MichiganCardinal

Might beat out Jermar next year.

The crowd is more lively than usual. May just be because I pregamed in anticipation of pain.

I don't know if I would go that far. I could see a tie game at the half though. I'll say Cardinals 28 Lions 17 final.

No one says he has to have enough to retire by 25. I'm saying that he should consider the long-term implications of playing in games that don't matter, and that if I were in his shoes, I would do the exact same thing. If my career could end on any given snap - if my life and health could be altered on any given snap - I want to make the most money possible, as quickly as possible. He's compensated so well because he is good at what he does, and because he is putting his health and future on the line every time he straps on the pads. These NFL-caliber players are not going to college to be Communications or Kinesiology majors, or to play football for a couple years and then become a sales rep or a marketing guru... They are going to college because the NFL says they have to. The University of Michigan made about $126 million from the football team in fiscal year 2020. If my company was making $126M, and relied exclusively on a group of 85 unpaid college interns to generate that revenue, in exchange for paying for their education, I would not consider those interns to be receiving a free college degree. They clearly are working their asses off for it, whatever they're doing... To take that analogy further, if one of the best interns of the group said that he was not going to participate in a final piece of the unpaid internship experience because rich companies were considering hiring him in a few months and will pay him $3-5M or more, I would not fault him for a second.

I should add too that guys like Hutchinson DO make that million dollar gamble on playoff games that matter, and I’m sure Pickett and Walker would too if the playoff were expanded. The allure of the magnitude of an NCAA championship in football outweighs a lot of logical decision making. If you want to see good and exciting football games between good football teams, make the games meaningful. Don’t get mad at the players for making an astute financial decision regarding a meaningless game.

That worst case scenario needs to be taken into consideration by guys like Thibodeaux. He stands to sign a contract north of $30 million dollars in a few months. If he gets hurt between now and April though, that could reduce VERY quickly. Yes, Butt got out of that career with $3.5 million, including an injury settlement. Is that enough to retire on? If he had even been taken by the Broncos in the 2nd round instead of the 5th, he would have received a rookie contract north of $5 million. Is that enough? I don’t think either $30 million or $1.5 million are worth a gamble on a single game that boils down to being an exhibition. I think we also have drastically different definitions of free.

A lot to unpack here…. You really feel that these athletes don’t deserve a scholarship? They’re generating millions of dollars for their schools. $100k or so over four years (to do hard work in the classroom and on the field) is comparative pennies. And that’s coming from someone who doesn’t think they should be strictly paid (at least not directly by the school). Hutch has a National Championship to play for, Thib has nothing left to prove. I agree that the MSU bowl game (and honestly all non-playoff bowl games) will be a farce. That’s the fault of those who designed the bowl/playoff system. That’s not the fault of the student athletes who elect not to help rich people get richer without being paid. Jake Butt retired from the NFL this past July. Remember when he suffered a torn ACL in the meaningless Orange Bowl in 2016? He went from having 1st Round potential to being picked in the 5th round, he struggled with injuries throughout his NFL career, and started in only four games, failing to record a single NFL touchdown. It’s impossible to truly play the “what if” game out to too many degrees, but what can be certain is that if he had sat out the Orange Bowl in 2016, he would have collected much more money over his rookie contract, without any real harm coming to his team. No one would remember today that he sat out that bowl game. Now, admittedly without any knowledge of his personal finances, he stands at 26 years old having only made the money off his 5th round rookie contract. Is that enough for him to even actually retire comfortably? That was likely a huge loss for him.

I think another piece to be considered is that the Jags also swung and missed on their GM pick, they just don't know it yet. Trent Baalke was the problem in SF, not Harbaugh. If Baalke is given control over the selection, I have little doubt he will screw it up, as he's yet to get a coaching decision correct. FFS, he hired Jim Tomsula to replace Harbaugh.

I think Jim Caldwell would be a great hire for Jacksonville this off-season. He may not take them all the way, but that franchise desperately needs some stability right now. Dabo would be interesting, and I think he’d take the job in a heartbeat if offered. I don’t think they’ll offer him though fresh off a colossal failure of a first-time college coach transplant. Because it’s Jacksonville, they’ll probably go with like Bill O’Brien or Nathanial Hackett, both of whom I think would fail in Jacksonville.

I think they felt that the kicking story gave them the final ammunition they needed to not fulfill his contract.

Well that was fun while it lasted. Have to imagine Jags ownership saw their chance to fire for-cause and seized on it.

I agree that Detroit is not considered a football town because they never win at football, but I think - similar to New Orleans (who did not win a playoff game from 1967-2000) - if they ever got good, football would be the city's identity, much as hockey was for much of the 90s (though I think to an even greater degree if that is possible). I agree that WCF did not value winning, and I think Martha couldn't have cared less about the team... I don't see any reason as to why that should be automatically assumed to be the case for Sheila though. I enjoyed seeing her in the locker room hugging Campbell after the Vikings game, and I've heard her earnest comments about understanding the fans skepticism that this regime will be different. Maybe I'll be the sucker at the end of the day, and Sheila is just trying to improve the family and brand image rather than success (though I think she is smart enough to know that winning = money). I think she is worth a shot though. God knows I'm not entirely like my parents LOL.

