Never write another predictions post again.
So, uh....I've got good news and I've got bads news. Bad news is I totally struck out on my draft predictions. The good news is I'm officially qualified to write for ESPN.com. Seriously though, that draft was like nothing I've ever seen in my time as a Lions fan. I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. There were a few picks I liked, a few that had me completely baffled as I feverishly checked online while at my day job and one pick that I wasn't a fan of at all. Yet, I can't bring myself to cast any judgment. Was that just a "winning teams" type of draft, hence my utter confusion as to what just happened? Or was that a rookie GM being overly aggressive towards only two positions of need and over zealous once his team was on the clock? Any thoughts Lions fans?
Saturday, April 30, 2016
There will be WAR for starting positions for our O line
Quin keeps drafting O lineman. This time a Guard Named Joe Dahl that could be a RT if everything fell perfectly for him.
I don't know if this is going to work out for us but it seems Quin is making it extremely clear that allowing Stafford to get sacked almost 90 times in 2 seasons is entirely unacceptable. There will be someone, young and hungry behind you on the depth chart. If you fuck up too much, that young hungry guy is going to get his chance.
And in the end of the 5th round we just drafted another LB. This guy screams special team pick to me but what do I know. He is described as big, strong and a little lacking in technique. Considering we played with 2LBs almost 2/3rds of the time last year, we seem to have a rather large number of them on the roster right now. Someone is losing their job.
I don't know if this is going to work out for us but it seems Quin is making it extremely clear that allowing Stafford to get sacked almost 90 times in 2 seasons is entirely unacceptable. There will be someone, young and hungry behind you on the depth chart. If you fuck up too much, that young hungry guy is going to get his chance.
And in the end of the 5th round we just drafted another LB. This guy screams special team pick to me but what do I know. He is described as big, strong and a little lacking in technique. Considering we played with 2LBs almost 2/3rds of the time last year, we seem to have a rather large number of them on the roster right now. Someone is losing their job.
Friday, April 29, 2016
Graham Glasgow
It looks like the Lions are going power running game. That right side of the O line with Decker at RT, Warford at RG and potentially Glasgow at center could potentially create a mauler side of the O line.
A guy can dream of the halcyon days of power running drawing up the Ss and freeing up the WRs to cut swaths of damage into the secondary can't he?
A review from Walterfootball a site I really like..... Not a perfect player but at this point in the draft, he just might end up being a steal. I can hope right?
A guy can dream of the halcyon days of power running drawing up the Ss and freeing up the WRs to cut swaths of damage into the secondary can't he?
A review from Walterfootball a site I really like..... Not a perfect player but at this point in the draft, he just might end up being a steal. I can hope right?
Why are the Lions picking so damn fast?
What is the harm of waiting it out a bit? Mayillen used to do this too and it pissed me off then. You are given an allotted amount of time. Why not use most of it waiting for a desperate team to blow you away with an offer?
This draft so far, in that way, feels extremely like a Mayillen draft. Overconfidence in their ability to pick a player yet both players are supposed "high upside" guys. We don't need that. We need guys that can't fail. Particularly in the first two rounds.
And this wait for our pick at the end of the 3rd round makes me want to scream....
Mayillen!!!! Why do you hate us!!!!!
This draft so far, in that way, feels extremely like a Mayillen draft. Overconfidence in their ability to pick a player yet both players are supposed "high upside" guys. We don't need that. We need guys that can't fail. Particularly in the first two rounds.
And this wait for our pick at the end of the 3rd round makes me want to scream....
Mayillen!!!! Why do you hate us!!!!!
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Taylor Decker OT from Ohio State (he is a Lions now, so we can forgive him, I guess)
That is our pick. We took the third best OT when we could have had the best Center. We needed help at RT, no question. I am not happy, I am not mad.
You have got to be fucking kidding me.....
Laremy Tunsil posted a video of himself taking a bong hit with a gas mask BEFORE THE DRAFT!!!!
If the Lions draft this guy I am going to fucking lose my mind. The level of stupidity involved in this action is astounding. Of course, his agent is saying his account was hacked bla bla bla. It was Tunsil. Why is he smoking pot? Why is he recording himself smoking pot? He got busted with pot. This collosal dumbass just doesn't get it. This isn't a red flag. This is a stop sign. Roger Goodell will be looking into this. I guarantee it. This kid is going to be in stage one of the leagues substance abuse program and he hasn't even taken a NFL snap yet.
