I'm going to trust Brad

The Den
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BH and DC have dealt with massive criticism from fans. Whether it’s BH not trading enough, DC’s coaching, picking RB’s 12th, etc. This was the worst franchise in sports. Our superbowl was the draft. What BH and DC have done is extrodinary. I can’t believe how many people have turned on Brad.

The Vikings played a damn good game! This team lost because of a damn blocked kick and some penalties. As bad as they played it was still winnable. I’m not panicking over one game like that.

Holmes builds through the draft. I’m not against him doing some blockbuster trade as long as it’s the right one, and doesn’t change his philosphy, and doesn’t cost us Branch, LaPorta, and Gibbs. But i prefer he doesn’t do anything big, and I’m glad he didn’t.

Sorsdal, Manu, Mahogany, Ratledge, Frazier were drafted by Brad. So he is trying to improve the OL. He reupped Decker. He tried to keep Jackson. Signed GG. Signed Zietler, tried to keep him, he’s trying. Nothing can be done against injuries. Ragnow chose to retire.

If you all want some superstar OG/C thats rare mid-season and if it cost a high pick I’ll pass.

This OL has played shockingly well. And I still think this team will win the division, and is still a SB contnder. DC and Morton have a lot to fix but I think Dan figures it out.

Anyway, I trust in BH and DC.

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Brad and Dan are victims of their own success. Brad has been the best drafting GM in the league, but somehow because he didn’t overpay in a trade for a likely mid / scrub olineman, he is trash. Dan’s teams have done so well that other teams poached his coordinators and 6 additional coaches. Do people remember what happened to the Eagles when they lost both coordinators? Take a pill and let these two men work. It’s going to be ok. I’m not interested in playing our best football in October. We have a couple more months to gel in time for the playoffs. We are good.

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As far as the Vikings game, we were far from our best. I don’t think it was necessarily anything the Vikings were doing, we just didn’t play well. It happens. Oftentimes good teams will find a way to win those games…We didn’t this time. If we don’t have that field goal blocked and if Monty doesn’t fumble, we most likely win that game. As shitty as we played, we almost won that game.

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The only thing concerning about that game was the play of special teams
They have not been good this year and were even worse this game
It caught up to us and actually cost us this game IMO
Long return given up right after we score and then the blocked FG

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But Holmes method takes time and usually it never aligns with the skill position talent you have. For example, by the time this OL get really good, ARSB is on the decline and so will Goff. The injuries will start to creep up. I personally don’t think his philosophy works. Yes you may will games but you’ll never win the big game and you have to bank on everything being perfect.

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If that’s the case, produce a Super Bowl or even get to one!!! To say he’s the best GM it’s arrogant and a disrespect to other GMs who have gotten their teams there.

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We don’t have a choice but to trust Brad. We didn’t have the best roster and depth chart in the league on Sept 1st, and we don’t know.

Got Alim back… but since then Decker, Kerby, Arnold, Mahogany, Reed and Branch have been ailing in various capacities.

If we lose to Washington and their backup QB on the road? I’d say that means we are pretty far from contention, and thus burning picks and money would seem silly? If we win fairly convincingly, then it we may well be sitting atop the North again by weeks end.

If all the guys Brad drafted and signed ascended to what we had once expected/hoped…. Then he is one of the best GMs in the league… PERIOD! However if Jamo, Mac, and Joseph are a trend of guys we overpaid simply because Brad “loves his guys,” then we could be a team that never quite gets there

It would suck, but we still don’t have that answer, nor do we have a say otherwise.

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The reason the Lions are good is because of Dan Campbell and Holmes didn’t even hire him. Brad is lucky to be gifted such a special coach and was able to trade a QB for a ton of picks. Brad walked into a dream situation

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Excuse Me Reaction GIF by One Chicago

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I said Brad was the best drafting GM. That is almost undeniable. In my opinion Howie is desperately filling holes that he didn’t fill in the draft. Did Howie take over the worst team in the league, perhaps in professional sports, only four years ago? Howie he has been with the Eagles since 2010. You are judging him on a completely different scale than Brad. The Eagles made the playoffs three times in the first seven years after Howie was named GM. Also, let’s see what kind of salary cap hell the Eagles are in over the next couple of years. I’ll play the long game. You chase insignificant contributors under the guise that Howie “did something”. I’m willing to bet that none of these players will make a significant impact. It placates fans but it adds veteran costs and reduces the number of Magic beans… precisely the area where Brad excels.

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I don’t think he was the best GM, he said the best drafting GM. I can support that. Time will tell if their “we’re good” philosophy pays off.

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Come on folks?!

A team can draft all the perfect players and trade for the perfect players and when they get hurt - you know unforeseen events - you can’t feild a SB worthy team…

And you want to blame the GM?

