Mr.TaterSalad

Two movies I have watched semi-recently regarding substance abuse, drug addiction, and recovery. One was the Amazon original film Beautiful Boy, starring Steve Carrell and Timothy Chalamet. The other was Four Good Days starting Mila Kunis and Glenn Close. I enjoyed Beautiful Boy slightly more than Four Good Days but liked them both overall.

Do the Saints just magically make up cap space? Do they have a Federal Reserve Bank that prints cap space? Fiat cap space? They were $17 million over the cap.

The Lions having two second round picks makes me think they will wait until then to grab a RB. If there are a cluster of guys they feel are really good I could see them waiting until the second but trading up to ensure they get their guy.

I don't normally care for Bill Kristol, but he's right there. That kind of language is a step away from saying we need a final solution. Despicable language to use!

That's a helluva RAS score. I went read through a couple of scouting reports on the guy and they seemed positive on the whole with one exception. The one exception that stood out to me is that me might have a case of the drops. I couldn't find a stat to see how many drops he had total or what his drop rate was. Christian Watson last year had a higher drop rate than one would like coming out of college. And of course we all know about stone hands Ebron and after Ebron's tenure hear I am always a bit leery of guys who can't catch with consistency.

Nolan Smith, Edge/OLB from Georgia, ran a 4.44. He might be a day 2 guy to watch for with the Lions second round pick if they don't go with a Tyree Wilson or Myles Murphy type player in the 1st.

I've been highest on Joey Porter Jr. throughout this process partly because he's the guy I've watched play the most and as well because of his lengthy body type. But watching Gonzalez at the combine and the YouTube clips I have watched he has really impressed. The guy is more than just fast and athletic too. He seems to have really good ball and cover skills from what I'm reading in scouting reports and seeing on tape too.

Christian Gonzalez ran a 4.44 and 4.38. He's having a solid combine for himself.

Apparently former GM Rick Spielman was in the Lions booth today for the combine. I wonder if he's a front office advisor given that his brother is in the front office.

So we're drafting DJ Turner at some point right?

I frankly like Calijah Kancey better than Bryan Bresee as far as IDL prospects go because of his insane athletic upside and am not as worried about his size. After all, Aaron Donald, another great Pitt DT, is only about an inch taller and plays only 5 or so pounds heavier than Kancey.

Unlike Quinn, who was a complete moron and signaled to the world he wasn't taking one of Tua or Herbert, Campbell/Holmes are playing this smart. If they want to trade back from #6 then getting other teams to believe you could draft a QB is a smart strategy and the right one.

If Johnson was still there somehow when the Lions are drafting at #18 and they drafted him I wouldn't be entirely stunned. There are more shocking things they could do than take Johnson at #18. If they wanted to created a three-headed monster at receiver, similar to trading for Tee Higgins, drafting Johnson is one potential way to do it.

I don't know yet where I fully fall on the Carter situation. On one hand, he deserves innocent until proven guilty if indeed he is charged with a crime and it is taken to trial. The court of public opinion shouldn't be judge and jury. That said, his changing story and the fact that someone died as a result of alleged reckless behavior he was involved in is very troubling. Convicted or not, someone is probably drafting him and doing so in the 1st round. I am not sure if I want it to be the Lions or not yet. If the Ray Lewis story had happened when he was in college at Miami would you have passed on Lewis in the draft?

Coal Miner's Daughter and Sissy Spacek set the bar for biopics. Spacek as Loretta Lynn is incredible. I just thought the Elvis movie was all and all a poor biopic and not terribly enjoyable to watch.

You want George Santos to run with Biden?

I'd rather be the Connor Cook guy then be the Martin Mayhew guy where I had to hear every year what a great roster we had and he was building from certain posters. Or the Eric Ebron guy, with people adamant that Ebron detractors just didn't understand how he was going to be utilized and what a difference maker he would be.

It's what Ted Thompson did in Green Bay though, so it isn't like it's an unproven strategy that no team has ever tried. It's what the Lions did last year, which I understood, because they weren't ready to win now. Maybe I'll have egg on my face for saying this, but like many, I feel this team is ready to make a deep playoff run with the right additions to the roster next year. Bringing back Alex Anzalone, John Cominsky, DJ Chark, and then drafting Devon Witherspoon and whoever at #18 feels underwhelming to me. While it is likely progress and a step in the right direction, it seems a smaller step then we could potentially otherwise take by adding an impact player like Jamel Dean, James Bradberry, Jalen Ramsey, Dalvin Tomlinson or whomever this offseason. Also, I don't want to get labeled as the Ted Thompson poster. "Remember when some people around here were saying Brad Holmes was Ted Thompson." I can already see that post coming in the future. I am not labeling Brad Holmes as Ted Thompson, just merely saying that by not ever being aggressive in free agency when your window to win is open it feels similar to what Thompson did for 15 years in Green Bay. I also feel that is a poor strategy, even if it did work in Green Bay because of Aaron Rodgers. But what do I know about building a championship NFL team.