I agree, though I think Calvin's gripe is unique, and by this point there are definitely two sides to that story (for those who care to hear the current owners' side). I also think Calvin will be magically back in good graces with the team if they manage to start winning something... That's a bit of a separate topic from this though.

I feel like too much of this talk of the Lions ruining careers or trajectories is based around this unconscious belief that there is some "curse" on the team that prevents them from winning. I don't believe in that. If placed in a perfect vacuum, I think the Lions would have just as much chance of winning a Super Bowl as any other team in the NFL over the course of 10-20 years. That said, with the knowledge that the NFL is not a vacuum, I do believe there are common elements that have been in place for much of the last 50 years (William Clay Ford, namely) that have led the team to consistently waver between bad and awful, and to not even have the progression to the mean that you would expect any given team to have. I don't think it is fair though to put that on the feet of Sheila for her father's ineptitude. The dataset of what we can use to attribute to present failure can only go so far as the most distant element. Sheila has only been owner since June 2020. Why would it be fair to call her a perpetual loser, just because of her maiden name? She had nothing to do with any of the long line of failed endeavors to make this team into the laughing stock it is. Maybe I'm a fool for believing in her, but she seems to care a lot more than her dad or mom did about the future success of the team, and she seems to be doing the right things. As it relates to the next 1st overall pick taken by the Lions, I don't think the vast majority of players pay any mind to history, like WCF is. I think they see going to any losing franchise, whether the Lions, Jaguars, Browns, or otherwise as their opportunity to be a franchise player in the NFL. They also see it as a chance, if they can help turn it around, to be an absolute hero in a city. If you go to the Cubs and are the leader of the team that wins their first World Series in a century, they're building statues. If you go to the Yankees and do it, it's still awesome, but you're also just the most recent in a long line. And worst case, if you think the team is holding you back from your fullest potential as a player or in the league generally, you leave after your rookie contract.

If this is just a down year for Decker, I like the idea of keeping him. Whether at LT or RT, he could be a real anchor to the line along with Ragnow and Sewell. He's been pretty awful this year though. Between the injuries, the comments to the media, and the plain poor performance, it seems like he's completely lost his identity out there. He's both tanked his trade value and his value to the team. If we could get something I would not be opposed, but I'm not sure we could get a 1st for him right now, let alone a top five pick.

With little exception, the majority of Americans over the last 30 years have believed in stricter gun laws. Yet the legislature has consistently sided with the minority. Weird.

I think he would have quit weeks ago if he had gotten any interest in the major college jobs. No one wants anything to do with him right now, as his poster boy of sure success in Trevor Lawrence sure doesn't look so great right now. Notre Dame might still take him this offseason though.

FTFY

I'll have you know that Decker has a reception today. What other linemen in the NFL can say that?

They're playing surprisingly well while very shorthanded against a team that is a quarterback shy of competing for a deep playoff run. Could it be..... good coaching?? ..... nah.

I don't envision a way the Lions are not shutout, short of a series that starts inside the Denver 30.

To be clear from my perspective, I’ve been able to vote twice, have both times, and voted for Hillary and Biden. Hillary was like swallowing knives but I did it because I would never vote for Trump and wasn’t going to waste my vote or stay at home. Speaking more broadly to millennials though, I think they would vote in droves if a candidate was on the ticket that motivated them to do so. Unlike myself, the vast majority of millennials are not interested in politics, in part because they feel like there is this massive disconnect between what their wants and needs are, and who the people are in Washington. In their minds, it doesn’t matter if it’s Trump or Biden or Hillary or whoever, because none of those candidates actually give a shit about them. The vast majority are not going to say “I don’t like Hillary but SCOTUS is important so I will vote for her anyway.” That’s not right, and it’s absolutely a two-way street, and more millennials should vote. Yet when people like Biden come out and make a campaign promise of $10k in student loan debt forgiveness (while others in his party are promising $50k), and then proceeds to play a game over the next two years of “my people are looking into whether I can”, it just creates an even larger disconnect. Also FWIW, the lack of youth vote is not a millennium problem, it’s existed for many, many years.

I know a lot of my demographic (educated 20-somethings) are not happy with Biden. He was picked for not being Trump, with assurances from the party that “he really is a GOOD choice, not just a necessary one!” Which was a damn lie (though also a foreseeable lie). If the choice is Biden or Trump, I know very few who would actually pick Trump, but I’m sure some (even more than normal) would stay home (and not pay postage) this time around. I would like to see Dems nominate someone who is not Biden or Harris, whether the opponent is Trump or not. I’m also not holding my breath.

Regarding the Crumbley parents, I think this video does a decent job of explaining my thoughts on the unprecedented nature of the charges brought against the parents.

I don't think it's that crazy if you feel like you've found a guy that you think can recruit and win from the drop of a hat. I think it's more crazy to hire someone from a school 2600-some miles away who won't have any ties to really important West Coast recruiting channels. For one, they'll have a hard time catching up, and for another there will be no allegiance if he is any good. Looks like it could still be happening.