I get that you are worried. But try not to be. It’s really clear who the best team in the NFC North is…
2 Likes
Any thing can happen. Did anyone think lions would’ve lost to Washington so bad?
None of that means anything. It’s merely big paychecks. Rarely do major FA investments like that pay off in the way the team hopes it does.
Building from the inside out is the way. Mercenary way is littered with tears.
This is understandably a new concept for Lions fans.
I guess we can wait and see.
Also like @stephenboyd57 said its going to come down to how Williams develops
1 Like
I guess technically anything can happen. But the more faith and confidence you have in your team the less anxiety you have.
2 Likes
Teams will not commit to it. They just wont. The insecurity of coaches and owners will undermine the pursuit. You have to be willing to pass on a Jalen Carter talent and feel good about it. It sounds so great in theory but in practice it requires supreme confidence in your plan and the willingness to take the hits early and build it.
What the Lions went through to build this team is unique. Not many owners egos can take what our owner did and keep the faith and walk that path. I remember when SHF gave that speech and the whole crowd just booed her. Brutal and she keep the faith and stayed authentic.
So while I agree the NFL is a copy cat league. You can only build a team like KC has when you have a Mahomes. You can only build a team like Eagles when you have an Oline and toughness on defense they are a gritty bunch.
Each team is unique because the skill set of the players is unique. The best coaches are really good at maximizing their players best talents.
1 Like
Yes and no. Josh allen has become a MVP all world qb and he can’t get past the chiefs. Williams can be amazing and still not be able to get past Dan when it matters.
Here is the reality.
You have 1k to bet on one of the 4 nfc north teams. Everyone has the same odds. Who are you choosing?
For me its Lions bc we have dan and we have brad. None of the other gms match brad and none of the other coaches match Dan (KOC is really close).
1 Like
We are still a damn good team but to think of us just getting everyone healthy and running back the 2024 squad (mostly) in 2025 will do it we’re wrong.
The problem is our completion from 2024 improved going into 2025. Yeah we will get better by default by being healthy, however the rest of the North has improved as well.
Hopefully we really luck out with our first rounder and an End or IOL is there that should not have been.
Fun fact: it takes 75 years for a saguaro cactus to grow an arm.
4 Likes
That is roughly the same amount of time it took a Lions head coach to have his own coaching tree.
7 Likes
Dan’s new nickname should be El Saguaro.
1 Like
You may or may not be right. I mean 8 teams already passed on Jalen Carter. Guys get passed almost every year (if not every year) for character concerns. All teams make a mistake in passing on players. It happened with Penei Sewell. He sat out a year so some teams weren’t sure about him. It happens. But there is more than one way to skin a cat. & there are more ways to build a culture. I am sure that most GMs won’t follow Brad Holmes’ theory on “Positional value” but they may find other avenues to build culture. It’s like offensive philosophy. After the 49ers established dominance with the West Coast offense many teams copied it. Most of the teams who did so were coaches who worked under Bill Walsh and went on to take over their own teams. I mean Mike Shanahan’s version of the WCO wasn’t exactly the same as Walsh’s, but it was still the WCO. Same for Holmgren when he took over the Packers. So while teams my not dot their I’s and cross their T’s the same exact way as the current Lions regime…many teams will buy into the theory to establish a strong culture, especially with a new regime in a rebuild.
1 Like
They just need to get a pass rush going. Hutch returning to form will be huge. They have enough talent to be a top 10ish unit. If they were able to get another stud on other end they could be top 3-5. If Morton is a solid OC I expect a top 5 unit on O again as well. There’s ifs heading into every season. I anticipate playing meaningful games in December
1 Like
I dont feel nearly as confident entering next season as i did coming into last season. Chi and MN made some big strides on paper but it will come down to their QB play. Yes we still have some roster holes and we’re starting the season with 2 key defenders injured and missing several games. But my main concern is replacing 2 established coordinators with virtually 2 first timers. True for shep, john had a 1 year stint 8 years ago. Im sure there will be growing pains. I just hope they dont come with a number of Ls that keep us out of the playoffs.
I tried to make it clear that Jalen Carter was not specifically the issue but someone with supreme talent that does not fit the culture you want or have.
The player could be a choir boy and you have a team like the 1970 raiders or the 1990 cowboys.
The issue is being willing to pass on a supreme talent because they do not fit your culture.
It happens very often is what I am saying. Sometimes it works for teams and sometimes it works against teams. We saw it with Dan Marino (well I didn’t see it because I was only 3 years old back then). We saw it with Warren Sapp. We saw it with Randy Moss. There are many more but the thing I can guarantee is that you will see this almost every year.
Zaccheus-
Jonah- 18 games missed
Dahlman- 11 games missed
Grady- 9 games missed
Odeyingbo- 0 games
Jarrett and Dayo combined for 15 sacks over the last 2 years…
—-This group signed for 64M
——Here is who they lost at 42MM in combined cost last year
FYI- Darrell Taylor and Demarcus Walker combined for 15.5 in Chicago the last
2 years.
FYI- Teven Jenkins, Coleman Shelton and. Matt Pryor all played between 720 and 1100 IOL snaps and averaged 70 pff
Kennan Allen
Honest question… the Bears allocated 35% more money to 5 positions, but I’m not sure they are better?
As young as we are, I’m not sure that’s possible.
4 Likes