Stanley70

Seems like a necessity trade to me. These guys are unlikely to ever become everyday regulars on good teams. But the Tigers needed to fill a couple of holes and they could become nice role players, and if they're lucky a little better than that. Ideally teams in the Tigers situation should aim for higher ceiling guys that are maybe a couple years away. Malloy and now Maton have OBP skills that will be refreshing at least.

We are.

Agreed.

Alim can play the 3. At Michigan last year when they had Ojabo and Hutch they asked the Dt's to push the pocket and let the edge guys go to work. Those two would really clog up the middle running downs. And they they can sub in Paschel on third and long to rush from the inside. Or Levi if his back ever heals. I'd rather they draft Carter or Bresee, but adding a nose could work.

I am not sure what else Harris is supposed to do. This team has ZERO building blocks in place that are healthy and performing in the bigs. They have a couple who look like they could be, but aren't sure things yet. Between young pitching injuries and almost all of the hitters having down seasons it's impossible to know what to expect next year. How many of the young starters are going to come back and be average or better? Do we have any front of the rotation guys? Why did all of the hitters underperform last year? Were they Coolbaughed? Was it the cavernous stadium? I expect a number of those questions to be answered this year and for Harris to be much more active next offseason.

Dave Stewart traded Dansby Swanson before he made the majors. Of course Dave Stewart was comically unprepared to be a gm.

When they say it's not about the money, it's about the money. Everything i have heard it is that he is from a tough economic situation and NIL was a huge factor.

Michigan has a 5 star QB Jaden Smith in the 2024 class they have been in the lead for some time. He just moved his commit date out a month, which is not good. The longer a recruit is favoring you but doesn't commit is a bad sign. Michigan is supposedly making headway on NIL, but will probably never reach the levels of the $ec and O$U.

Yea, I am basically the same age. There are 2 periods where I felt truly optimistic. The early 90's Eric Kramer and Barry Sanders Lions. They had a decent defense with Speilman and Blades also. But they spent the majority of that era looking for a QB. Poor drafting finally weakened the team until Bobby Ross completely blew it up. Then the mid 2010's with Stafford and Suh. They had Calvin Johnson at his peak and a top ten defense. They got screwed out of a playoff win in Dallas and then again poor drafting and cap management ended that optimism. For 2 years or so this team was very good and should have done better in the playoffs. It finally feels like we have a front office that can draft and sustain a run of winning. I hope they solve the QB situation sooner rather than later however.

Keith Law didn't like the Benintendi deal. Too much for a guy coming off a season with less than 10 homers and steals. And that season was his best in a few years. He also called him an average defender.

If Goff were a starting pitcher he would have 3-4 games in a row where he gets knocked around and lasts an inning and a third. And then has 5-6 games where he pitches great. He is definitely an accurate QB. Given time and talent at the WR position he can hit shots to all parts of the field, although his arm strength is average. Put pressure on him, with his lack of mobility, he can't function and turns into checkdown Charlie. I think the Lions will make an effort to bring in a QB, but if they can't find the right one at the right price they will be content to move forward with Goff.

Yea, it's like Tom Kennedy guaranteeing a Lions win.

He is buds with Cade, probably didn't like the way he was treated. I guess he will be going to Iowa also.

I hope they get a QB out of this draft, I really believe they will try. Hopefully Levis at 3 if he is worth it. While waiting until later and taking a QB has worked for teams in the past, there are far more examples of that strategy not working out. Of course at all hinges on finding the right QB and being able to get him without forking over too much draft capital. Last year I watched a bunch of youtube highlight reels on Willis and Howard and thought that they were worth taking a gamble on, and neither were taken in the top 75 picks. So I have no idea if Levis is actually worth taking that high. And i don't want Stroud.

Yea OSU was petrified of getting paved again with Michigan going on 13 play 7 minute TD drives with 10 runs. So they played single and zero high with corners that aren't that good and blitzed a ton and got burnt. They are probably panic recruiting a few 330 pound DT's right now. JJ was a factor running the ball and took some shots, throwing his body into the end zone, and standing in there and getting passes off under pressure. While Stroud didn't run at all and mostly panicked when under pressure. The QB not being involved in the run game is the biggest difference between Urban and Day.

Maybe the Tigers just want to be bad with different players this year.

The smart money will come in late, watch how the line moves later in the week as more info on injuries leaks out.

I was hoping Williams would come back for the Thanksgiving day game. Would have added an extra element of excitement. I think Williams will be a star, I just hope Goff has the arm to fully utilize him.

OSU has been out gained in 3 games this year. Michigan hasn't had been below +50 in every game. Penn State out gained OSU by 30 and Michigan was +260 against them. Injuries, the weather, and how accurate JJ is will determine the game. OSU will put up points, hope for bad weather.

Michigan has ran a few screens. I remember one against MSU where JJ overthrew Edwards on third and goal. They have thrown a few to Wilson and Bell also. Michigan has more sacks this year than last, but the lack of a consistent edge pass rush is worrisome. The ground game has just reached 1970s level dominance to where they haven't needed to pass. It looked good against the cupcakes early on, but they haven't hit many downfield shots since. They haven't tried many either.

You can start to see a decent defensive core forming with Okudah, Hutch, Joseph, Rodrigo, and McNeil. Hopefully Paschel and Jacobs develop and Walker recovers next year. Plus there are a few other pieces that you can hold out hope for in Barnes, Levi, and Melifonwu. If they stack another good draft like it appears the 2022 may be they should be able to fill most of the gaping holes on defense that still exist. Like an interior DL that can reach the QB, a slot corner, and a LB to replace Anzalone. Plus they will need a #1 CB. They have 5 top 75 picks so this will be the offseason where they can improve rapidly. If they restructure or cut Goff and get rid of a few contracts like Brockers, Chark and Okwara they should have enough money to add an impact defensive player through FA or trade. They will need to hit on whatever QB they bring in though.

True. And this wasn't really a rebuild, it was a build. They basically had to start from scratch in most areas, creating departments that didn't exist. A franchise should never have a prolonged period of losing like the Tigers are going through.

If Chris Illitch it to be blamed for anything it's that he left AA in charge for waaayyyyy to long. It baffles me that owners of billion dollar teams leave the success/failure of the club to the GM, and don't have consultants or something verifying that the club is going in the right direction. At least the Lions have Speilman now. This board could see that the system wasn't improving developing young players years ago. I'm sure AA was telling Chris about all the great prospects he had that were about to break through and with a few free agents they would be contenders. When in actuality the system was top heavy and relied up most all of the prospects panning out, which never happens. And most of those prospects were in the riskiest demographic, pitching. I believe Al tried to rebuild, he just never built a competent development system.

Hockenson has 2 games this year with over 50 yards. And he has averaged 4 receptions for 44 yards over his career. And he seemed to be a average to below average blocker. He will be missed but I am sure the Lions didn't want to extend him at about 12-15M a year and figured now was the best time to move on.

They have struggled the last few games because Swift and ASB have missed time. Plus Reynolds has been banged up. When healthy they are a top 10 offense. Which is a huge improvement over last year. The defense is not improving. Last years draft has only McNeil contributing, which is a problem. They have some decent players but so many gaping holes teams can pick them a part. This was always a two year rebuild. The offense is coming along fine, the defense needs work. On the front seven alone they have 3 rookies (Hutch, Paschel, Rodrigo), a second year guy (McNeil), a waiver wire castoff (Buggs), and replacement level LB from free agency. That is not going to cut it. And the secondary is worse. They have a lot of work to do but there are a few pieces in place on defense. If they don't improve next year it's time to question the leadership IMO.