What a monumental fucking idiot. There isn't much he could have done that would have hurt his stock than this.....
Fucking moron.
If he drops to us and we draft him I am going to lose my shit.
THANK YOU!!! MIAMI PICKED HIM!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!
Three predictions for the 2016 NFL Draft
So the draft is finally upon us Lions fans. I thought this would be a great time to do something interesting here at the site. By interesting, I don't mean adding to the several billion mock drafts currently making the rounds on the internet. Rather let's have a go at some predictions for the upcoming draft. If I'm half as good as the national experts, this should be a total failure...but why let a thing like accountability get in our way.
1. Four Quarterbacks will be selected in the first round.
We already know Jared Goff and Carson Wentz will go off the board in the first two picks. There has been some criticism of the Los Angeles Rams & Philadelphia Eagles for their recent trades to move into the first and second picks of this draft respectively. While there is validity in those criticisms, the fact remains. Quarterback is the most important position in the game and the most difficult position to fill. This creates quite the inflated market for young passers in each draft. I don't believe the buck stops with the top two players this year. I'd look for two more young passers to find their way into the event's opening night. Paxton Lynch out of Memphis is almost a certainty after wowing evaluators and the media alike with his combination of size, athleticism and throwing ability.
The fourth is a bit more tricky. There are a couple options to look for among the remaining passers. MSU QB Connor Cook has had an up and down draft process seeing many fluctuations in his stock but he remains a valued target for some teams that like his intelligence and what is seen as a pro ready game. Another guy I would look for is PSU QB Christian Hackenberg. No longer the shining, sure fire number 1 pick he was once seen as, questions of character and regression in play over the course of his collegiate career have marred the image of Hackenberg. However, two words will ultimately define him....ARM. TALENT. That's where he shines brighter than any other QB prospect and those two words could see him land in the 1st round. It'll be interesting to see where they go, if teams begin a trading frenzy and if so, how it affects the Lions if at all.
2. The Detroit Lions go OL in round 1....but not tackle
This is about as close as I'll come to a mock draft folks. I feel illness setting in simply typing the words. That said, I'm making predictions and I'm told this type of thing is done elsewhere. So let's get it out of the way shall we? The Detroit Lions like any other team come into the draft with a list of positions they would like to fill/upgrade. Most notable among pundits and Lions fans everywhere are the holes at right tackle and defensive tackle. Let's touch on those quickly. Starting with DT, there's a strong belief that the Lions should take aim at finally finding a replacement for Ndamukong $uh *AHEM* Suh. I'm not exactly a subscriber to that belief. The moves Lions GM Bob Quinn made this offseason suggest he may also not believe that theory. With the re-signing of Haloti Ngata, Tyrunn Walker and the addition of Stefan Charles to a group that already plays home to young players like Caraun Reid and Gabe Wright, needless to say...the position has quite a few roster spots occupied. It just doesn't seem as if it's the setup of a team looking to go DT in round 1.
Then there's the issue of right tackle. I say right tackle because if you think any rookie taken at pick 16(or possibly anywhere else) could come in and take Riley Rieff's job at LT...you're a bit out of touch with how tough the college to NFL transition can be. There are few positions where rookies can step in immediately and have a big impact...one of those positions however, is center. Full disclosure, I'm not in love with Travis Swanson. He has plenty question marks on him ranging from his functional strength to his durability. I don't know about you but I'm not keen on having a question mark squatting in front of the franchise. Alabama C Ryan Kelly has been gaining steam in recent weeks and it's even been reported by Bleacher Report's Matt Miller (Get your grains of salt ready) that Kelly is the Lions top target. You may not believe BR, but believe the tape...Kelly is good and I believe he will be a part of the pride before night's end.
3. The Detroit Lions will make 3 trades...and 2 of them won't be in the direction you want.
Can you hear them? TRADE DOWN....TRADE DOWN! Shaking their heads in self approval. That's what the New England Patriots would do and that's what Bob Quinn will do. No...stop it....control yourselves. The New England Patriots' philosophy is not to trade down, their philosophy is to do their homework, follow their board and get good players no matter where they present themselves. I'm looking for Quinn to bring that mentality to the Detroit Lions but he's stated he's not interested in a copy/paste philosophy. I anticipate some aggressiveness from our new GM. I think we could see it in days 2 and 3 of this year's draft. We as Lions fans may not know a whole lot about it but the thought process is that good players can be had in all rounds of the draft.
