NYLion

That's why you don't get cute or run with a backup RB in the Red Zone when you have weapons like St. Brown and LaPorta. The saying "Keep it simple stupid" applies here.

Bad design. Running between the tackles inside the 10 with a backup RB then throwing a toss to the RB on 2nd down from the 10, being stupidly cute on a 2nd and 1 when you just hit two big plays up the middle with conventional throws. There are others too but these are the ones that immediately come to mind.

He's not wrong today. This is a horribly called game by Ben.

I'm going full TP. Ben Johnson is a clown tonight and he hasn't really been very good most of this season tbh.

Duren is a better defender than Drummond ever was and Duren absolutely has skills, did you not see those passes in the 1st quarter? That's not something that most bigs can do. Duren is also far more athletic than Drummond, he has Dwight Howard/Shawn Kemp level athleticism. Drummond can't compare to that.

Webber definitely had more range than Duren at the same age, Webber had more refined ball skills. Duren has that Webber passing ability out of the high post though and he's a better rebounder. Dwight Howard is the guy I see, a complete force in the paint. Maybe like a Howard/Adebayo hybrid? Either way, he's special already and just to think that he's only 19. How good is he going to be at 23? Sky is the limit really.

Cousins is one of the more underrated QBs of this generation, the guy just puts up numbers no matter who is at receiver and usually behind questionable offensive lines. That's a crippling loss for the Vikings and perhaps for Cousins career unfortunately.

What the heck are you guys talking about? Ragnow has missed 1 game the last two years while playing at a high level. He said many times that he can manage the foot issue which he has, the guy is a warrior. I guess Decker missing 2 games in 2 years makes him injury prone as well, eh @TP_Fan Just unnecessary fear mongering. They do need to draft an offensive lineman or two mainly because no guards are signed past this season and Decker isn't getting any younger but saying that Ragnow is done or is unreliable or that the entire line is injury prone is absurd.

That was a hell of a lot of fun. I can't believe how advanced Ausar is at his age, he just locked down LaVine the moment they put him on him and the vision, rebounding, hustle, athleticism, Basketball IQ is all elite. If his offensive game ever comes around and I have a feeling it will a few years down the line, he's a perennial All Star. There's something special brewing with that Cade/Ausar/Duren trio. Give them a legit young shooter to play with and this team could take off eventually.

Cade is a far better decision maker. He's a little loose with the ball at times but so is Ivey but as a floor general, I much MUCH prefer Cade to be the primary ball handler. d

The team is building a defensive and physical identity, you can see the roots of a good team down the line starting to grow. Too many turnovers, they need to clean that up. Also, it needs to be said that the much maligned Isiah Stewart has been very good the first 2 games. If he keeps playing like this, he'll be worth that contract and then some.

I'm with you. It's how I felt about the Atlanta game after they lost to Seattle, I knew they'd win that game and knew that they'd beat the Panthers by double digits when some folks were apprehensive that they'd have a letdown after Green Bay. I didn't have any feel for how it would go in Baltimore although I was leaning loss because they suck against mobile QBs but this Raiders game is pretty much a locked in win, I have the utmost confidence that they don't lose that game unless Goff goes down. Looks like we're both all in, setting ourselves up for some serious Motownforums Mockery if they lose to the Raidaahs.

The window to win JUST opened, there's no need to rush a significant "win now" trade. I wouldn't be against it but it needs to be for a player with term on his deal like Crosby for instance or Surtain who could be a long term solution. I wouldn't be a fan of what the Rams did with Von Miller for instance, I just don't think the Lions are at that point yet.

Yep. That's exactly it. Ausar will likely be a non-factor offensively especially early in the season but he brings so much more to the table that's invaluable, stuff that Killian doesn't. You can have one black hole on offense but you can't have two so you keep the one that has more intangibles in the starting lineup which is clearly Ausar even just 1 game into his career.

