Jason_R

It's almost like Brad Holmes is good at his job! Could it be that for the first time in franchise history we have a capable GM?

It is easy for an offense to get off to a slow start if they have a weak OL, weak RBs, but insist they need to establish the run. And it’s easy to for a team to fall behind and need heroic comebacks if they have a lousy defense. I’m sure Stat Padford would like to have started padding his stats in the first quarter.

This is why you build a solid team before going all in for a QB. Also, I have a hard time believing that the Lions will pick second again. Say what you will about Walter Football, but I think he’s closer to what will occur in putting Detroit 5 behind Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, and Jacksonville. Also, Carolina’s QB situation is a disaster. The Giants are a coin toss with Daniel Jones and a new staff. Who is going to throw passes for Seattle? Washington is a three-headed monster but Ron Rivera will keep them from total meltdown. I could see one or more of these teams dropping below Detroit, who I figure will pick in the 5-8 range.

Did you ever rank your preference for quarters by most productive to least productive, and tell Stafford? How else would he have known what his second most productive quarter should have been?

Yeah, there isn’t a lot of traditional 4-3 or 3-4 being played. A lot of teams have fewer linebackers playing fewer downs. I’m OK that they waited to pick up their LB and picked up a versatile DL in Paschal instead.

Or maybe they had a limited number of picks and a finite bucket of players to choose from.

Yeah he was Jekyll and Hyde last year. I couldn’t watch the end of some of those early games where he kept coughing it up. This year he will have far better weapons, better coaching, and hopefully more health on the OL. I’m assuming he will look respectable. I’m also assuming Okudah’s ceiling is now as a rotational player not as a shutdown corner. I think next season Holmes will want his Jalen Ramsey. If Goff looks respectable, they can build the defense for another year before they have to make a decision about whether to extend him. And with QB salary inflation as it has been, Goff’s salary won’t look quite so bad.

How about if next season he matches his career average passer rating of 91.5? Which, BTW, is good for 20th all time, just ahead of Matt Stafford. I’m not on his bandwagon or off his bandwagon. I just know QB is the hardest position to play in all of pro sports. And even a sure fire, can’t miss, generational prospect like Trevor Lawrence, not to mention most of the QBs who won the Heisman Trophy over the past decade, have disappointed as pros. The Lions are still very thin on the defensive back end. I would like to see them shore that up in next years draft before chasing a QB. Caveat: In Brad I trust.

Yes, and is there any level of performance by Goff above which the haters would concede he should not be discarded for a lottery ticket?

Lamar’s already had his best season. The league has figured him out. Pass. Murray is very talented but fragile. Absolutely fell apart down the stretch and in the playoffs. Physically he is a major upgrade from Goff, but his mental game may make it close to a wash. We have one more throwaway year with Goff to see if he can make this new offense go. I think he will have a good season.

Feels like a lot of things would have to go wrong for the Lions to end up picking fourth. The offense should be better. But the defense still has a lot of question marks on the back end. I figure they’ll end up picking around 8 next year then turn the corner in 2023.

Yeah the back end of the defense will not be great but the DL is now stocked with physical freaks. The Lions are finally strong in the trenches as they say.

Holmes seems to believe that LB has low positional value. Teams rarely line up in a pure 4-3 anymore, where you need your old school Mike/Sam/Will alignment. He also clearly allocates top picks to physical and athletic freaks. Yes, you can get your Amon Ra slot receiver in the middle rounds, but you cannot get a game breaker like Jameson Williams there. And you cannot get someone strong and athletic like Paschal late either. Holmes’s past two drafts are the first time I can recall that the Lions have had an identifiable strategy for player acquisition. Before it was always just a crap shoot. Now it seems clear that Holmes seeks positional value, rare physical attributes, athleticism, and character.

Before the draft I didn't think the Lions should be in the market for deep value picks because we can't afford to miss. But Holmes won the trade decisively and spoiled the honeymoon for the new regime in Minnesota. In three years when they are circling the drain, their fan base will still be complaining about getting fleeced by Holmes. Getting the most explosive WR in the draft is the cherry on top.

In all the thousand mock drafts that got done, I’d like to see if there was one that had the Lions trading up for Williams at 12.

Let's hope they don't have to play Georgia.

And it was so early in the morning. This poor truck driver probably had no chance to see him let alone avoid him. He will have that image flash through his mind for the rest of his life. Seriously, if you break down on a busy road, you are almost certainly safest in your car, belted in. Call AAA, call highway patrol, call 911, but don’t get out of your car until you have someone there to assist you.

Sure but let some other team pay him.

Neither he nor his wife thought to call AAA? Shame.

“Pay me more, use me less.” And Detroit is supposed to trade for him why?

Honestly the teams still may not even know. Jacksonville may not know what it wants to do with #1. There may be guys on their staff beating the table for four different players and three different trade options. And every team behind them will be left scrambling to decide based on what Jacksonville does.

Yes. Excellent point. Also, Holmes has been part of two staffs that traded for Goff. Whether that was right or wrong, whether fans think he should be replaced or not, Holmes is not likely to roll the dice on a QB in what he calls “player acquisition” phase.

Campbell says it all here. They believe Goff is good enough now. Super Bowl? They’re not going this year. Or next. But for now, Goff is good enough for them to compete. Then if you see your guy in a year or two you go get him.

Even Tyreek Hill is bigger, while also being faster.

Huh. That’s a lot of off-season drama for the Bucs.