Coming into Thursday night the team will have a lot of draft capital to work with boasting 10 selections. Something major to note, the Cleveland Browns currently hold the Lions original 3rd round pick via the blockbuster trade with Philadelphia. As you, I and Roger Clemens may like to misremember...that selection was traded to the Eagles during last year's draft in exchange for a 4th round pick that turned into Gabe Wright. Although, we remain in the 3rd round with a compensatory pick, it's a long way from pick 46 in the 2nd round to pick 95 towards the end of round 3. This is a spot where we could potentially see one of the three predicted trades but I believe it's a lot more likely to see Quinn maneuver the board on day 3. It will be exciting to see how active the team is and who they target.
1. Four Quarterbacks will be selected in the first round.
We already know Jared Goff and Carson Wentz will go off the board in the first two picks. There has been some criticism of the Los Angeles Rams & Philadelphia Eagles for their recent trades to move into the first and second picks of this draft respectively. While there is validity in those criticisms, the fact remains. Quarterback is the most important position in the game and the most difficult position to fill. This creates quite the inflated market for young passers in each draft. I don't believe the buck stops with the top two players this year. I'd look for two more young passers to find their way into the event's opening night. Paxton Lynch out of Memphis is almost a certainty after wowing evaluators and the media alike with his combination of size, athleticism and throwing ability.
The fourth is a bit more tricky. There are a couple options to look for among the remaining passers. MSU QB Connor Cook has had an up and down draft process seeing many fluctuations in his stock but he remains a valued target for some teams that like his intelligence and what is seen as a pro ready game. Another guy I would look for is PSU QB Christian Hackenberg. No longer the shining, sure fire number 1 pick he was once seen as, questions of character and regression in play over the course of his collegiate career have marred the image of Hackenberg. However, two words will ultimately define him....ARM. TALENT. That's where he shines brighter than any other QB prospect and those two words could see him land in the 1st round. It'll be interesting to see where they go, if teams begin a trading frenzy and if so, how it affects the Lions if at all.
2. The Detroit Lions go OL in round 1....but not tackle
This is about as close as I'll come to a mock draft folks. I feel illness setting in simply typing the words. That said, I'm making predictions and I'm told this type of thing is done elsewhere. So let's get it out of the way shall we? The Detroit Lions like any other team come into the draft with a list of positions they would like to fill/upgrade. Most notable among pundits and Lions fans everywhere are the holes at right tackle and defensive tackle. Let's touch on those quickly. Starting with DT, there's a strong belief that the Lions should take aim at finally finding a replacement for Ndamukong $uh *AHEM* Suh. I'm not exactly a subscriber to that belief. The moves Lions GM Bob Quinn made this offseason suggest he may also not believe that theory. With the re-signing of Haloti Ngata, Tyrunn Walker and the addition of Stefan Charles to a group that already plays home to young players like Caraun Reid and Gabe Wright, needless to say...the position has quite a few roster spots occupied. It just doesn't seem as if it's the setup of a team looking to go DT in round 1.
Then there's the issue of right tackle. I say right tackle because if you think any rookie taken at pick 16(or possibly anywhere else) could come in and take Riley Rieff's job at LT...you're a bit out of touch with how tough the college to NFL transition can be. There are few positions where rookies can step in immediately and have a big impact...one of those positions however, is center. Full disclosure, I'm not in love with Travis Swanson. He has plenty question marks on him ranging from his functional strength to his durability. I don't know about you but I'm not keen on having a question mark squatting in front of the franchise. Alabama C Ryan Kelly has been gaining steam in recent weeks and it's even been reported by Bleacher Report's Matt Miller (Get your grains of salt ready) that Kelly is the Lions top target. You may not believe BR, but believe the tape...Kelly is good and I believe he will be a part of the pride before night's end.
