Is There Hope for a Turnaround in 2022?

The War Room Detroit Lions — The Den
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I have been pretty optimistic for this club in 2021. But losing WR Tyrell Williams AND Cephus on a club that had WR issues already has been a death blow for this club. Watching Jamie Collins give bullshit effort was painful to watch too and I am proud of Dan Campbell shoving his ass out the door. F that guy.

This post isn’t about what will happen in 2021 (I think this club ends up winning a number of games before the season ends) but what might happen in 2022 and beyond. Look at this list of guys we get back:
LOT Decker, Ragnow, Cephus, Romeo Okwara, Okudah (hard to know what we have here) and rookie CB Ifeatu Melifonwu. That is some fine players right there.

Add another draft to that with two first rounders.

Our needs are clear. Wide receiver. Safety. Corner. Linebacker.

It is easy to get buried in the bullshit of this season but I am seeing good as well as bad. The Lions are currently 10th in rushing yards allowed per carry. That is pretty good. This run defense IS getting better each week. The Lions are 21st in sacks…and the Lions will likely end up higher on this list. Charles Harris looks like a real player for us. He has 4 sacks in 7 games. We sacked Stafford three times. I also like WR Kalif Raymond. That guy can play.

If we get those guys back healthy, if we resign guys like Tracy Walker and keep this roster together and we add 2 1st rd. picks…is there hope?

This looks like a pretty sweet defensive draft. The Lions should pick top ten f not top5 and maybe #1 OA. This draft looks like there might be 2 CBs and a safety going top 10/15. Looks like there are 4 legit DEs and a top DT.

Goff is a HUGE question. I don’t want this thread to become about him but it might. To me I add the best defensive piece we can get as a blue chip defender for this defense. Then I try to add a WR late in RD. 1. The draft looks like there will be options there. In RD. 2…hell, add another WR or CB.

If we did something like that and spend free agent $ wisely…is there hope?

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I’d be suprised if Okudah is ever a starter in the NFL again. Though a lot of the other guys have a lot of promise

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hahahaha. :wink:

I think Holmes has got this, man. I believe, for sure. Not only will we have more FA money, we’ll have a lot of draft capital to go get some starters.
I think of it this way → We’ll be replacing a few of our worst dudes with some really good dudes, possibly even the best on the roster. BOTH in FA and in the draft.
I can see Holmes easily pulling 4 starters out of the draft, as well as adding a lot of depth. Defense will look faster and more opportunistic next year. O will have at least one home run threat (likely 2…I’m predicting our pick from the Rams = a WR, as well as a FA)

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This team should probably be 2-5 right now and isn’t that far away from being 3-4 with all those injuries and with this gauntlet of a schedule.

Yes it sucks that we don’t have a win yet under Campbell. Yes we should have a win. No it doesn’t suck to get Thibodeaux at 1OA.

You can now realistically add the best overall player in the draft at one of your biggest needs.

Next year, the schedule is going to shift from the best divisions in each conference (AFC North and NFC West) to the AFC East (Buffalo and 3 W’s) and the NFC East (4 W’s). Wins will show up just based on the schedule.

Then we take into account the additions we’ll be making to the roster off of IR. Decker, Okwara, Okudah, Melifonwu, Ragnow, and Cephus all come back. That’s at least 5 guys who are going to play meaningful snaps.

Then there’s the draft, where we’re realistically looking at something like this…

Kayvon Thibodeaux (OLB)
Burks/London/Olave/Wilson (WR1)
2nd round ILB (Nakobe Dean?)
3rd round S (Smoke Monday?) - I’ve seen a 3rd round grade on him.
3rd round DL/LB

The lineup looks something like this next year…

QB: Goff
RB: Swift, Williams?
WR: Rams 1st Rounder, Cephus, St. Brown, FA?, Raymond?
TE: Hockenson
OL (L to R): Decker, Jackson, Ragnow, Vaitai?, Sewell
NT: McNeil
DT: Onwuzurike, Brockers
OLB: R. Okwara, Thibodeaux, Harris
ILB: Anzalone, Barnes, 2nd rounder
CB: Oruwariye, Melifonwu, Parker, Okudah?, Jacobs
S: Walker, Okudah?, 3rd rounder

That team can go 10-7 or 4-13. It all depends on how Goff plays and if Lynn keeps up his case of insanity or not.

