1984Echoes

Yeah, Meadows is at the top only to get as many at-bats as possible in spring training. Regular season, he's in the bottom 3. Just a wag.

Hooker will be the #2. Any veteran backup will be vying for the #3 spot. Rumor was the Lions were interested in getting Sudfeld back..

Right. Get a 4th for Ghost (per buddha's doubts...) and a 5th for Perron? And bring up Edvinsson and Kasper? If those guys are ready for the NHL challenge (the big question), then I don't see a problem there. It needs to be done. At least at some point in time.

I would have zero interest in trading for any player with that cap hit. I'll wait for a guy to be released and sign him to a Lions contract with our own cap hit... not someone else's...

Cap hits are MEANINGLESS once a player has been released. The only "cap hit" that matters after that is the next contract that that player signs... NOT his previous cap hit.

That all changes in one year. With Yzerman at the helm. It's called a "rebuild", and it requires patience. That sucks big time... but... it still requires patience, whether any of us likes that or not. Most particularly because drafted hockey kids often take at least a few years to break into the NHL (even though there are some exceptions), and then STILL take a couple more years to make significant impacts towards the playoffs (for most at least)... AND... you cannot rebuild a bad team with no farm back into a "Playoff-Level Team" with ONLY 1st rounders. It takes LOTS of moves and... after Yzerman has made "lots" of moves, including draftees, trades, and FA signings, to get us to this point (hanging onto the edge of the playoffs but maybe not quite there yet), it's obvious he still has to make a few more (moves). But it's not like we are SO FAR AWAY (dire straits), we are, in fact... "ALMOST THERE" (nice song by anika noni rose) I already outlined that above. See my earlier post above...

Yeah, it's been so long I got confused there. I haven't watched SNL in forever (aside from a few clips here and there...). As soon as you said "Never mind." Yeah, OK, I remember that now, of course. But it seems like I'm needing more hints now than ever to try and remember stuff that I already knew. I think the pathways to my memory chips are starting to falter...

Quit conflating two different things: The Big Bang: where did all the matter in the universe come from? God? Or some scientific "Big Bang". That's one thing. How did humans evolve? That is a SEPARATE and UNRELATED thing to where did all matter come from. The universe is 13.7 billion years old. Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Homo Sapiens (the human species) is ~250,000 years old. That's a LONG freaking time for the human species to appear. There is NO such thing as "Intelligent Design". That's another fairytale concocted to try and explain how we got here, as an attempt by the religious to create a bogus "scientific theory" to try to argue against evolution. Evolution is a done deal. It's fact. Sorry. As for all the matter? ... AFTER the Big Bang, or God if you so choose... ALL the MATTER already exists. To create stars, planets, and living things on planets. Water. Carbon Dioxide and Methane and Hydrogen Sulfide atmosphere (early Earth atmosphere... note: NO Oxygen...) which slowly evolves over eons to also include oxygen. Why? Because ocean living single-celled creatures (plant kingdom) evolved an energy source using the sun, giving off a waste material called oxygen. Billions of years later: humans. Oh... your "intelligently designed" eye? That ALSO evolved over billions of years, from a single light-sensitive nerve ending, to a simple lensed eye, to our complex eye. Here is a chart of all the different types (evolution) of eyes, from its simplest form to most complex: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/eye-evolution/

I'll add one more thing: "Playoff level toughness". I don't think we have it. Not last year and not this year, at least the past 6 games. Which could be the need for better players... as I've outlined above... Or... Could be coaching as others have mentioned above. I don't know the answer to that one. Could be both.

No... there's no "start over". This team just isn't good enough yet. I mean, they're good, there's lots of positives, Stevie's been adding depth guys for at least the past 2 years... But we're sifting through goalies and nothing has stuck yet. Nedeljkovic was a nice try and had some good games, but didn't cut it with the Wings (needed better D in front of him)... Husso was a nice try and had some good games with the Wings but currently is faltering with the Wings (looks like he needs better health and better D in front of him)... Lyon is explained really well right here: In other words: Lyon looks like he needs better D in front of him. (It's sort of a theme with the Wings... and on all 5 guys too... not just on 2...) I think we just need some more of these young kids who look like they have some really high skill level to make their way to the Wings. That would include Edvinsson (better D, of course), Cossa (a #1 in goal instead of tossing #2 guys out there and hoping they turn into a #1...), Kasper. Just for starters. This team needs more high-end talent. And I don't know if any of these guys are ready yet. We have a lot of guys who are adding depth to this team. But they are all flawed, limited, whatever term you want to use. They add goals or playmaking (Sprong & Gostisbehere as examples), but their flaws cannot always be hidden. Could go through almost every player and do the same thing: List a positive or two, and then the negatives. The team played together really well this season and the "sum was definitely greater than the parts". But IMO... this team needs a higher skill level, and a higher "drive-to-win" level players, to become a sustainable playoff team. Larkin can drive this team to wins. And...? That's what I mean in a nutshell. The depth and the "sum-of-the-parts" means we're close to a playoff team. But apparently, just not quite there yet. I still believe this team needs to add more "drivers" to get wins. So... sorry to annoy everyone, I also think that takes looking at a guy or two on Lindholm & Hanifan's level. Not necessarily the superstar or even Larkin-level guys... but hard-nosed/ high skill players just a cut below Larkin that can ALSO drive a team to compete, overall, at a higher level. And face adversity & overcome it. And if Larkin gets knocked out for a week every now-and-then (this IS the NHL after all...), these other guys can still push the rest of the team to... not completely fall on their asses like they have the past 6 games? Yeeesh! Just my 2 cents.

