MichiganCardinal

I thought about this this morning. I sincerely doubt they're related. All the information I've heard on the hack leans towards that being an incredibly sophisticated foreign hack. In the most recent correspondence sent on it, it said that certain information for certain people was compromised and that they would be contacted. That said, this turning on its head and some low-level staffer at Ohio State getting charged with felony computer crimes over this would be the greatest plot twist since The Sixth Sense.

Of the premier defensive talents, Maxx Crosby is the only one I think I'd want based on culture and positional fit, and I doubt the Raiders are trading him. Maybe a 40-point win on Monday Night will lead them to fire McDaniels and blow it all up, and Holmes won't let Crosby get on the plane back to Vegas? One can dream.

Counterargument - you don't want to be the Browns. The Browns thought they saw their window, sold the farm with three firsts to get Deshaun Watson, sold their morals and any good feelings they had with the rest of the NFL by giving him a fully guaranteed contract, and ended up with a worse QB than they had before him. Obviously QB is not a defensive talent, and no one (at least hopefully no one) is advocating for giving a defensive talent a fully guaranteed franchise dependent contract... but I think if the last 2 1/2 years have taught us anything, it's that Holmes has a plan. It would just be very uncharacteristic for him to break that and go "all in" on someone. Now, if we are sitting five years from now, with an aging Goff and a couple OGs like Hutch and ASB looking for third contracts, and we've been spinning our wheels with early exits in the playoffs. Then, the writing might be on the wall to give it one more Rams-like shove. As of now though, I think this is only year three of Holmes' plan and I doubt year three involves the step "after a 5-2 start abandon your master plan to add a single defensive talent". I think the Lions have been set up masterfully by Holmes and Co. to have sustained success. I don't care about the Packers, Bears, or Vikings - if we can win 10 games a year, we will make the playoffs. And if you make the playoffs, you're only a short winning streak away from pay dirt.

An analysis of the inner mechanisms of Jim Harbaugh, and the Harbaugh family at large, would be a case study worthy of federal funding. I don't think the things you're describing are specific to Michigan though. If in 2015, Mark Dantonio was accused of the things Jim Harbaugh is accused of now, MSU supporters would bend over backwards to spin their own excuses. Ohio State did with Jim Tressel and USC did with Reggie Bush. That's the case quite literally anywhere in D1 football. If any team goes 26-2 in the course of 28 games, they're going to support their team and their coach through hell or high water. Michigan and Jim are conjoined by now. They'll erect a statue of him before they fire him. There was a time when Michigan administration and trustees may have thought themselves to be "above" the rest of the B1G, and among some other academic class with the Ivys, Stanford, Cal, Duke, and Vanderbilt, but the last 5-10 years have demonstrated pretty soundly that they're a-ok diving head first into some mud... if it means beating Ohio State. The academic standards for transferring are a remnant I would expect to be "remedied" in the next 5 years. Like I said above, I don't think this is the regime-ending monstrosity that it's being made out to be on Twitter and Reddit, but it is another blow to Michigan's reputation, whatever the powers that be might imagine that to be. Whenever he does leave, whether by the NCAA forcing him out via a scandal that surpasses this one, or by his own accord to the NFL (his own gig or hanging out with John in Baltimore) or elsewhere (tell me you can't imagine him going and coaching his young boys at Pioneer HS), there will be some cleaning up to do with the program and making up to do with some people, I have no doubt.

I'd be surprised if there is any vacating of wins involved in the ultimate punishment and I'd be shocked if there is a postseason ban. Michigan won't look clean coming away from this and there will be a lot of pearl clutching in East Lansing and Columbus, but even if the worst case scenario comes to fruition (Harbaugh had knowledge and was using these signals), I think a show-cause of Stallions, a two-game suspension for Harbaugh to start 2024 (which would include the Texas game), and a hefty fine is about the most that will ultimately come of it... Assuming the school cooperates with the investigation and doesn't lie to investigators this time around. The NCAA - at least historically - cares far more about paying athletes and eligibility than they do about so-called competitive advantages. Notwithstanding the Penn State Jerry Sandusky scandal, I can't think of an extremely punitive outcome to an NCAA investigation (like vacating wins and postseason bans) for something other than boosters, paying athletes, and/or the use of ineligible players. And the Penn State victories were eventually reinstated. Even comparing this to SpyGate, Belichick was fined $500,000 and the Patriots lost a first-round draft pick for what - at least on the surface - seems to be far more involved than this. There was no talk of them losing wins or vacating their 2007 perfect season. That proposition would have been laughed at. Of course, it is Harbaugh and the NCAA doesn't exactly send him Christmas cards.

Part of me wondered when the news came out that he was out from Sunday's game for "personal reasons" if it was a kind way to make him a healthy scratch. This kind of follows that. I think the game passed him by, but the organization wanted him to be able to end it on his own terms. Classy move.

Had the Raiders beat the Bears, I would be even more confident in an incoming ass kicking. The Raiders also got embarrassed though, by a much worse team than the Ravens, and (should be) very motivated as well. That said, I also think the Lions offense, defense, special teams, and coaching are all better than the Raiders all things considered.

Once you’re in the playoffs it’s not about who the best team is, it’s about who can win three or four games in a row.

Minnesota’s not dead yet.

I guess I haven’t seen those as admonishments that go to a lack of work ethic so much as I have seen them as boiler plate coach talk. He’s been asked about Jamo as much as any other player despite the lack of playing time, he’s got to say something.

I'm not sure if this is fair. The problems with Jamo haven't been character, they've been just talent, and probably more accurately chemistry with Goff and the greater offense. I don't think the six-to-four-to-should-have-been-two-game suspension was a character issue so much as a young player recovering from injury who didn't know the rules. It's still on him to own, but it's very different from driving recklessly in a situation which led to a teammate's death.