3. The Detroit Lions will make 3 trades...and 2 of them won't be in the direction you want.
Can you hear them? TRADE DOWN....TRADE DOWN! Shaking their heads in self approval. That's what the New England Patriots would do and that's what Bob Quinn will do. No...stop it....control yourselves. The New England Patriots' philosophy is not to trade down, their philosophy is to do their homework, follow their board and get good players no matter where they present themselves. I'm looking for Quinn to bring that mentality to the Detroit Lions but he's stated he's not interested in a copy/paste philosophy. I anticipate some aggressiveness from our new GM. I think we could see it in days 2 and 3 of this year's draft. We as Lions fans may not know a whole lot about it but the thought process is that good players can be had in all rounds of the draft.
Coming into Thursday night the team will have a lot of draft capital to work with boasting 10 selections. Something major to note, the Cleveland Browns currently hold the Lions original 3rd round pick via the blockbuster trade with Philadelphia. As you, I and Roger Clemens may like to misremember...that selection was traded to the Eagles during last year's draft in exchange for a 4th round pick that turned into Gabe Wright. Although, we remain in the 3rd round with a compensatory pick, it's a long way from pick 46 in the 2nd round to pick 95 towards the end of round 3. This is a spot where we could potentially see one of the three predicted trades but I believe it's a lot more likely to see Quinn maneuver the board on day 3. It will be exciting to see how active the team is and who they target.
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Norman? No thanks.... With emphasis on NOOOOOOO
It is exceptionally rare for a franchise tagged player to become a free agent. There is always a reason when it does happen. Teams don't let franchise players hit the open market unless he carries a risk that overwhelms his value to the team. In this case, we have a player that thinks he is a top 5 CB in the league and expect to be paid in accordance. The problem, he isn't. One year of exceptional play in a contract year doesn't equate to elite pay.
It really is that simple. He has had one exceptional year. Never the less, some team will overpay him. Some team will pay him way too much money for way too many years.
Let that team not be the Lions!
It really is that simple. He has had one exceptional year. Never the less, some team will overpay him. Some team will pay him way too much money for way too many years.
Let that team not be the Lions!
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Dead coach walking.....
Does anyone else think the Detroit Lions have a dead coach walking right now? The current GM has no ties to him. He didn't hire him, he just didn't fire him.....
Convenient for the new GM. A year without expectations that can come back to him........
Jim's history doesn't exactly inspire. He hasn't built anything anywhere he has ever been. He rode the coattails of coaches that preceded him until things collapsed around him. He is a supposed "offensive minded" coach that failed to fire LomNOTi well past his expiration date and that is an understatement. This is a man that called a timeout in a playoff game that literally caused Payton Manning to shame his coach with disagreement. This is a man that kept Swanson at center despite his miserable play when Manny Ramirez was just sitting there collecting checks.
This is a man that people actually make jokes about him being dead on the sideline and we are supposed to believe he is going to take the Lions to the next level? Give me a fucking break. I look at the schedule and I see potential. Then I remember, we have the corpse of a dead bad head coach who is admittedly a player favorite.
The problem with player favorite coaches. They rarely if ever get the job done. It is the coaches that the players hate but respect that do that. Coaches aren't supposed to be a players friend, they are supposed to be the guy that finds a way to bleed every bit of talent from his players in order to win. Think Jimmy Johnson and the cowboys. We don't have that. I can't ever remember a coach like that for the Lions. Jim is the guy you want for a grandfather. Not a coach.
This season is going to be painful and I don't expect our inept head coach to survive for another run in 2017. It is a profound pity we had to waste 2016 on him.
Convenient for the new GM. A year without expectations that can come back to him........
Jim's history doesn't exactly inspire. He hasn't built anything anywhere he has ever been. He rode the coattails of coaches that preceded him until things collapsed around him. He is a supposed "offensive minded" coach that failed to fire LomNOTi well past his expiration date and that is an understatement. This is a man that called a timeout in a playoff game that literally caused Payton Manning to shame his coach with disagreement. This is a man that kept Swanson at center despite his miserable play when Manny Ramirez was just sitting there collecting checks.
This is a man that people actually make jokes about him being dead on the sideline and we are supposed to believe he is going to take the Lions to the next level? Give me a fucking break. I look at the schedule and I see potential. Then I remember, we have the corpse of a dead bad head coach who is admittedly a player favorite.
The problem with player favorite coaches. They rarely if ever get the job done. It is the coaches that the players hate but respect that do that. Coaches aren't supposed to be a players friend, they are supposed to be the guy that finds a way to bleed every bit of talent from his players in order to win. Think Jimmy Johnson and the cowboys. We don't have that. I can't ever remember a coach like that for the Lions. Jim is the guy you want for a grandfather. Not a coach.
