MichiganCardinal

If I was Khan, I would hire Pete Carroll as HC-GM. He's not going to be there 10 years, but he can at least right the ship, save Lawrence's career (whatever is left to be saved), and transition to someone younger than him.

If the Jags don't fire Baalke at the same time, the next coach will be setup for failure. Pederson was never a good hire to begin with, but no one was going to succeed with Baalke.

I would have Sirianni higher. 4-8 since week 13 last year. If they don't right the ship and win a playoff game, I think he's gone.

Confession time. Preseason, I scheduled a family function for today, thinking if I had to coincide a function with a Lions game, week seven Lions-Vikings was the time to sacrifice. That game won't be of huge importance, right? Mistakes were made. Family has been warned.

Today will be interesting. We can't give Darnold all day. It's unlikely the Titans offensive line is much challenge for us. But then the Packers. I'd prefer to add another weapon before heading to Lambeau.

SEC officiating is positively reinforcing terrible fan behavior. If you announce a penalty, it should stick. It was a bad call, but you can’t change it after hundreds of Texas morons throw bottles onto the field.

Or maybe our strategy should just be to tell Kerby Joseph to legally tackle Justin Jefferson, have him get a fluke injury (because, you know, tackle football), and allow Vikings fans to all have an aneurysm.

A key to victory will be capitalizing on Minnesota mistakes. They have the 8th most giveaways in the league and are tied for the second most fumbles lost on offense (5), but have made up for it by having the most interceptions in the league on defense (11). Fun fact that I'm totally sure I won't regret pointing out tomorrow: the Lions are the last remaining team in the NFL to have not lost a fumble this season.

This game is hard to get a read on. I could see a Lions blowout win, a Vikings blowout win, or an incredibly close back-and-forth game that could go either way. The latter is probably most likely - statistically and intuitively. The Vikings at 5-0 have only really impressed once, against the Texans. They're very good, but beating the 49ers by 6 in week 2, Packers by 2 in week 4, and Jets by 6 in week 5 doesn't inspire confidence that they're about to go 15-2. But they'll be out to prove whatever doubters they still have that they're for real, and they're coming off a bye week. The further out we get from the Bucs game the more it looks like an outlier for the Lions. I'm still confused how this offense went 1/7 in the red zone. Coming off a laugher in Dallas, normally you would expect a letdown game, but this is a rare opportunity to play as the underdog, which Dan Campbell loves to do. Since the start of the 2023 season, they've only been an underdog in four games (@KC, @Baltimore, @Dallas, @SF). They're 3-1 ATS and 2-2 SU (and would be 3-1 if not for the fiasco in Dallas). I'll predict a 31-30 game without saying who will win.

Even then it's not worth it. The toxicity of Watson's contract cannot be understated.

As an aside, I mentioned that I voted absentee two weeks ago. It still hasn’t been marked as received, and given the ~state of affairs~ surrounding absentee ballots and nonsensical allegations of voter fraud, I thought it wise to call up my clerk’s office. I live in a *very* conservative rural area in Monroe County, the kind where local officials run unopposed as Republicans. When I called, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But the clerk herself answered the phone and was the nicest public official I may have ever spoken to. She apologized for the delay and said she can see my ballot was sent but that they haven’t marked it in yet. Took my phone number and said she’d call either way by the end of the day and work with me to spoil it and send a new one if needed, or that they found it and marked it in. Despite the national narrative and push by a certain side to encourage certain people to do certain illegal things (like overthrow a certain democratic election), I think the majority of local officials remain good people who are in it for the right reasons. I was encouraged by the phone call.

As someone who more passively pays attention to these things, it sure feels like Harris has been running a mistake-free campaign since taking over the torch. The transition was seamless and she understands both her opponent and the battle field. She is going far and wide to pickup as many votes as she can. The name of the game is turnout, but that goes both ways. Yes you need record Democratic turnout, and I think they’re well on their way. But also - if you can dishearten some number of vital rural voters in MI and PA who will never vote blue, but might not vote Trump? That’s just as well. On the other side of things, Trump has probably 70,000,000 votes no matter what either he or Harris does. Shoot someone on 5th Avenue and all that. That’s an indicting systemic embarrassment on this country, but it is what it is. There’s no changing it. But it wasn’t enough in 2020, and Trump doesn’t seem particularly inclined to increase it. I honestly don’t think he cares. I’m sure he has people telling him “this is what you need to do to pickup votes”, but he’s a narcissistic old man who genuinely believes that he can’t lose. He doesn’t give a ****. I could be wrong. But I was worried in 2016, cautiously optimistic in 2020, and am currently more confident than I was in either of those two elections. I think we are trending towards a Harris victory where she wins it walking away.

If I thought Hooker was a franchise QB I would be. It’s premised on that belief.

Presumably we'd get Gardner Minshew in return. Though my mock trade didn't include that, so good thing I'm not a GM. 😆

The only other way I see it happening is if the Raiders love Hendon Hooker and think he could be the franchise QB. In 2023, the Raiders picked two selections after the Lions picked Hooker. The Raiders last pick before Hooker had been Michael Mayer at 2.35. For all we know, they had their eyes on Hooker and we stole him. It's a stretch, but if they could sell their fans on the thought that they traded away a franchise defensive edge for a franchise QB and acquired high level picks in the process, maybe that would get it done. Lions send 2025 1st, 2026 2nd, 2026 3rd, Hendon Hooker, and James Houston Raiders send 2025 4th and Maxx Crosby

Can you imagine any other GM in the NFL saying this? He’s an embarrassment. Cowboys fans must be so down right now. Should have designed a pass to Ragnow.

Watching Rodgers flounder as his career ends is honestly way more fun than if he had just retired when he tore his Achilles. I wonder what injury he’ll fake to quit on the season when the Jets are 4-8.

This would be fun, but I’m pretty sure he’s still under contract with the Rams through this season. So the Lions would have to trade for him.

I think it’s more likely the Raiders aren’t interested than the Lions. It’s hard to sell to a perpetually pissed off fanbase that you should trade the heart and soul of your team. Though if they like Hooker maybe their attitude changes? Less than 10% chance it happens but I’m all for it.

Covering JJ is no easy task but at least we won’t be asking a rookie to do it on his own.

Can you imagine how storybook that would be. The way Hutch competes, I’m sure he’s devastated. He’s got that date marked and probably fully expects to be in New Orleans playing. Though I expect him to make more than one appearance at Ford Field between now and then, hyping up the crowd.

On the topic of not being able to re-sign everyone, is there any possibility that Alim McNeill is included in a blockbuster trade package? It seems crazy to trade your arm for a (non-broken) leg, but if you trust guys like Levi, Reader, and Wingo up the middle, and if you’re not going to be able to re-sign Alim, you have to consider it. Hendon Hooker is another. I’m not someone who is infatuated with the backup QB like some are, but it’s quite possible that the Raiders see a potential starter in Hooker. Likely Gardner Minshew would come the other way, and there are worse options as a backup QB.