RandyMarsh

Nuggets announced that Bol Bol is having surgery on his foot and will be out for 8 to 12 weeks, so that explains why the trade was nixed. I believe he had issues with his feet in college which is why he dropped as far as he did in the draft so this isn't good news at all for him, especially when you factor in his size.

Oh yeah that's right, I forgot that only division winners got home games even if their record was inferior, that's how the Giants ended up hosting the Falcons even though they had the worst record among playoff teams. Losing to GB in the 2014 finale to miss out on thy division was another heartbreaking what if scenario. We all remember the controversial Dallas call but what gets forgotten with Lions fans is just how bad the officiating was in that GB game. I'm not one to really blame the officials but to this day that was one of the most lopsided officiated games I can remember. The Pack didn't get a single penalty called on them all game with the exception of one false start or offsides penalty. It was ridiculous.

Different sport but Kevin Durant came back from his achilles injury looking just as good it not better than he did before. Of course DB seems like that would be the worst position possible to suffer that type of injury considering the athleticism needed to play that position and all the cutting and change of direction needed. All we can do is hope, at this point anything we get from him almost seems like a bonus since everybody basically wrote him off after the injury.

I wonder what wouldve happened if not for the Matt Flynn game? If we win that we get a home playoff game against a bad Falcons team instead of going to NO who was basically unbeatable at that point at home. That was also the year a very mediocre Giants team ended up making the Super Bowl, Im not sure how the bracket would've played out but I think we could've won are 1st round home game then got SF in round 2. We lost to them earlier in the year but it was a close game, I think we very easily win that then in the NFC Championship we get either that Giants team, Packers or Saints. If it does end up being the Giants again in this scenario we definitely could've beaten them. Alot of what ifs and different scenarios that had to happen but I felt that 2011 we had a good enough team to win, especially since a mediocre Giants team ended up winning the whole thing anyway but we just got the worst draw possible thanks to that Flynn game.

I'm not saying that the Ford's aren't the worst but I think it's pretty lazy to just pin who's a good and bad owner based off team success. If the Lions win in Washington in 91 and make the Super Bowl and Calvin and Stafford carry us to one in 11 or 14 does that suddenly make them any better of owners cause the players stepped up in the playoffs?

On a related note Stanley Johnson went off for the Lakers in the 4th quarter to carry them past the Jazz. Scored 15pts on 7-9 shooting down the stretch.

I'm sure it's been brought up before but ironically the team Cincy played after winning their last playoff game were the Raiders and in that game Bo Jackson got his career ending injury.

I don't like the Bengals per se but I'm rooting for them cause 1 I hate the Raiders, 2 I like Joe Burrow and 3 I like their fans. I went to see the Lions play the Bengals in 2009 and the Bengals fans were really cool with me and brother. I remember them trying to make us feel better about our future saying that Stafford and Calvin will turn us around and how both of our franchises times were going to come. Of course 13 years later and neither of us have won a playoff game still but I could just sense how much they cared about their teams and appreciated how respectful they were. Same with Reds fans when I went to see the Tigers play there in 2012. So much different than the Ohioans in Cleveland or Columbus.

Henning says the Tigers are going to sign 2 international SS. Can't remember the names but they are 16 and 17 years old from Venezuela. The 16 year old is ranked 10th by BA among international FAs and the 17 year old 21st.

There's definitely a good chance he ends up no better than Trubisky but I feel the same way about the rest of the qbs that potentially will be available with the Rams pick which is why I would pass if it was me. Just saying that IF they go the route I think Howell has the best shot at being a plus qb, he may not have the upside of a Willis but I think he has a better chance of reaching his upside which may be a borderline top 10 guy if all the stars align.

If they take one at this point Im hoping it's Howell. I feel like he was put in a bad situation this year with all the talent that UNC lost. He still showed flashes of his ability that made him the top qb coming into the season and potential top 5 pick but he made too many mistakes which has hurt his stock. I like to think alot of those mistakes were from trying to do the proverbial too much with the football. Early in the season he was getting destroyed due to the terrible o line so I think he started forcing throws and things in general. With that said Im not completely sold on him and like every other qb this year I think there is a good chance they dont amount to anything better than just an average starter but if they feel they have to take one I think Howell may be the best option.