Yes, but the Packers did so with an MVP and HOF QB leading the charge. There's a chance the Packers could have been even better had Thompson been willing to go out and address a few needs through free agency. The Packers with Ted Thompson as GM had a lot of success, so it isn't like it's a failed strategy entirely, it clearly worked for them. I just feel the Lions have a window that's now open for them to be a little aggressive and make a big move in free agency or via trade. In the NFL your teams window is only open so long, take advantage of it as much as you can, while you can. That doesn't mean I want him taking the Les Snead approach and mortgaging the future to go all in for only one season, but it does mean I want them to add an impact starter in free agency or through a trade.

As I said above, Daron Payne is overrated and would not be a good fit here. Dude stinks haha! I am giving Brad Holmes the benefit of the doubt because he seems like the best GM in my lifetime for the Lions. He deserves the benefit of the doubt for at least one more offseason. However, I'm the type of fan that often overreacts and reads too much into comments by coaches and front office management. When I read what Campbell said I get nervous that he and Brad Holmes trust the core they have and don't want to make any significant additions to it via free agency and I think that's a mistake. I don't want Brad Holmes taking the Ted Thompson approach to team building by paying big bucks to only his own guys and then only minimally using free agency to sign guys to 1 year prove it deals or a bunch of depth signings. We are in a position to take a big step forward next year and while there is no guarantee it will work out, adding a Jamel Dean, Jalen Ramsey, Dalvin Tomlinson could really elevate this team.

Agreed. I would be genuinely disappointed if their major offseason moves consisted of only spending money to bring back their own guys, the likes of John Cominsky, Alex Anzalone, Jamaal Williams, and DJ Chark. Not that I don't want some of those guys back, I do. There are a couple of top-tier free agents out there like Jamel Dean, James Bradberry, Daron Payne, Dalvin Tomlinson that the Lions should be in pursuit of. You can't rely on the draft to try and fill every needs because you simply don't have enough picks and won't hit on every one of them.

That's disappointing to hear. If the Lions add an immediate impact player or two in free agency or via trade, like a Jalen Ramsey or Jamel Dean, they could really go places next year in the weaker NFC. Sitting on their hands and bringing back a bunch of their own guys or bargain shopping like they did last year is a mistake IMO. They're in a position now to take a giant step forward. Maybe I'm misreading the the context of the quote or over thinking it, but it gives me serious Ted Thompson in Green Bay vibes. The Ted Thompson model for building a team and only signing bargain free agents and resigning all your own guys only worked on Green Bay because they had two generational QBs in Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. I hope Holmes isn't trying to replicate that here.

I'm guessing a professional agent did not craft and put that statement together. He should have not said jack**** until his agent and their PR rep made sure he said something better than this.

I was all aboard the draft Stroud or Young wago at the start of last season and even into the first half of the season. But Jared Goff played like a top-tier QB in the league for much of the season, but especially in the final 8-9 games to close it out. I spent years throwing shade at and picking apart Matt Stafford because his performance wasn't good enough or he couldn't beat good defenses or we never won a playoff game with him at QB. He proved me wrong and so too it seems would Goff if I nitpicked his game, manipulated stats to make him look lesser, and demanded he be traded. Does Jared Goff's game still have his minor flaws? Yes! We need to see Goff replicate what he did last year before signing him to a long-term extension. I'd personally like to see his completion% jump up a point or point and a half (he ranked 19th among active starters last year with a 65.1 completion %) and his air yards completion% go up as well. I'd also like to see him fumble a bit less (he had 7 on the year). But damn if Goff didn't play really well last year. Jared Goff finished the season top 7 in yards, top 10 in completed air yards, top 5 in TDs, top 5 in QBR, took among the fewest sacks for starters who played the full season, and only threw 7 INTs. He did it all while having strong performances against good defenses like The Eagles, Bills, and Jaguars. He wasn't simply feasting on the weak like I always accused Stafford of doing. If what Goff did down this past year, combined with the fact that he's already proven he can take a team to the Super Bowl, doesn't warrant him getting a shot at being this teams long-term starter, then what would? Do we need to see him win a playoff game first before fully trusting him or just replicate last season? I think to MB's point, Goff would have the right to feel insecure about his job and a bit upset if his incredibly strong performance last year, especially down the stretch. I think he's earned the right next year to prove he is our long-term starter, without having the fear of his replacement waiting in the wings, ready to go at every moment. I still like Bryce Young and CJ Stroud as prospects, that hasn't changed. I still feel both have the potential to be very solid starting QBs in this league. If there was a surefire Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow like prospect and the Lions had the chance to draft one of them at #6, I might be changing my tune and advocating for that. But neither Young nor Stroud are viewed at that level. Given that and what Goff did this past year, he has earned the right, unimpeded by a rookie, to prove he is this organizations starting QB for the long haul.

It sounds like he changed his story several times too. How much does this defer from the Henry Ruggs situation if Carter was indeed driving intoxicated and drag racing and that drag race caused the fatality?