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Really appreciated this post. Would also like to point out that we’ll be adding a couple of FAs as well.

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There’s hope for a turn around this year!
No, they’re not going to the play offs, but, they’re learning.
This is a young team. These kids don’t quit. They don’t like the taste of losing.
I absolutely love the attitude of this team. They’re going to start winning. It’s the law of reciprocity.
More, and more, I believe Goff needs to ride the pine for a couple weeks - a month, maybe.
Not to punish him, but, because he’s a human being, and, the kid is shell shocked.
He needs to watch. He needs to slow down. Relax. Remember.
It’s what’s best for him, in the long run.
If it stings his pride, that’s okay. It’s actually a good thing.
Oh, and Brunnel needs to tell his wife he’ll be working late for maybe the next month. He needs to fix HIS QB’s head.

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My answer is yes. I think Goff will look a lot better next year with some help at WR and a year under his belt in this offense too.

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I think that without question the answer is yes. One thing I truly believe is Campbell has put together a good staff underneath himself. I think another draft with a top 3 pick and an additional 1st round pick, plus having a boatload of money for free agency will give this team a much needed influx of talent. If we don’t see a big improvement in year two it’s likely we never will.

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I like the addition of Thibodeaux. Adding him would put us over the top in terms of having the defense with the hardest last names to spell in the NFL . If not him, then the Greek guy with Purdue. Who says we aren’t winners?

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LOL - telecaster’s nightmare. I LOVE our Wakandan dudes. I think their increased sense of brotherhood will bleed over into the rest of the team and help infect them with awesomeness too.

I think the Lions will be a tough out next year. Getting healthy, adding more talent in first 2 rounds and FA, especially (possibly first 3 rounds), as well as a little more depth. We could be nasty, next year. Just not fun to play against.

Definitely gonna take at least 2 offseasons before we compete for anything meaningful, unless some low-level miracle happens at QB position.
A-a-Ron?
Would be so funny to watch Packer fans if Rodgers came to Detroit. That would for sure be my favorite part of it all. He’d make us an immediate contender.

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The potential is there for a quick turnaround. The lions run game has finally been effective and would be even better with decker and ragnow. Add a #1 wideout like the bengals got with chase and this could be a well balanced offense. The defensive side needs a lot of help but if you put most of our draft capital into it who’s to say it doesn’t become a decent unit. It’s been solid this year with a complete lack of impact talent. Julian okwara seems like he could become an all pro level player.

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Good job OP. They really have to bring in vets to the secondary. Those young cats have had hot garbage to model and learn from after fuckboy 1 and fuckboy 2 ran off Slay, diggs and Quin in less than a year,

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So instead of just bending over we are going to turnaround and take it from the front?

Bold Strategy Reaction GIF by MOODMAN

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Looking at the schedule as it stands for next year as of right now…

@GB - L
GB - L
@CHI - W
CHI - W
@MIN - L
MIN - Toss Up
PHI - W
DAL - L
WAS - W
NYG - W
NE - W
NYJ - W
MIA - W
BUF - L
SEA - L
ATL - W
HOU - W

That’s 11-6 or 10-7

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A comeback at CB would surprise me. I do think a comeback at Safety is a very real possibility. He’s got the skillset to convert successfully.

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You think we lose to Jordan Love twice?

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Is that accounting for Love as the starter in GB?

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This is actually a really good point (you too Natty). If they don’t hit - dare I say even the NFC title game - the other one is gone. Even then he might still be gone.

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@MyLions i love another fan that is realistic and optimistic at the same time. The Lions need 100k of guys like you! I think you’re fairly spot on. Understanding of course that not all these guys are going to pan out long-term, because there will be a lot of roster transition in the next off-season. And a lot of roster supposition… Meaning players we thought we’re going to pan out maybe as a starter, won’t be starting at all.… Which is actually a good thing hopefully because that could mean that the Lions got better players to start and shuffled other previous starters down to back ups. For the record, I am very bullish on the Lions over the next few years. I think we’re in good hands with Dan and Brad and Chris and Sheila. I’m not saying we’re gonna make a Super Bowl soon. But I think will be very very competitive in the upcoming seasons.

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No way we beat the elite QB Fields who will be entering year MVP year 2