MichiganCardinal

They’ll almost certainly step back from 15-2. The real question is how far. The start of their schedule is so brutal that the goal really needs to be to just tread water. If they’re 3-3 after @Packers, vBears, @Ravens, vBrowns, @Bengals, @Chiefs, I’ll be happy. Any better will be great shape. Likewise, if they’re even 5-5 after vBucs, vVikings, @Commanders, @Eagles, they’ll be in good shape to hit an on ramp to finish the season, so long as they can handle divisional business in December and January.

Tyleik Williams may well be a week one starter next to Reader.

Lions football returns two weeks from today. Not a starter will be in sight of the field, but still.

Shame on Mayhew and this organization for just letting him walk too. The writing was on the wall that he wanted out of Detroit and they got nothing for him. The haul they could have gotten for him may have been enough to push either of those 9-7 Caldwell teams over the top.

I agree. I feel like people, particularly those who haven't been watching closely, see the Lions offensive success and correlate it entirely to Johnson, as if the Lions haven't gone 39-21-1 since Dan Campbell relieved Anthony Lynn of play calling duties in 2021. Ben Johnson predated Dan Campbell's time in Detroit, and it's not like his impact as OQCC or Tight Ends Coach was revolutionary in 2019-2021. I can distinctly remember that it wasn't even a sure thing that Ben Johnson would call plays in 2022, until the week before the opener against the Eagles. Ben Johnson is a product of the Dan Campbell coaching tree, not the other way around. And the thing with that analogy is that the tree will continue to grow. The question is whether the product will develop into a tree as well. I have serious doubts that the mess he is surrounded by in Chicago will grow into anything sustainable, but I have been wrong before.

He should have probably been fired with Eberflus, or at least after the season. If you’re going to keep him though it’s hard to have him immediately on a hot seat with a new first-time head coach. But some teams will never learn, and I’m okay with it.

Poles’ agent saw a 7-10 season and a hot seat on his horizon.

It's just the double standard for me. Did the cuts have something to do with the tragedy? Maybe. There is certainly a connection to be made between the cuts and NWS failing spectacularly. That said, meteorology has been a speculative science for its entire existence. I don't think it's dispositive at all to say that sans the cuts, they get this right far enough in advance to save all those lives. The thing is though, if the shoe were on the other foot, and Biden or Harris were in office, even without the cuts this would have been falling squarely at their feet. Trump is held to a different standard because he's a dangerous idiot with a cult backing.

Missing that first pitch changed the entire AB

I've added last year's games to my rankings of all the games in the Campbell era. Such a great season to end in such a disappointing way. It's getting fun to look back on all the games and memories we've had the fortune of experiencing in just the last four years. Three additions to the top ten, and the first time I've put a loss above a win.

I'm not going to claim to know how NFL contract negotiations go, but I am pretty confident in saying that the Bengals are the worst in the league at it.

Maybe 30 years ago this was true, and still today regarding your MAC and CUSA schools, but I think it’s probably fair to say that Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and most of the schools who are driving the new era of college football have more fans supporting them with eyes and money who have no real purely institutional connection. Today, kids just grew up in Royal Oak, Upper Arlington, or with a grandpa who went to Notre Dame, and chose a team based on that and them being consistently competitive, even if they end up going to Grand Valley, Toledo, Trine, or nowhere at all. I think the real barrier to the NFL ever actually taking over college football comes in infrastructure, politics, and purpose. The NFL is not going to want to bear the startup cost of a new league, be it stadiums, salaries, or just general upkeep. They’ve got a good thing going with the NCAA to NFL pipeline and I doubt they’re keen to rock the boat too much. If the NFL did want to chip away at the college football foothold (and they might in the next 5-10 years), I could see them taking a more MLB-like approach to recruitment, expanding both the draft and roster size while reducing or removing the eligibility requirements, to accommodate NFL team that wants to select players right out of, or shortly out of, high school. And then those kids would have the option of either accepting something of a “futures” deal with an NFL team, or going to college. I can’t imagine the list would be long of kids who NFL teams are willing to take at 18/19 years old, but it would give them the option of stealing a Bryce Underwood or Archie Manning from the college game. I just don’t think the NFL has any intention of reinventing the wheel, when they’ve already got the greatest money-making league in American history and no signs of slowing.

If things go well in Pittsburgh, his teammates will be fine with him and defend him. If things don't go well though, he'll have loaded the gun the teammates use against him. He's a prima donna whose best days are long past him, still relevant more for his stance on politics and antics than his talent. It's not a recipe for success.

The 2023 Dallas “loss” remains our last regular season road loss.

Yep. The NFCCG pissed me off because the win was there on the tee for the taking. The Commanders game was fluky in how poorly the offense performed, but I take sad solace in knowing the Eagles would have put 55+ on our depleted defense in the NFCCG. The reality is it just wasn’t going to happen last year. We should have been to the Super Bowl in 2024, and would have gone punch for punch with the Chiefs.

Not going to lie, kind of annoyed with Ragnow. Not for doing it, these guys go through hell and back. Can never blame a dude for stepping away. But to do it in June? Come on man.

(Not me but not far from me 😂)

hi

I think we are kidding ourselves if we don't think college sports died sometime in the last 20 years. When that exactly happened is probably up for debate but this isn't our father's college sports anymore. They're just finally getting around to burying the body.

We have Trey Hendrickson at home.

Lions have enough goal scorers, they don’t need a Shanahan. If anything they need a Chelios across from Lindstrom.

I haven't seen a ton of stress, but I agree it's a great team. To the extent there is stress it might just be anxiety at the notion of "standing pat" this offseason. They replaced Carlton Davis with DJ Reed, Kevin Zeitler with a rookie (or Mahagony), and didn't (or haven't) really addressed the relative weakness at edge across from Hutchinson. They should be just as good as they were week one last season, but they aren't really much better. Granted of course that it is nearly impossible to improve on a 15-3 roster. If 2025-2026 turns out how 2024-2025 did -- injury after devastating injury debilitating the team into a disappointing playoff exit -- it will ultimately be an equally disappointing finish. If they stay even relatively healthy though, there is no limit to how far this team can go. I'm excited to see what this team can do. I am very doubtful they will match their 15-2 mark from last year, and October into November has the real chance to be panic-inducing for a fanbase that hasn't lost a ton of games in the last two years. Packers, Bears, Ravens, Browns, Bengals, Chiefs, Bucs, BYE, Vikings, Commanders, and Eagles is just a truly insane start. Those teams went a combined 105-65 last season, and if you take out the Browns and Bears it's an absurd 97-39... If they can escape that gauntlet at 7-4, they'll be in excellent shape to hit an on-ramp to finish the season against the Giants, Packers, Cowboys, Rams, Steelers, Vikings, and Bears. I don't think it's even crazy to think they may come out of the first 11 weeks right around 0.500 and then finish the season 11-6 or 10-7 and be a wildcard team that absolutely no one wants to play.

Lions hat spotted in line to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

I think Kirk Cousins would the obvious replacement. But Goff isn’t going to get hurt anyway. 🙉🙉🙉