There was a report before their game against the Bears that Jimmy G would be back against the Lions, but McDaniels today said publicly that Garoppolo's status for Monday is "unclear". I don't think it matters all that much, neither Garoppolo, nor Hoyer, nor Aidan O'Connell are exactly world beaters. Though Hoyer hasn't won a game since week four of 2016 and has still managed to make nearly $24 million over the course of six contracts since that win, so I kind of respect that. And yes, that 2016 win was over the Lions, because of course it was.

We'll likely never know about Moseley, but CJGJ sure seems like really bad luck more so than being a bad deal. I mean - a torn pec?? And I wouldn't put it past him to get back in time for the playoffs by the sound of it. He tore his pec like John Cena did when I was a kid, maybe he can run out of the Ford Field tunnel for the divisional round like Cena appeared for the Royal Rumble. And by reports, it sure seems like Holmes wanted to address the secondary in the first round and got sniped both at 6 and at 18. He wanted Witherspoon at 6, he went at 5. He wanted Gonzalez at 18, he went at 17. Sometimes that's just the way the cookie crumbles, and he got a pretty good consolation prize with Branch in the second round.

I maintain that this is just part of the Dan Campbell package. His run through a wall, kneecap biting mentality, where the team gives it 110% can only work x number of times per season. Sometimes your talent is enough to win ugly anyway, but there will be some number of games per season where the energy and the will to win just isn’t there and the other team pounds you to embarrassment. You hope you don’t get injured in the process and then on Tuesday you get back to work. Some games lend themselves to being easier to rile the troops. A 1pm road game at 5-1 where you’re in contention for #1 in the power rankings and the other team is gunning for you, no. Monday Night at home against a lesser opponent after getting your ass kicked, yes. I expect a relatively easy win. FWIW, Dan Campbell’s Lions are 6-2 against the spread after a loss by 14+. The only two losses ATS came in a row around this time last year, to Dallas and then Miami. They will bounce back.

I think we needed to execute better (for lack of a better term) to not completely embarrass ourselves. Actually winning is a different story, and it's impossible to see how close we could have been to winning without having first not completely embarrassed ourselves. To quote a famed Detroit roller coaster, "sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug"... Yesterday, we were the bug.

Postmortem, I don’t know if any substantial conclusions can be made from this game. It was such a dud from beginning to end and was unlike any game we’ve played this season. Credit where credit is due, the Ravens came to play, but sheesh were the Lions bad. Charles Harris was a healthy scratch, which I thought was very interesting. We heard all off-season about how they trusted him, how he was their guy, and then he came out week one as a captain. He’s done next to nothing since, and is now a healthy scratch by week seven. I would like to get Maxx Crosby if he can be had. He’s such a cultural fit, a hometown guy, and his contract is such that it wouldn’t impact our ability to sign our homegrown core. I think he could be the James Houston addition we got last year that totally reinvented our defense. I don’t really want to give up a 1st, but with where it’s projected to be, I could live with giving one away for someone who would perform immediately like Crosby. I don’t think it’s realistic to get a top defensive back too. I’m also not sure it’s necessary. The defense has been strong, notwithstanding Baltimore. Maybe grab some unexciting depth, so Will Harris is not put into a position where he’s starting, but can rotate with someone else at most. But otherwise I think we are okay. To Lions: EDGE Maxx Crosby, DB Amik Robertson To Raiders: EDGE Julian Okwara, 2024 1st, 2024 4th, 2025 4th

vs. Setting: 10/30/2023 8:15pm on ABC and ESPN Site: Ford Field in Detroit, MI Weather: Climate Controlled Opening Spread: Lions -7.5 All-Time Series Record: Raiders lead, 7-6 Last Meeting: 11/03/2019, Raiders won 31-24 Las Vegas Raiders (3-4) Head Coach: Josh McDaniels (4th Season: 20-32) Projected Starting QB: Jimmy Garoppolo (10th Season: 43-19) Last Week: 30-12 L @ Chicago Bears (2-5) Looking Ahead to Week #9: Sunday v. New York Giants (2-5) Your Detroit Lions (5-2) Head Coach: Dan Campbell (3rd Season: 17-23-1) Projected Starting QB: Jared Goff (8th Season: 59-47-1) Last Week: 38-6 L @ Baltimore Ravens (5-2) Looking Ahead to Week #9: BYE Elsewhere in the NFL Primetime: Buccaneers @ Bills (TNF), Bears @ Chargers (SNF) 1:00pm: Texans @ Panthers, Vikings @ Packers, Rams @ Cowboys, Saints @ Colts, Patriots @ Dolphins, Jets @ Giants, Jaguars @ Steelers, Falcons @ Titans, Eagles @ Commanders 4:05/4:25pm: Browns @ Seahawks, Ravens @ Cardinals, Chiefs @ Broncos, Bengals @ 49ers

I don't really compare them against the Packers as much as I do the 49ers and Eagles. Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite me as we watch the North devolve into a **** throwing contest.

It's hard to make any conclusions from a performance like that. It was so bad on so many levels. If they play like that, they will lose to any of the 31 teams they play. No one or two additions will fix that. I would seriously consider it a wash when evaluating anyone but coaching (and that analysis needs to be done on a meta level, not in a vacuum).

That’s reassuring. I actually just went outside and it is a beautiful day, if anyone needed to know.

On the bright side, we aren’t the Bears

Me? Or TP? I was pissed for the first quarter or so but I’m sufficiently intoxicated now.

I fully believe this is a coaching loss. There is just a pattern at this point for a game every now and then where the team just does not show up. It sucks, but I would take this for 14-15 games a year where they give it 110% and win more often than not.