I think even an above average run game is very optimistic. We haven’t had even an average run game in like 20 years. Including last year with swift and the same line. I’m expecting improvement… but above average is a big jump
Same line? We don’t know that. Well we know it won’t be the exact same. JW is big and so is the attitude that DC is going to bring.
Me?
I don’t dislike him. I like Smith better.
However I’m leaning towards Chase to Cincy.
We have to improve by 20 yards a game to get to average. I think that’s doable with better defensive play alone. Meaning more opportunities on offense.
However I think we need to improve the RT and RG from last year to do it.
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We are gonna have a lot of new players and new scheme so getting comfortable with each other might take a bit. I think the Oline is going to be crucial early to help get it clicking.
Then I feel they will be equal or better than last year.
We need a productive receiver from the draft, Swift and Williams should make an improved running game, Hock has another year experience and we added a blocking TE to help out too. I like what I saw of Cephus as a rookie so he has a year under his belt and hopefully a full training camp
We have lost the excitement of knowing Stafford gives us a chance behind by one score and seconds left in the 4th, but maybe we remedy that by just being ahead instead of behind.
Maybe we can win 6-7 games.
Campbell will have these guys playin hard man! Not searching for IR.
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Offense is still to big of an unknown. We have had quite a large turnover in several key positions, both on the roster and the coaching staff. One receiver returning from last year who didn’t really factor into the offense much, new QB, new coaching staff. It still to early to know. I personally don’t think Goff is as good as Stafford so I think it’s a step back there. Like other me have said it just depends on how Lynn structures the offense. Will we finally start opening up running lanes? And when we do will our backs actually hit them? I’ll reserve judgement on the offense until we start the games. I’m not as pessimistic about the offense as the defense, but I’m also not overly optimistic. I foresee another year or two of darkness before we make some strides.
Our QB has never thrown to any of these WRs. Heck because of turnover, none of the WRs have ever played together. Plus we’re looking at an entirely different starting right side of the Oline… plus a new coach and system. I expect there is a learning curve that may be a little painful early in the season. That’s a reasonable expectation.
With that said if/when the Lions add a WR in the draft, hopefully two even, that certainly helps the picture. I also think how much Coach Lynn can actually get the running game going is a big X factor. You’d think he will, given his track record… but it will almost feel weird seeing the Lions run the ball well. I forgot what that looks like!
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It will look different than anything we’ve ever seen. Barry was a freak. We’ll be lucky if we see anything like that again in our lives.
This time, it’s a bit more old school, with some razzle’n’dazzle mixed in with Swift. Javonte will get ugly out there, while swift will provide some shake’n’bake.
It sounds like the general consensus is the WR position is the rather huge question mark surrounding this offense. I clearly agree. Given the WR talent that will be available to the Lions at #7 it’s pretty crazy how the best available talent and need are actually aligning for the Lions for once!
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Agreed! Don’t overlook Sewell at 7 and the best WR still on the board at 41. That would put us in a great spot offensively. Solidify the o-line and still get a solid young WR.
If they do that though, the rest of the draft would need to be all defense.
I think we tend to lose sight of where our team ranks relative to the rest of the league in a lot of cases, so let’s take a look at who are definitely better offenses than us, definitely worse, and others that are maybe in the same realm.
Definitely better than us:
Tampa Bay
New Orleans
Atlanta
Dallas
Green Bay
Minnesota
Arizona
LAR
Seattle
San Francisco
Kansas City
LAC
Indianapolis
Tennessee
Pittsburgh
Baltimore
Cleveland
Buffalo
That’s 18 teams. And I think I could probably include a few more but won’t for the sake of conversation. Here is the list of teams that I can say we are definitely better than:
Houston (assuming Watson is out for 2021)
Thats just 1 team for all you guys keeping track at home. So that means we rank somewhere between 19-31 in the league. Now the remaining teams are all debatable depending what you think of our players and theirs, but of the teams remaining, here is who I would take ahead of what we have on offense:
Carolina
Las Vegas
New England
NYG
Washington
Cincinnatti
Jacksonville (assuming they take Lawrence)
That is 7 more teams I have ahead of the Lions.
Then you have the group where the Lions are probably in the realm:
Denver
NYJ
Chicago
Philadelphia
Miami
So if you ask me, I’d say we are somewhere between 26-31 in the league. Obviously this can change if we invest heavily in the draft and/or FA, but at this point we have a bottom 6 offense and defense IMO. This looks like a 4-5 win team to me this year.
This is me in a nutshell. I’m waiting to see the draft unfold to get a better sense of how they intend to build this team.
The coaching staff is a big piece of the success from the past regime. We’ll have to wait further to gauge those results.
I’ve done more enjoying this off-season, than I can remember. It’s been fun and I hope it continues.
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If they pick a wide receiver at seven, top 10. Over the past 4 years, Jared Goff hasn’t quarterbacked a team that ranked under 11th in yards. I think the talent on the Lions team is better than the Rams had last year except receiver, and if the Lions pick Devonta Smith or Ja’ Marr Chase it will actually be better. Also, I think Jared Goff has a chip on his shoulder and something to prove, and he’s going to have the best coaching he has had since his 2nd year in the league when Matt LaFleur was his OC. With an offense created around him instead of one he was crammed into, “because it makes every QB look good”, I think Goff is going to have his best season.
If this happens we’re winning at least six games
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One factor which could be a game changer is Vaitai being fully healthy. He never was last year, starting with a foot injury in training camp. If he comes anywhere close to performing as he is paid at guard, that’s a huge step forward for our running game and the offense in general. It’s possible. Only Tavai is despised more than Vaitai on the team, but at least V showed enough in the past to get paid big. Sure, Sewell or Slater would be sweet, but I’m fine with Crobsy/Nelson being the weak link in our OL.
Also I’m expecting that Kalif Raymond will become a significant cog in our offense. Unlike Agnew, he’s been a receiver since college and he makes tough catches–not contested catches–all over the field when given the opportunity. Check out how Tennessee was using him late in the season. He’s ready to bust loose.
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If Big V gets healthy and balls out at guard, and the team drafts a long term RT - the offensive line could absolutely be a major strength. That would be promising
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First let me say that I thought you made a strong argument and you might be right but I’m a tad more optimistic than us being a bottom 6 offense.
Let me explain why.
Last year our offense ranked 20th in the league with Golladay out most of the year and the right side of our offensive line playing musical chairs.
I think we down graded a little from Matt to Goff.
I think we down graded just slightly from M. Jones to T. Williams.
I think we upgrade our speed WR from M. Hall to B. Perriman.
I also expect J. Williams to be an upgrade over AP.
What we need is a WR1 from the draft who can help us more than Golladay did last year.
We could also use a slot WR and RT but let’s assume we don’t get that.
I think Hock, Cephus and Swift get better as well.
I think our OL should be better. Hopefully we can get more from our OG’s
So I think it’s possible for us to be as good if not better than we were last year.
Here are the 12 teams who were worse than us offensively last year.
Car, Pit, MiA, Den, PHI, NE, Jax, CHI, Wash, Cin, NYJ, NYG.
The 5 teams who were ahead of us were just slightly better than us.
However if we do not get a couple more WR’s than I think we’re in trouble.
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Great thread, and I think this is about where I ended up as well. You make solid points Air.
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that would be a massive, unexpected X-factor (both figuratively and literally).
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Can Goff make these throws? Kalif Raymond can catch them.