Brockers is an awesome leader for a young DL that needs it. Why do I think the Lions DL will be playing like a top ranked one by the end of the season? It’s Brockers. Even if his stats are down, others will be raised:
Michael Brockers says revenge WILL be had over his former team this October … the new Lions star tells TMZ Sports he’s already giving Detroit a win over the Rams in their 2021 matchup!!
[www.tmz.com]
“Definitely,” Brockers said when we asked the pass rusher out at LAX if he’s already got a W circled on the calendar. “Come on, now!”
Michael took it a step further … and said he’s gunning for at least one sack on Matt Stafford when he heads back to L.A. on Oct. 24 for the big tilt!
“I got to get at least one,” Brockers told us. “I’m trying to sack every quarterback, but I got to get that one.”
Brockers was traded to Detroit from L.A. in March … a shocking move considering just days prior, he had gassed up the Rams and Stafford HARD.
At the time, the 30-year-old told us Stafford was a better QB than Jared Goff … and insisted the Rams were a legit Super Bowl contender.
Brockers, though, tells us it hasn’t been weird at all being sent to Detroit with Goff despite the comments … he reiterated to us there is absolutely no beef between them whatsoever.
“That’s my brother,” Brockers said of Jared, adding, “At the end of the day, what was said was said, but we can get over that. We’re professionals. We’ll move on.”
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Upgrades in talent, upgrades in philosophy, upgrades in leadership, and upgrades in strategy, will all factor in. Most will be surprised at the improvement of the D, especially when combined with the stigma of what Patricia just pulled off (record breaking awfulness).
Glad to have Brockers here. Trust Brad, and fully behind it all.
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Brockers addition is somewhat reminiscent of the Lions adding Big Daddy Dan Wilkinson to the DL in 2003-2005. Wilkinson was a 30+ year old veteran who started all 48 games in 3 seasons and made the players around him better.
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Yup - Vandenbosh really helped Suh’s career too. I remember one specific play where KVB was downfield making a tackle and ran right past Suh to get there, and how surprised Suh’s body language looked. Suh was absolutely impacted by the old bald guy giving so much effort.
Brockers will be a nice addition here.
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His mentorship and what a pro work ethic looks like will be a great example for Levi and Alim in their rookie season.
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I wonder how much “inside knowledge” Goff and Brockers will have on the Rams offense and how to attack it. I can’t remember which former player it was that played with Peyton Manning, but he had a funny story about trying to help his team for an upcoming game against Peyton. He basically said its scary because Peyton is so smart and keeps so many notes on everyone (players, coaches, etc) that he will know what that guy knows and what he would be telling his team and create situations to make sure that knowledge backfires.
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I mentioned before the draft, I thought it would be a good year to draft a DT despite it being a weaker draft for DTs, because of Brockers. The fact we drafted two surprised me, but I believe it will pay dividends long term as the young guns get to see first hand what it takes on and off the field. From what I have read Brockers is an ideal role model.
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Our interior DL has a chance to be pretty good. I thought there was a 0% chance of that happening when Holmes got hired.
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I expect Goff will know much of it. McVay has shown that he doesn’t make adjustments. His offense is his offense.
McVay also doesn’t respect Goff.
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In a normal draft there’s around 20-21 DT’s taken, even in 2019 when six DT’s were taken in the first round. There were 19 taken this year, so while there wasn’t a lot of perceived top end talent the result was almost average. I like their commitment and think they will be rewarded, esp with Brockers there to guide the younger guys. I actually think the fate of the DL really has more to with with Flowers than anything though. He needs to be there, available, to get pressure on the QB. This is basically a contract year for Flowers, because if he doesn’t perform at a hi level he’s gone. Even if he does they may/probably will want to renegotiate it, but not being available or not excelling when he is basically at his end here and maybe in the NFL considering his recent history. He’ll start this season at 28, and next season at 29 so I’m not sure who would take a chance on a guy with an injury history whose best days seem to have passed him by. If he stays healthy and returns to form though, this DL could be pretty good. For me, Flowers is the key.
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Brockers and Flowers to mentor
Onzu, McNeil, Okwara
Sounds like something that could be fun to watch.
Brockers will be a very important piece. Flowers is underrated, IMO.
This could be fun.
I do not expect much from the LBs, as a unit. May end up being susceptible to quick hitting timing routes, regardless of how good the DL can be, this year.
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Yep! I am excited about the trenches on both sides of the ball.
Looks real good…on paper.
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This is the reason why I think the Lions can surprise some people. If you consistently win in the trenches you will win more than you lose.
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And our running game, short passing game options and accurate QB could lead to time of possession advantages helping out lines play up even more.
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What I like is there looks to be a much larger plan behind the decisions. For example in 2010 under Mayhew and Schwartz the Lions camped out at KVN’s house to get him s a free agent. In 2009 the Lions drafted Sammie Lee Hill. In 2010 the Lions drafted Suh and in 2011 we drafted Fairley. The Lions also traded for the big contract of Corey Williams. By 2011 the Lions didn’t know how to handle Cliff Avril’s contract and by 2015 the DL was shit again. We also never handled DE all that well either. By 2013 we drafted Ziggy but we never really had an answer at the other DE spot as we went with Jason Jones, Lawrence Jackson and others in that period.
Fast forward to Holmes’s decisions regarding the DL. Brad locked down Romeo Okwara, we have Flowers and we traded for and extended Michael Brockers. Brad drafted the DT future now in rounds 2 and 3 with Levi and Alim.
That plan, all in one year, seems much more focused and smart. Michael Brockers is a piece we can move around. Alim and Levi are rookies who can be moved around too. Not too much draft capital in the DL and the seeds are planted now versus later.
Concerning the OL Brad drafted Sewell and he extended Ragnow. Smart. Now we will not have an issue with Crosby. Tyrell Crosby can be a swing guy and then leave via FA (helping with comp. picks) OR we can extend Crosby as the swing tackle. We are good either way. The big pieces of the OL are locked down.
To be fair the team is MUCH better than we were in 2009 with the investments made by Bob Quinn. That includes Jonah Jackson, Ragnow, Decker, grabbing Romeo Okwara and signing Trey Flowers. We also have Caitai which was a mistake overall but he is a viable starter for a year.
What I like about what Brad did is that the trenches have a great and secure foundation with vets locked down and with key trench investments made. Our RBs are cheap as are our WRs. Draft a WR early in 2022 and that is an affordable #1 there. AND we have two additional 1st rd. picks coming. That is HUGE.
If Goff shows us anything in 2021 it is really easy to see the Lions using the 2022 1st rd picks on a safety and wide receiver for example and we STILL have the rest of our draft available to shore up needs and add talent. That is pretty incredible.
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I think WR, DB, and LB will be primary targets in 2022. I think they give Goff two seasons before making a decision on him.
I honestly don’t think their done building the trenches either. I have a feeling it’s going to be a constant priority for this staff. So I suspect will will continue to add bodies and improve the group every year.
Flowers and Big V. Could be groomed due to salary cap reasons. So we could be looking to replace them in the near future. Maybe 22 but definitely by 2023. So we could look to draft their replacements as soon as next year.
But it’s the focus on the trenches that has me thinking this team can win more games. I am a firm believer that good trench play leads to more wins.
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I personally love the Brockers move and how he will fit into our 3-4. I have absolutely no idea why the Rams tried to avoid his being a cap casualty. He was the second best player on that D-line.