RandyMarsh

Jung probably wouldn't be called up till atleast July so we'll see how Keith looks at 2nd till then. If he looks like he can handle himself fine there then you may consider using Jung as a trade chip or see how he looks at third base. I noticed that he was playing some innings there in the AFL so maybe that's something the Tigers already have in mind. Worst case scenario you can always mix and match guys, I have found just like with pitching you can never have enough bats and good managers find a way to shoe horn them into the lineup nearly everyday.

From the stuff I read and the vids I have seen I feel fairly confident that Jung will be atleast steady at 2b. By that I mean he will make the plays he's supposed to and not embarrass us there. Keith Im not as confident in but I feel like he can be a similar type.

I don't put much stock in schedule strength at this point cause there are always teams that end up better or worse than they appear at this point. Also in regards to playing a 1st place schedule, well in most divisions there is little to no drop off from the 1st place team to the 2nd place team, they are almost always pretty interchangeable so there really isn't much difference in my eyes there. Also we played 9 road games this year and will only play 8 next year so that helps offset things too.

I will say the only thing I feel pretty confident about in regards to being tougher next year is if we do reach the divisional round again I do think you are likely to face a more talented and better team than the Bucs were. We did get fortunate in that regards cause usually by then you are facing 11+ win teams.

Yup, also I already have seen some people on twitter talk about how "progression isn't linear" and just cause the Lions have young players doesn't mean they are going to be better but then you will hear people say how it will be harder next year cause the Packers and Bears will be alot better cause of growth from their young players. So progression is guaranteed in some people's minds for Lions rivals but not in the case for the Lions.

It's not a given they will be back but it won't be any easier or harder to get there next year than it was this year. It's just a fallacy of a cliche to say it will be tougher the next time. Teams weren't overlooking the Lions this year, they were the most hyped non playoff team coming into the season hence them being on the opening night of the season. Teams knew they had to be up to play against them and gave them their best just like they will be next year too.

Yep I'm definitely not watching this one, it would've been hard regardless with the Lions losing but just the thought of the Kelce/Taylor crap along with hearing the Mahomes slobberfest by Tony Romo on commentary will just be too much for me to stomach.

Yeah I agree, you never know if you will get another chance like this to get to the Super Bowl but I do feel confident that this isn't just one of those one and done fluke years. The Lions should be in the thick of things in the coming years barring something unforeseen like Goff reverting to a pumpkin or the o line completely regressing.

Sutton's collapse down the stretch was certainly disappointing but I do wonder if the injury he reportedly had(can't remember what it was at the moment) effected him at all. It seemed to coincide with when it was reported that he may miss some time.

I blame myself for the Gibbs fumble, like clockwork the moment I point out how awesome a player is playing or is they immediately start to suck. After Gibbs TD I proclaimed he was "him" and after that he didn't do anything much and had the killer fumble.

He did but still for his career he is only like 70% from 40 plus which by kicking standards isn't very reliable. Teams are like 50% on 4th and shorts(the Lions even better) so he felt that the odds of converting were similar and he trusted his top 5 offense to be able over a bottom 5 kicker and guess what? The play was there, right in the receivers hands, Reynolds catches that pass at a much higher percentage than Badgley does making kicks from that distance.

I generally don't like rooting for the team that you lost to but definitely rooting for the 49ers to beat the Chiefs even though I likely won't be watching it.

I don't think he'll throw the kicker under the bus but like I said before I just don't think he has confidence in him outside of say 30 or 35 yards. That may or may not be fair to Badgley but I just think if we had a kicking game he had confidence in he would've kicked them.

Dropped passes(including a critical 4th down and 3rd down conversion), dropped INT(that directly led to a TD), missed tackles on would be sacks, a critical Gibbs fumble and the questionable 4th down attempts that failed. Just a disastrous second half and such a heartbreaking way to end an otherwise unbelievable season.

Now Reynolds makes the catch.

Picked a wrong time to play the 2nd worst half of football of the season.

That may be the ball game right there. Disheartening!

They just don't have faith in Badgely, we were afraid all year that our kicking game may come back to haunt us and I believe it has in that regard.

Reynolds with 2 GIGANTIC drops, just absolutely killer.

****!!!

Jesus how many times do people have to tell you that it wasn't a guaranteed 3 points in that situation, the decision was do you trust a guy to kick a FG longer than he has all year and is at best a coin flip from that distance or gain 2 yards when you're averaging nearly 10 yards a play for the game?

If Vildor catches that I can almost guarantee the flag wouldn't have been picked up.

His long is 41 yards, he's 60% for his career from that distance. More likely to gain 2 yards than him make that.

lol refs through the flag just in case it wasnt caught, once it was they pick it up.

Damn Reynolds has to catch that! BTW I still think the only reason they went for it is because they just don't trust Badgley from that difference not necessarily cause they are just aggressive. I genuinely feel in their minds atleast they have just as good of chance of picking up the 2 yards as they do Badgely making the kick.