MichiganCardinal

Not right now, but I think they’re close with a couple additions to the secondary. Just prevent the big play.

Not to second guess Andy Reid but I think I would go for two there. In a game of top tier offenses with less than 10 minutes to go, I trust my offense to get a two-point conversion more than I trust my defense to stop one. And worst case you’re still up 7.

Counterintuitively to the consensus of this off-season, I think it’s even more offensive firepower. The team that wins tonight will score over 30. The defense just needs to be competent.

Slay got burned on that TD. Patricia was right all along. /s

Breaking Bad commercial gets a thumbs up for me. I’ve already forgotten what product it’s for though and I don’t really care.

That’s not a catch.

Why the fuck did the NFL play games with the turf for the damn Super Bowl. They grew this turf for two god damn years for it to be dog shit on the biggest stage??

I’m not sure the performance was any better than all the other halftime performances, but the videography and cinematic presentation of this one was phenomenal.

It’s hard to choose between two trash fan bases. I don’t want either of them to have joy.

We’ve come a long way from when Janet Jackson‘a wardrobe malfunction shocked the nation’s senses.

29-minute halftime is ridiculous. Rihanna Concert with a football opener.

Did it start yet? I fell asleep during the coin toss.

All else being equal I'd prefer to bring Chark back, because I like him more as the WR3 than Josh Reynolds or Kalif Raymond. But I'm not breaking the bank to do it.

There's not a lot that Holmes & Co. could do to piss me off and make me say "what a stupid move". Tagging an injury prone WR3 with a Spotrac of $9.5MM AAV after a 2022 season where he recorded 502 yards, playing in only 11 games (because, again, injury prone)... That would piss me off and make me say "what a stupid move". I'm not even sure he needs to be replaced if he walks. A Mike Evans type is a bit of a luxury when you have your outside speed in Jamo and your sure-fire slot in ASB.

I think it’s more like that the Lions take a WR at 6 or 18 than it is that they franchise their injury prone WR3.

It's hard to predict this game without knowing how Mahomes' ankle is. If he's 100%, I like the Chiefs by 10. If he's not, I like a 3-point game either way.

“I know what I’ll do to keep my scandal out of the press! File an unwinnable lawsuit and make more press!”

Jamaal is a really good #2 power/goal line back. I would pay him as such, but if he wants more than that, he may need to look elsewhere. He's also turning 28 this offseason, so I probably wouldn't want to do any longer than a two-year deal. There are some freaks of nature RBs who can perform into their late 20s and 30s, but those are the exceptions not the rule.

It's not his fault, but he can't stay healthy, or handle a full workload, or both. It's also not his fault, but the RB taken six picks after him in the same draft was Jonathan Taylor. I don't think it's unreasonable to be frustrated with his performance, especially when you see the flashes of what he could be. Him being the best RB the Lions have drafted since Barry speaks more to the historical ineptitude of the franchise than it does Swift's abilities.

As ridiculous as it sounds this is probably accurate. Officiating was the wild west just 20-30 years ago. It was daddy ball and who you knew that got you a job, and there were no real performance standards. Nepotism is still there to a degree, but they at least care more about fitness, ability, and performance now than they did back then. What's really changed is technology. Twenty years ago the refs were marginally worse, but technology wasn't quite there yet to tell us just how good or bad some of those calls were. Technology has far surpassed where the human eye will ever be able to go, and is only still getting better. Take Devonte Smith's no-catch for instance. It's not even fair to criticize the official for not getting that right. He was five yards away, yet he literally cannot see through Smith to see the ball briefly hit the ground as Smith hits the ground. Slow it down and view it from the angles that took the NFL way too long to get, and it's clearly incomplete, but I'm not going to crucify a ref for not getting that right when he did everything right, and just didn't have the angle. Don't get me wrong, it could absolutely get better, and I do think having the Referee of each crew be full-time NFL employees would help. But with the nature of football, you're never going to get to a point where a robot is calling holding or pass interference or roughing the passer. Those are just judgment calls where some refs are going to get it when it's meh, some are going to get it when it's bad, some are going to get it when it's BAD, and some aren't going to get it unless it's attempted murder. As much as you try to make it objective, most fouls just aren't. And then there will be always be some straight misses. At some point you have to draw the line of how far you want technology to take the game. Personally, I think the line has already been passed. Focus on the human element and getting the best possible officials in those roles, and then let the human element mean something, as shitty as that is for the Lions oftentimes. I don't want four-hour games while we spend five minute reviews on how much contact was made between the WR and the DB on a particular route, or even two minutes on whether something was a catch. If you can't tell in 30-60 seconds, cut the replay feed and the call stands, let's play.

Part of me wonders if Rodgers is just trolling. The medicated enema last season, the darkness retreat now.... I would respect him so much more if after he retires he comes out and says "I was in the Bahamas that whole time just escaping the media and y'all fell for that schtick hook, line, and sinker." Given he's an anti-vaxxer though, I seriously doubt it. He's just a stupid diva who probably actually thinks this nonsense helps. I would not want him on my team.

It depends. If Levis is there, and that's who they're obviously wanting, you might be able to bid them against the Raiders, Titans, and Commanders and drive up the price. Teams can't usually move up for a franchise QB without surrendering significant capital. Not to mention, for "just" a second round pick, I have to weigh whether it's worth the possibility that the Raiders or Falcons take my preferred player before #9.

Picking up a premier starting offensive lineman would be productive both for now and the future. The offensive philosophy starts with and relies on the strength of the offensive line. Decker is signed through 2024, but that 2025 offseason is right about the time we are going to be needing to re-sign a lot of our Holmes picks, including Sewell and ASB. We may not be able to keep a 32yo Decker. If we pick up a Skoronski or Steen that could be an immediate plug-and-play option at RG now, and slide to RT in the next few years while Sewell slides to LT, it could make a lot of sense.

I didn't watch either game, but in reading up on it, it seems a lot was attributed to the Texas IOL, which collapsed on impact against better defensive lines, making a lot of his touches in those games impressive just in the nature of getting back to the line. It seems those two defenses were good, and decided to sell out against the run, and it paid off. Others put blame on Sarkisian's play calling. Bijan only got 12 rushes and wasn't targeted even once in the TCU game. He was used to some extent in the passing game against Alabama and was pretty effective, with 3 catches on 4 targets for 73 yards. Combine that with his 57 yards and a TD on the ground, and his stat line of 130 APYs was actually pretty decent I think against a really good Alabama team.