You guys are literally being narcissistic as you not accepting the fact you can’t control the team me it’s outcome so you have to have someone to blame

Our HC and GM combined have

  • 586 winning percentage that include the first yr! Fourth best in Lions HC history
  • Four playoff appearances matching the best in Lions history

So, enjoy it at whatever level we are at… or, learn to not desire and the whine about instant gratification when it doesn’t happen ever weekend

We are not winning 15 games a year forever folks

Enjoy the day please

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This actually makes a lot of sense. I have fallen victim to my emotions. I want so badly for this team to win a SB that I get incredibly irritated when my perception of what winning GMs do to go over the top. The truth of everything really is that this team is snake bitten with incredibly horrible injury luck. Holmes has built a roster worthy of being a top 3/4 favorite to win it all. For 3 years straight. I just wish he’d be a little more aggressive when the ship starts to take on water. He likely views it similarly to how I do. Is one OL/DL acquisition going to put the team back into this stratosphere? Not likely. For the second consecutive season (really the third-see CB injuries heading into CCG in 23) injuries have derailed all hope. That mixed with having some serious schematic issues on O. I’m just tired of being patient. They have (had) a special roster. They should’ve been to SB by now. Imo

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You are absolutely right.

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Again, Howie has produced a Super Bowl and has been there. Some folks laugh at his drafting of Hurts. We are on the verge of not even making the playoffs. How can that be if Holmes is the best drafting GM? Now, that money starting to kick in. Will that Lions have an overpriced roster with non productive players???

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A GM knows injuries are part of the deal. That’s why when you have the opportunity to capitalize on a super bowl chance you jump. The year we lost to SF was our golden opportunity and we may never get that chance again. Other teams will get better. We’ve drafted lower so the talent is starting to drop off. That’s going to catch up at some point. That’s all I saying. At some point Brad’s philosophy will bottom out and Dan’s msg will become stale. Then, it’s back to the drawing board.

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Here’s my question to people who think this. Who do you have winning the North then?
Packers? Without Tucker Kraft, you trust that offense?

Bears? They have a worse defense, have worse injuries and look at their wins. Not impressive.

Vikings? I’d put them over the Bears at this point, but not above Detroit or Green Bay. Minnesota finally got their defensive pieces back, which accounted for a lot of their struggles. Still, their offense hasn’t been great. We’ve all said, we lost that game more than the Vikings won it. Lions held Minnesota’s offense and receivers to 13 points for 49 minutes of game time.

I am still holding firm that the NFC North is only getting one team to the playoffs. I still believe that even with our issues, we still hold the North.

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We may get in but it’ll be a quick exit. The offense is great! The run game is not existing and you drafting middle of the pack again afterwards. What is Brad’s plan to get us over the top?

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Here’s the silver lining to that blocked FG: the kick was low. Just that simple. Maybe the hold was a touch off or Bates was, but I saw nothing to suggest that the Vikings did anything special and replicable.

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I don’t have great answers on Brad’s plan, but if it were me, I’d say it this way. I am riding and dying with what I have this year, because the help we need is not help you find in season. I think the Lions are going Tackle and C in the draft. If the plan truly is to have Ratledge play C next season, then you are needing LT and RG next year. I know we have some guys on the roster, but the resources for this team need to be spent on the OL, not skill positions.

I get that the Lions took fliers on size guys like Manu and BroMart, and hoped they could teach them professional football technique. It hasn’t worked, and not even close. I do believe the Lions thought Decker’s shoulder would be fine with surgery, and not only has it not been fine, I think whatever the injury is has become chronic and won’t get better. Decker is being a warrior and fighting like hell, but his comment about how much stuff he is taking just to play legit scares the hell out of me. I think it’s likely he doesn’t finish the season, and ends up retiring like Frank did this year.

Here is what I think ends up happening for next year.

LT - Open, or Sewell moves over

LG - Mahogany

C - Ratledge/Open

RG - Frazier?/Ratledge

RT - Sewell, or open if Sewell moves

That is an awful lot of rookies, and as much as I love and respect Sewell, I do have some concerns on how good he will be at LT. I think he can play it, it’s not that kind of concern. My concern is, the dude is probably the best RT in football. Even if he is very good at LT, is it worth making him very good versus the best? That’s a tricky decision. RT’s can be easier to find in the draft than LT’s, so you could move Sewell and get a good RT with a smaller tradeup than needing to get inside the top 10 for a top quality LT.

Add on: Maybe I am reading too much into this, but did anyone else catch Danny C’s comment that one option they may look at, is playing Colon at Center? I thought that was really interesting, and strange. That would be the first time they’ve admitted the play at Center isn’t great and needs improvement. If the idea would be to get Colon at Center and move Glasgow to LG, well we know Glasgow admittedly hates and is not comfortable LG. He basically said he played it last year because he had to, but didn’t want to do that again. He wants to either be C, or RG.

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