FYI Djokovic had his visa revoked again and is about to be deported and miss the Australian Open. Can't say I ever expected to post that in a Tigers offseason thread but as we all know these threads can take mysterious turns out of nowhere.

I am a little disappointed in the Bol Bol news, I of course was being tongue and cheek when I talked about him being a franchise changer for us but I still had hope that he may have been a serviceable piece going forward and atleast another young player on the team that you could potentially get excited about and root for. For his sake I'm hoping it's nothing real serious, perhaps it was something the Pistons thought may put him out for most of the year or at the very least hindered his ability and made it difficult to accurately scout him. Being a RFA they would be put in a tough position this summer if that were the case since they never wouldve gotten a good or accurate look at him.

Broncos announced they just finished their interview with Glenn.

I don't put much stock into how teams are going to look a year from now because things and teams change so quickly in the NFL but as is that is a pretty friendly schedule. Assuming all the teams are similar next year to what they are this year I could see 7 or 8 wins.

The Orioles said screw it, if you're not going to deaden the ball were just going to deaden our park. Of course I always thought the right field side was what caused most of Camden's HR problems but I suppose with the whole concourse, warehouse and limited seating on that side as is they really couldn't extend that.

BTW I just saw a stat that said that Campbell set the NFL record for most 4th attempts and conversions in NFL history. I hope he continues to do that even if/when we become good cause I'm a firm believer that teams don't go for 4th downs enough or call plays with the expectation to use all 4 downs enough. Like if it's 3rd and 8, if you plan ahead of time that you are going to go for it on 4th down it opens up the entire playbook, you can run the ball for 4 or 5 yards or set up a short pass to set up the 4th and 3. My philosophy is you have 4 downs you might as well use them, the whole field position game is overrated unless you can pin the opposing team deep.

Nothing more than a gut feeling but I think it's going to be GB over Buffalo. As far as upsets again gut feeling says SF will upset the Cowboys but lose to the Packers and Cincy makes it to the championship but loses to Buffalo(if that is possible). Unfortunately with the hypothetical Cincy win that would make the Lions fall way behind the league for last postseason win.

The Knicks are reportedly interested in Grant. One of the Knicks writers offered up some hypothetical offers and a couple I would consider. The best was salary filler(kemba perhaps?), a young prospect like Toppin. Robinson etc. and a first with small provisions like maybe top 5 or 7. I like this cause I like the idea of getting a young player that has some upside and the Knicks are a team I could easily see collapsing so the pick could be a late lottery or mid teens so it will have some value. The salary filler would have to be done by the end of next year, I don't want to take on any contracts that go beyond that.

One more thing about PFF ratings, they maybe great to measure how a player does in a vacuum but they don't necessarily correlate to the impact they made on the field. For instance if a WR runs a great route and gets open he gets a positive grade even if the QB misses him and throws to somebody else or the pass is incomplete due to a bad throw. So theoretically he could run 30 great routes and get 30 positive plays and a high grade but end up with 0 catches.

They have a separate list for most valuable but unfortunately it's behind a paywall. Fwiw I think Mac Jones was the most valuable just cause how important the qb position is.

That's why the spiteful part of me wants them to lose. I would love to see him lose in the 1st round after giving up those picks and kicking Goff to the curb.

Yeah admittedly Im kinda ignorant when it comes to how guys fit in specific defenses but I think ultimately think talent trumps everything and the good ones can fit in any defense but I don't know for sure so that may have been their mindset.

Yeah I really think they aren't going to go in that direction and given their success and the league's success in general at finding wr from the mid to late 2nd on I can't say I blame them. Outside of RB I think WR may be the position filled with the most great players that weren't early picks. If you look at the yardage leaders outside of Chase and Jefferson I think all of the top 15 were picked outside the 1st round.

Yeah Jones was in the top 5 I believe and was the only one to make the list. Number 1 was the center from KC and I think 2 was Slater who many scoffed at when it suggested we draft him if Sewell was taken.