With the 2019 season playoff probability at 14%, it seems to me like there’s a real possibility of 2020 being a Make It or Break him off kind of year for our fuzzy fat savior. Stafford’s contract at that same juncture becomes very easy on the salary cap to cut or more than likely after almost decade-and-a-half he gets tired of the continual curse here and tells Martha or whoever that he’s done.
So if you don’t have fatty Matty Patty or Stat Padford and possibly even Martha to bash, how will Lions fans get through processing their annual anger and disappointment?
I have said it on the other board since last year and I still stand firm. 2021 the Lions will be in full rebuild mode. The front office and coaching staff will be broomed and they will be able to trade Stafford without a big cap hit.
Luckily, we have many other avenues for anger and disappointment just outside the door. Currently, my fave are the nearby college football bunch and the Pistons.
Projecting what the team will look like in even 2 years can be very difficult. If the Lions lose until that year and Stafford plays mediocre, it won’t be that difficult to move on, especially with his contract winding down. 33 year old QBs body’s are a bit different than an average 33 year old guy. Think about all the mileage he will have on it. Would you really want to commit 35 million a year for another contract on a guy who is at the end of his career? And a guy who has never won a playoff game in 13 years? He is 68-78 as a starter and from the tone of this post, the OP thinks the Lions are going to be losing the rest of this season and the next two.
I’m not ripping on Stafford, it’s just that is how the situation would look. And before the wolfcub guy comes on here and throws out his usual post about how Stafford plays for the worst organization in the history of the world, has never had any competent coaching staff, has never had any decent players ever, and took over for an 0-16 team, just consider the situation that I described above. Why would you extend him in that situation?
Now if the Lions are winning and having legit chances of the playoffs, then I think the Lions certainly need to retain those guys and hope for a good run with a shot at making the Super Bowl.
It’s okay for the ownership and front office to have several plans depending on how the next few years play out.
Of course, we can always dream the Lions can sneak into the playoffs this season, go on a magical ride in the playoffs, and have Stafford lead the Lions to the long sought after Super Bowl.
I agree that Stafford should be going no where. He is one of the best QBs in the league, and in the past has not had the support (both players and coaches) required to be truly successful.
Bevell looks like his best OC yet, and this might work. Gotta fix that defense though - it showed promise early against some good offenses, but let’s face it, last week was ridiculous.
Sure, because everyone dreams of getting the shit beat out of every week for years on end. Sure, he got paid well to stand in there a take it.
Thing is, he’s already got more money than he can spend for the rest of his life, and he has a family and had that shot across the bow last spring. You can’t take life or health for granted.
At some point, everyone stops believing bullshit.
I do believe Patricia’s seat will be very warm after this season.
Are they headed in the right direction? I think so. They had 3 wins slip through their fingers (ARI, KC, GB) and ultimately the blame is laid at the feet of the HC. That said, they are that close to being 5-1 through the toughest part of their schedule. And that’s without a running game (the mirage of which appeared last season, only to disappear again in '19) and struggling to stop the run. When you think about that, I think you have to admit it’s impressive that they’ve been in position to win vs. tough teams and that says a lot about how far they’ve come.
However, barring a miracle, it looks like they will not be playoff bound this season. And yes, Patricia will have a lot to prove (with W’s, no moral victories) in '20.
On the surface, it would appear it could go either way. BUT, was it a case of them creeping up close late in garbage time, or were they the aggressor and leading for most of those games? There’s your answer IMO.
Historically if Matty Patty can’t win this season he’s probably not going to be a winning coach for us. That being said, if he doesn’t win by next season all bets are off…its definitely not going to happen. So while I’m all for stability and giving guys a chance, if he doesn’t win by the 2020 season there’s no reason to give him 2021.
As far as Quinn, I would be willing to give him 1 more coaching hire before showing him the door.
That’s a tough call for me. I believe you sweep them both or none at all. Why? Because they’ve brought in all those Pats D players and made a huge investment in those guys. Not sure you can turn around and bring in another HC who’s expert in that scheme and sell that. Does he even exist? I think Patricia and Quinn are joined at the hip and will sink or swim together. I believe Patricia will be successful over time. But I’ve been wrong before.
I still think we’re going to “win” this year. Not going to the playoffs unfortunately. I still think we win at least NYG, @OAK, TB, @WA, @DEN, CHI. That gets us to 8-7-1. It’s not like three or the other four games aren’t highly winnable as well.
Play complimentary, mistake free football and the fan bases confidence will come back as the team starts winning again.
The two games they won, they honestly should have lost. The Vikings game, they were outplayed. The other 3 games, they pissed away. They should be 3-3 at the moment.
It’s funny that fans of losing teams always point to games that they should win. The other team is looking at the Lions and thinking…that is a game we should win. And every game is “highly loseable” too.
