MichiganCardinal

A space for all your predictions - from the bold to the obvious - to sit for bragging rights and embarrassment upon reflection six months from now. From Lions 53-man, to record, to schedule, to Super Bowl predictions. Come one, come all.

I think he plays by the second half of the season, after the bye. I doubt they thought that would be his timeline when they signed him though.

If the ideal eventual starting lineup in the defensive backfield is Sutton-Moseley-CJGJ-Branch-Joseph, I’m not sure it’s fair to criticize current (preseason) scheme based on what has or has not worked in the past. Even with Jerry Jacobs at CB2 to start the season, that’s only one returning corner and one returning safety.

I also think that preseason games have really just become (relatively small) money grabs for the teams and league. Teams for the most part are are using joint practices for the real evaluation and preseason games are things you just have to do. The Packers and Patriots cancelled about 11 minutes of their game the other day because of an injury. I would expect the NFL to go to two preseason games and 18 regular season games in the next CBA, if not even one preseason game and 18 regular season. As it relates to this game in LA though, I imagine the cost of moving a preseason game wasn’t worth it compared to the risk of keeping it as scheduled or even ultimately cancelling it if necessary.

Fair enough. I guess relevant is relative when you’re talking about guys who might make the 53-man but won’t make the game day roster.

Moving the game might be more trouble than it’s worth. If the weather is bad they could just cancel the game and it doesn’t really matter.

I’m not sure either of those examples make the team. Levi probably has a better shot just due to weakness at that position group overall.

I really don’t have any concern over what we saw yesterday. If we sustain the number of injuries it would take for our starting lineup to look even remotely like it did yesterday, of course we will suck. That’s not breaking news.

Chase Lucas had some flashes. The one long catch he gave up was great coverage, the ball was just dropped in there.

I think I just have extremely low expectations for a QB3. I think he’s looked better than either Blough or Boyle did last year and has looked better than Josh Johnson did on the 9ers last year. I won’t lose sleep if he’s cut.

Neither looked good. And obviously my statement is harsh against Teddy when he was getting hit before he could turn around. But Teddy was 5/11 for 34 yards and Sudfeld is 6/10 for 65 yards 1TD and 1 pick. If Sudfeld is kept as QB3, he won’t be asked to do much in the unfortunate case he needs to come in. Hand the ball off to Monty and Gibbs, make short passes Ben Johnson designs to ASB and Jamo, take care of the ball. I think he’s done those things this fall. All three of his picks have come on deep passes.

Sudfeld has played better than Teddy today.

FWIW this was posted pregame. If we are being honest with ourselves, when the greatest beef amongst fans is switching from “our backup QB isn’t good enough!” To “our backup interior offensive linemen aren’t good enough!”, you probably have a really good team.

In fairness to the OL, we aren’t playing any of our top six linemen. Glasgow is probably our backup IOL, so he’ll play if any of Jackson/Ragnow/Big V are out, and he’s not playing today either. Matt Nelson is our backup OT, and I think he’s in, but he doesn’t look like the problem, it’s the IOL. We will be okay as long as we aren’t losing multiple linemen. And most (if not all) teams would be screwed if they’re losing multiple starting linemen.

He jogged off, probably fine

Is Bridgewater hurt? He stayed down for an extra beat there

That probably needs to be a stop on 3rd down

I had read Lawrence was warming up pregame and wasn’t paying close enough attention to realize he didn’t start lol

Lions backup defense has held their own so far against the Jags starting offense, notwithstanding a long pass that TLaw put on a dime despite Chase Lucas draping the receiver in coverage.

Must win.

The trade was conditional on him making the roster I believe

If Levi Onwuzurike somehow makes this roster I may start denying this inevitability.

Maybe so. Coming off a knee injury as a rookie though, I think it was fair for him to not be expected to be a world beater from day one. And it’s factual that he was not receiving WR2 snap count. I think a lot of my frustration in considering him a potential bust is… when has he had a real opportunity to prove otherwise? He hasn’t been on the field! Okudah was on the field and he stunk, both before and after his injury. If you want to use the six game suspension against Jamo that’s fair (and a separate conversation), but not until he’s proven he’s not good on the field.

I don’t get that feeling at all yet. I get the feeling that the Detroit sports talk media feels a need for a negative storyline and he’s been easy pickings. When he touched the ball last season, good things happened. Yet he wasn’t extensively involved because we were in the midst of a playoff push and were trying to ease him in. This is effectively his rookie camp and rookie preseason. I don’t care that he was a first round pick, there were going to be growing pains. If we get to the end of this season and in his 11 games he is the WR3 or WR4 in terms of production, there is no steady increase in production, or he is still consistently dropping passes, or he is continuing to get hurt, then maybe at that point he can be put on bust watch for me. Right now though I just see a (practical) rookie who is a little immature. He’s just got too much talent for it to not shine through by the end of the season.

Popularity is nebulous, it has degrees, and it ebbs and flows in time. Michigan is a legitimate national championship contender while MSU is coming off a 5-7 season, headed potentially for another. Michigan will have more casual popularity. If you survey 200 random people at a grocery store upstate, you might find 125 people who say they prefer Michigan to 75 Michigan State. If you survey 200 upstate yards with school flags though, you might find 150 MSU to 50 Michigan. I don’t know how they did their polling, but the line between the UP and Wisconsin is way too pronounced for me to think it had much if any scientific accuracy.