I am a Cincinnati Bengals fan at heart but have picked the Lions as my NFC favorite team. I put up with a lot of bad football as a Bengals fan but ZT was hired and his big thing was culture change I bought in. I joined the Bengals forum as SuperBowlBound 2 years ago. Last year I was so confident that I bet them to win over 6.5, win AFC North, AFC Championship and the Super Bowl. It was a $1000 bet that paid off a little over $10000. It would have been $30k had the Bengals won that SuperBowl.
This year I am still betting the Bengals but I am also betting the Lions. I really like the culture that Dan Campbell is building. I also think the Offensive Line will dominate this year. They have a reaiistic chance at having 4 legit Pro Bowlers across the line. I look for Goff to have a higher QBR than Stafford who lost two of their best lineman Andrew Whitworth and Austin Corbett.
$500 Lions over 6.5 wins - (Even) I get back $1000
$50 NFC Champion (50-1) - I get back $2550
$100 NFC North Champion (10-1) - I get back $1100
All told $650 bet with a chance of getting back $4650.
I could not take them to beat the Bengals in the SuperBowl but I have them there at least.
I did make it up to the Bengals game last year in Detroit. It was the first time I had ever been to Detroit. It was an easy drive and the City looks very revitalized. The area outside Lions stadium was very cool.
Hopefully I am right and Bengals/Lion are this years SuperBowl contenders?
As I dive into the Detroit Lions what needs to happen for the Lions to have a successful season? Is the Defensive backfield one of the areas that need to improve?
This is an area I believe will surprise even the Lions die hards. Yes it is an area most have doubts on.
I believe it will be a surprising strength. I see the growth of Jerry Jacobs, Iffy, and Parker surprising a few of us. I expect Okudah to have his break out season and Amani (A-O 24) to be his best year yet. That’s 5 good corners with a potential probowler in that mix.
Picking up Elliott to pair with Walker is a tremendous upgrade from Harris and having Jacobs/Lucas grow into some depth is an upgrade we haven’t seen in a decade.
If there is a concern on the D, look to the LB position. This is the area of most concern for us die hards.
Pass rush
Covering anything over the middle
Covering anything resembling a crossing route.
Health
60 years of dreadful ownership/terrible awful comical leadership/ unbelievable bad luck and horrific ref calls taking its boot out of our ass.
(For this part, research “Same Old Lions” or SOL).
Goff being the guy he can be now that he isnt throwing to XFL level guys like the start of last year.
On offense:
Swift to play like he has a pair.
Hockenson to block like he has a pair.
Everyone to block like they’re capable.
Goff to play with confidence.
This will get you to a top-half offense in the league, especially when we get our 1st round pick in the fold.
On defense:
2nd-year defenders on the line to take a step up.
1st-year defenders on the line to play like 2nd-year defenders.
Okudah to return to health and play like the guy that was highly regarded coming into the NFL a couple years ago.
Even then, you’re still looking at the island of misfit toys at Inside Linebacker. We are likely to be a bottom-half team on defense.
Put it all together and you’re looking at a team that will struggle to reach 9-8, with the most likely outcome being somewhere between 6 and 9 wins.
The team is quite clearly taking a patient approach to their rebuild. This is a full-on youth movement and they’re going to let the 2nd-year players along with this year’s rookie class take some lumps. While we do have a favorable schedule this year, I’m looking at 2023 as the year a solid nucleus is on display and the team is more consistently favored to win.
Hopefully the addition of Aidan Hutchinson will improve the pass rush a lot.
That will help the LB’s and Def backs coverage time.
I can see that Off Line dominating and the Lions being able to run the ball and control the time of possession. That will make Goff look better and give the Defense time to rest between series.
Shhhh, SuperBowl Bound, you’re a few days too early in spreading the word. I’ll be in Vegas on Wednesday for a couple of days and if there’s huge movement on the betting lines, Imma gonna attribute it all to this thread and claim it as a loss with the IRS.
We already know The Den is an idea factory for beat writers. It’s only a matter of time before Big Gambling sources us as an early warning system for trends…
Right now, offensive line is really the only position group that is above average. With all of the young players we can be optimistic that a couple more groups will become a strength, but realistically the team is still a good bit away.
Our Punter is the GOAT.
I’ve got WR and possibly QB too. Agree on the rest.
CB could work out fantastically-to-average
S could work out to be B+ to C-
We’ll be lucky if LBs are average, but it is possible (Rodriguez is young)
TE could be very nice, depending on Mitchell’s learning curve and Hoch’s health.
