was wasted by defenses being ready for him… I think Ben will unlock Gibby’s potential to a much better extent, and Monty is a superior player to Bell by far…

OL- I would take Decker over Reiff… I would take Jackson over R Sims… I would take Ragnow over Dom… I would take Warford over Big V or Glasgow for sure (at that stage in his career), but I would take Sewell over anyone on that OL - especially Waddle!!! - so yeah- I would take the 23’ OL by miles given we are significantly better at 4 out of 5 spots!!!

WR/TE- I would take Calvin and Golden all day, but the depth behind them was sooooo bad it was like the early 21’ Lions WR corps… consider C Fuller, J Ross, B Pettigrew, Ryan Broyles and an injured Ebron accounted for about 830 yards and 3 TDs!!! My god that is bad… I expect ASB, Jamo and Marvin Jones to compete with the 2,400 yards and 12 TDs we got from Calvin and Tate… but Reynolds, Raymond, Laporta, Wright, and J Mitchell will double the above group… Overall I would take our depth, and upside at WR and TE… Corey Fuller and J Ross weren’t NFL players, and neither was J Bell or C Fauria…

Edge- Ziggy, G Johnson, J Jones… or Hutch, Problem, C Harris, Paschal, ROK- not even close- I think our current group gets us 28 plus sacks vs the 19 sacks we got from the edge spots in 14’…

DT- we 14 sacks and great run D from Suh, Fairley, Moseley, Fluellen… We won’t get that from McNeill, Buggs, Comish, and Bro Mart- but we might get 10 sacks and decent run D (if Bro Mart pans out)…

LB- this one is interesting… Whitehead was very similar to Anzalone with regards to production and upside… D Levy had a career year, and was a very good player for us for a few years prior to 2014, and thus we’d need Jack Campbell to come fast out the gates… I like the combo of Barnes and Rodrigo over what we got from Bynes, Palmer, and Tulloch collectively in 2014…

CB- I prefer what we got from Slay and Mathis over what I expect from Moseley and Sutton, BUT there is no doubt I would take the combo of Branch, Jacobs, Harris over Qdus, Vaughn etc…

S- I loved Quinn, but Ihedigbo was a liability in coverage despite his 4 ints… Could I see us getting 10-11 interceptions from CJGJ, K Joseph, and T Walker combined? Absolutely- they had 11 combined last year despite TONS of missed starts… safety goes to current!

Coaches- current!!!

So on the entire team… Calvin over Jamo… Warford over Big V… Suh over McNeill… Levy over Campbell… Slay over Sutton… Otherwise I am taking rest of 2023 team

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