This season is going to be painful and I don't expect our inept head coach to survive for another run in 2017. It is a profound pity we had to waste 2016 on him.
Friday, April 8, 2016
Let us hope....
During a recent event, Bill Belichick had this to say about how the Pats do things.....
Let us hope that Quin is of this same vein of thought and planning because our last guy ABSOLUTELY wasn't. Case in point, drafting a TE 10th after the entire league has had years to move to bigger CBs and faster LBs to cover those TEs. Mayillen was a shameless copycat as is most of the league. He had the vision of a newt and the foresight of a six week old puppy.
So, let us hope that Quin is a Bilichickian leader instead of a Mayillen copycat. Of course, he is limited because he has a head coach with the creativity of said newt but that won't last too long. If Caldwell is still coach of the Detroit Lions after this coming season, I am going to be pissed, astounded and perplexed. I will also be highly skeptical of Quin. (ok, I am already highly skeptical of Quin....)
“One of the things we’ve tried to do is be a little bit of an outlier in some respects,” Belichick said, via NESN.com. “When I came to the Patriots in 2000 as the head coach, we played a 3-4 defense, and we only had two teams in the NFL, us and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who played a 3-4. We had quite a bit of success, won three Super Bowls in four years, and by 2005, half the league was playing a 3-4 defense. So, when I came here trying to find a nose tackle like Ted Washington, it was easy because no one else wanted him. Five years later, if we were looking for a nose tackle, there were probably five other teams in the draft ahead of us. “We’ve kind of had to find different players, different schemes, whether it be tight end-based offenses or whether it be going from an odd to an even front defensively, whatever it happened to be, trying to find different ways to capitalize on the talent that’s available.”You see that. Belichick is the guy setting the trends in the NFL. Finding value in things the league is not doing presently and making them work for his team today. He is talking about finding a surplus of underutilized, thus cheap, talent and finding ways to win with that talent today. He has done this his entire time with the Pats as noted in his quote but one part was left out. What he is doing offensively today. Small, shifty and quicker WRs. Teams all over the league are trying to find bigger taller CBs to counter all the Megatron wannabes. How do you beat a bigger CB? Smaller, shiftier and quicker WRs that get into and out of their cuts faster, running sharper routes that the bigger CBs can't handle. That is building a team on the front edge curve. (case in point, Antonio Brown is debate-ably the best WR in the game today and he is 5-10, Pitt is pretty good at this too)
Let us hope that Quin is of this same vein of thought and planning because our last guy ABSOLUTELY wasn't. Case in point, drafting a TE 10th after the entire league has had years to move to bigger CBs and faster LBs to cover those TEs. Mayillen was a shameless copycat as is most of the league. He had the vision of a newt and the foresight of a six week old puppy.
So, let us hope that Quin is a Bilichickian leader instead of a Mayillen copycat. Of course, he is limited because he has a head coach with the creativity of said newt but that won't last too long. If Caldwell is still coach of the Detroit Lions after this coming season, I am going to be pissed, astounded and perplexed. I will also be highly skeptical of Quin. (ok, I am already highly skeptical of Quin....)
Monday, April 4, 2016
Good for you edition....
Steve Smith called out Greg hardy on his domestic violence. Called him a liar.
I don't often agree with him but on this point, Mr. Smith is on point.
"So I guess she tripped on the carpet or something."
I don't often agree with him but on this point, Mr. Smith is on point.
Friday, April 1, 2016
Truth:Jason Hanson edition
Some fans insisted that Hanson wasn't forced out. Wrong.....
“Hey look, minimum in the NFL is a ridiculous amount of money. So I didn’t tell them that, but I would have played for that. I mean, that’s a lot of money. But at the same time it was like, OK, if they’re saying, ‘Hey, we like you, but we can go get someone else and what do you want to do?’ I was like, ‘OK, well, that’s fine.’ If there’s no passion on their end, then I’m going to feel the same way. So no, it wasn’t just that, but all of it together.”That is as close as you will ever get a person with Hanson's class to tell it like it really was back then. He PC'd it down but it is right there. Those assholes forced out a Lions legend.
And yes, I am still bitter over how they treated him. Fuck you Mayillen.
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