If the offense can score, and the defense can prevent the opposition from scoring, you have a good team.
First team offense scored.
So did Atlanta’s.
Our run defense is a problem.
Not gonna freak out, yet.
If they don’t fix this, we could be in for some heartbreakers this season.
The Eagles should tell us everything we need to know.
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I’m very old school so defense wins championships will always be my mantra. That and having a kicker you have the utmost faith in(I miss you J Hanson!)
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I totally get how you feel that way. Levi appears the only “bad pick” to me though. All GMs miss on some of 'em. Truth is in the middle, for me.
-We had NOTHING, when Brad took over
-Hutch is a massive upgrade
-Alim is a massive upgrade with a fairly high ceiling (still unproven though)
-Levi …uuuhhhh…hope he proves to not be a turd
-Okwara always hurt…Harris unproven/not yet reliable.
Overall, I think we have decent talent and depth on the edges. We need beef in the middle. Don’t be surprised if we draft a DT in the first, and another one in the 3rd or 4th, next year. It’s not that we are totally devoid of talent as much as it is that we have 35 edge players and nobody in the middle.
I’m excited about the possibility of Paschal/NewDT/Alim/Hutch after next draft.
Can’t build an entire roster in 2 years.
When Brad took over,
-we were in cap hell (no capital to go get help)
-We had nobody in the interior
-We had damn near nobody on the outside
-Too injured
This is turning around quickly.
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Here is what people seem to miss….
March 1st- 2021
Goff
Decker
Jackson
Ragnow
Big V
Hock
Cephus
Swift
Okudah
AO
W Harris
Penisini
JO
Bryant
Flowers
Collins
That is quite literally our list of offense and defensive players that were under contract at least 2 years as of the day of the Goff trade…
So this required a brand new FO and HC to not just assemble a coaching staff, implement new schemes, and FIX THE CULTURE…. But somehow also FIND 6
NEW STARTERS and navigate free agency with no money thanks to 60M in dead cap….
K Raymond
J Reynolds
DJ Chark
- that alone is a functional group in addition to Cephus- but then factor Jamo and ASB who could easily be 2 HOMERUNS!
P Sewell- grand slam
C Harris
Hutch
Paschal
Romeo
- we haven’t gotten a chance to see Romeo with this coaching staff or in this scheme so who knows it it was a good signing or not
Levi O
McNeill
Brockers
- in hindsight the Brockers trade was god awful…. At the time I LOVED IT! Let’s say we get a rotational backup DT in Levi at a modest pay level- and a solid starter in McNeill…. For the combined 11M we clearly don’t have the level of play we’d like, but we
Could just as easily see Alim break out with 4-5 sacks,
Levi proof “functional” and Brockers be less of a liability this year…. SO WE CUT BROCKERS, sign D Payne or draft a stud next year in 1, and DT is fixed for 2-3 more years suddenly.
J Jacobs
AJ Parker
T Walker
K Joseph
- for a combined 11M a year and a 3rd round comp pick, I’d say we may have found 1 or two solid safeties and at the very least CB3 and CB4-
————————————————————————
The fact that we’ve solidified the DBs, DE-Edge, OL, RB, and WR rooms….
Given me a great amount of confidence in TE- Hock, Wright, J Mitchell, Funchess- I bet we have a solid TE no matter what this year now…
Given us a few shots at LB and DT being better-
What if Barnes OR MRod is a really good starter by year end? 100 tackles 2-3 sacks 1 int type play with 60-65 plus PFF….
What if Levi or McNeill is a really solid 3-5 sacks DT who plays well against the run? Again 65 plus PFF type?
———————————————————————-
Going into next year needing a RB, OG, LB, DT, and CB with 25-30M in cap space, zero bad ballooning contracts and elite draft capital is a dream…
Basically I’m hoping we have 1 good DT and 1 good LB
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This was a great post from top to bottom.
The Godfather should sell some of the stuff written in here for ppl to read and create a Lions-only publication OR sell the rights to a local paper OR something like that.
Nice write-up, man
So much better than the crap most of the local beat writers put out there.
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I bleed Honolulu Blue and LOVE the new regime, but Brad Holmes has drafted two DTs in two years in the 2nd round who literally can’t play. All of the above can be true at the same time. Levi and Josh literally can’t suit up to play football because they were injured when drafted and are still injured.
That’s poor use of a 2nd round draft slot because high round two guys should start, not start their careers a year or two behind the curve because they’ve never finished a professional training camp.
That said, I’m still all-in on the regime. I just can’t pretend that they haven’t made mistakes. A hole in the middle when you’ve drafted two guys to fill it is not successful drafting. I can’t name a single DT who has missed rookie camp due to injury and went on to be a stud at their position.
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I disagree with your opinion on WR You omitted Cephus who last season at time he got hurt was are best WR. Now you may not like him but he was are best early last season.
I like are top 6 an its way way way better depth wise than last season. So if your talking are we better i would say yes . Opinions early can be changed an really is to early to talk roster yet i expect 4 maybe 5 additions by final cut.
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Way way to early to pass that kind of judgement
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I’m a Lions fan, so I hope against all odds every game but I’m acknowledging that missing training camp when you’re transitioning from college to pro puts you behind the 8-ball. Do we even spend a 2nd round pick on Paschal if Levi was as good as Alim last year? I think not. I think we add a DT in Round 4 or 5 instead. Then the guy we did pick with this year’s 2nd round already has us saying “we need another DT this year.” That ain’t good man. Its not.
I LOVE this statement. I wish more ppl could see it.
Yes!
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Levi, Pascal, Jamo, Mitchell!
I love the new regime, but, the Koolaid is best, sipped.
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I think a lot of that will depend on what team we’re playing. Against a team like the Vikings you’re going to want to play keep away. Control the ball on the ground and don’t let that offense on the field. Against a team like the giants you open it up and dare Daniel Jones to try and keep up with you:
“you are what your record says you are”
― Bill Parcells
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Is it?
Injuries stack. I don’t know that either Onwuzurike or Paschal were bad picks as I don’t think either were hurt prior to the draft, but regardless neither are practicing and it is difficult to be optimistic about what kind of season either might have.
I think it is fair to agree that rookie performance, injuries or no, are highly predictive of career quality.
LOL - not sure if this was sad or hilarious. Made me laugh, so I’ll go with hilarious. No other fans could understand that statement.
I like the current regime better than what we have had in the recent past. But you are correct in the bad use of our 2nd round picks. They have made some mistakes, but few of us ever expected perfection.
I will keep you in mind if I ever need a pint of blood. I think we may be compatible.
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