You mean... After getting their asses whupped game-after-game.

Isn't that special?

No? In the NFL, if a team needs your cap space they just release a player with ZERO obligation to anything not guaranteed. This happens ALL THE TIME in the NFL. What do you mean this hardly happens? A player can be OUT of a job (with no guarantees). Or take a pay cut and stick with his team. This happens all over the NFL on an annual basis. I think you are not correct at all.

Don't misunderstand me. I was being glib. These are the issues that lead my thinking on CJGJ, of which MC mentioned a couple: 1) Dude has an ego. He's going to want the chance to be a straight up starter. 2) That said... even though he came back last year after surgery, he may not be able to find a situation in which he is the automatic starter. And may be forced to take MC's 1-year prove it deal. Not a bad bet for the Lions to take if he's willing. 3) That said... I'm going to guess that the Lions are pretty high on Kerby and Iffy as the safeties, and Branch as the nickel. CJGJ can probably squeeze in there somewhere... probably quite a LOT with Kerby losing the most time there, on a guess. 4) So... can CJGJ REALLY still ball after that surgery? I don't remember him being exceptional at the end of last year.. and actually getting burned a couple times. Does another 8 months chilling out and "soft recovering" from that surgery get him back to 100%? Does that make offering him a 1-year contract worth it? 5) The 3 young Lions are... greeeeeeeeeen. Not a huge amount of starting experience. It's why I ask the question that, even though Simmons is on the downside, he isn't the better locker room guy for those 3. I don't think he has more to offer on the field than CJGJ... but I think he has more to offer the other 3 guys in the locker room, coaching them up, and being part of a rotation with them. Just my 2 cents. Again, not taking the glib angle here, but... The biggest question I would have is: Does CJGJ REALLY want to be here for another year, given all of the circumstances?

Duce don't play in a rotation. Duce not shy about letting everyone know that. Duce ain't perfect for this team.

I don't really like the idea of CJGJ re-signing. Not at all... to be honest. I really LOVE the idea of the Lions signing Simmons, Gilmore, Zeitler, and Danna (oh, and Josh Reynolds too). I think the locker room leadership those guys could provide would be immense. Along with what we've already got. Oh... and they would all be the key backups (or starter at LG for Zeitler) at their position too...

Awosika.

Simple solution: They need to win some games.

1) Fuller might be hunting one of these crazy contracts. And most likely will get one. 2) I'm guessing that Holmes' thought process is to cover the position for at least a year, or maybe two, with Sutton/ Davis/ etc... And to draft guys that he thinks the team can develop and take over in the next year or two. Cheaper options. Late 2nd/ early 3rd: Look for the Lions to draft Khyree Jackson, Cam Hart, Caelon Carson, or Max Melton. Or two of those guys and he hunts pass rushers in the later (4-6th) rounds...

He's a huge upgrade over Kindle Vildor.

I think he's perfectly fine as a player that won't have to carry the team on his shoulders. He sets the edge and plays the run really well... so he's the starter but really, he's complimentary to Hutch. Him and Paschal opposite hutch make me feel better. He might still have some pass rush too... but other guys can come in that are more explosive and.. again, he doesn't have to carry the pass-rush but just needs to be an effective complimentary player. Nothing spectacular but I'll take the veteran and his experience. Also... watch the Lions add an inexpensive extension and drop his cap hit... I'd love it more.

Erie and Toledo...

I wouldn't mind adding a veteran safety (and NOT re-signing Ceedy Duce...). But one of the vets who was cut and ends up at the end of FA as a bargain. I think that's a great spot to add an inexpensive veteran who can be great in the locker room... Iffy and Kerby are the starters so just add someone to put behind them, providing support (in a myriad of ways...).

I didn't think Jonah was going to be getting that much... Good for him. But time for the Lions to go to Plan B and I'm glad they didn't try to keep him at that high a cost... Who were those two Centers who were monsters in the middle and able to start at Guard right away (and take over from Ragnow at some point in the future, or... if injuries)? Jackson Powers-Johnson and Zach Frazier, IIRC. I'm on board with signing Gilmore as a stopgap, drafting one of those nasty interior O-lineman at the end of the 1st... and using the 2nd & 3rd round picks on CB's and pass-rushers to develop...

Or they'll stay at home, disheartened. Or write in Haley-Kasich instead... I saw somewhere...