Good effort. I especially liked the defense although Miami isn't the best offensive team. Cade looked great but he needs some help offensively. When the shooting guard is going 0-6 from three and Stewart is the second best offensive player in the starting lineup, that's going to be a big problem until Bogey returns. On the other hand, the defense on the interior especially was stout, the Pistons have lots of length and/or athleticism with the Ausar, Stewart and Duren frontcourt and Cade looked noticeably better/more engaged defensively. I don't know what to make of Ivey. It's only 1 game into his 2nd season but I was concerned about the fit when they drafted him and still am even moreso now. I like the idea of him running the bench unit and being in for 4th quarter stretches when he's on but that's a poor use of resources for a top 5 pick and it seems to have gotten into his head a bit with him looking off in preseason and this game. I can't help but to wonder what Sharpe or Mathruin would look like alongside Cade, Ausar and Duren long term.

The question is, was he worth much of anything in the first place? I have my doubts. GMs see what we see in him, a player that can score but also give it back at the other end. Grant, who is a far better two player, netted a distant late 1st which Weaver did leverage into Duren but it just shows how paltry the market is.

That's true but I want to see more wins this season, a lot more than 17, so I'm getting "team full of kids" fatigue. Missing their two top vets is going to make it tougher to win games, no matter what one thinks of Bojan's defense.

I just saw that Bojan and Morris will be out for a month plus. That's their two biggest vet contributors right there, season is already looking like a waste. Time to brush up on the 2024 Draft which apparently is supposed to be awful.

St. Brown is absolutely a priority. Top 10 receiver in the league, one of the real leaders of the team, big time competitor, as clutch as a player can get. Maybe not as much priority as QB but he's just as important as those other guys in terms of on field impact and leadership.

You're twisting my words. I'm not giving zero credit to the Ravens, they played a great game and are full marks for imposing their will on the game and executing their gameplan perfectly. What I'm saying is that the Lions brought their D game and are capable of doing MUCH better than whatever the heck that was on Sunday. Does that mean they're ready to beat a team like Baltimore on the road in an outside stadium? I don't know but I do know if they are a lot more competitive if they were prepared for this game. The reality is that the Lions are still a very young team that has a learning curve ahead, coaches and players, while the Ravens have experience and know exactly how to play games like this. I think it'll be a good lesson learned for the Lions in the long run, or at least I hope.

If you're right about #3 then the Lions have no hope and they are a bad team OR the Ravens are the 2000 Ravens on steroids. I refuse to believe that the Lions have zero shot to compete with the Ravens no matter how well they play. To me, this was a really bad day (a one-off) in which they weren't prepared to play against a good team on the road just like last year against the Panthers but it's fair to agree to disagree.

Well, I didn't see the other 9 times you explained yourself, I just quoted one post. You're giving the coaches an excuse as if the Lions were supposed to get blown out by the Ravens. No, this was a clinic on how not to execute. It started on the 1st drive when they let Lamar of all people get a free and easy walk in to the end zone on 4th down and it spiraled from there, not one player even close to him. The Lions weren't prepared to play this game, flat out, and that reflects at least partially on the coaches. I disagree that they had no shot to beat the Ravens if they executed. Also, the 1991 Redskins were an all time great team so that's quite a high bar to set if that's the analogy you're shooting for for where the Lions should be.

You're acting like this is the 2008 Lions that should get blown out by good teams because they didn't stand a chance no matter what they do. The Lions can compete with Baltimore if they were prepared and executed their gameplan. It's on the players of course but this team got outcoached massively. With that said, they are an impact player or two away from Superbowl contention so I'll agree with you there.

Just 1 game but this is the type of game that should bring expectations back down to earth. The Lions are a good team and are on the right track but they're not Superbowl contenders quite yet. Also, I think it needs to be mentioned that Glenn's defense gets carved up by any good QB they played. I think games against Ridder, Love, Young and Mayfield gave the false impression that this defense is good enough to compete with the big dogs, not to mention the soft schedule that they faced the second half of last year too. They still need an impact player or two on defense and they're still very young at some key spots. In the long run, a loss like this might serve them well to see how they bounce back from their first real adversity this year. I'm interested to see how it plays out.

They won the Jets game and the Panthers game was a complete one-off likely because of the frigid field. Actually, I misunderstoofd, you were talking about the week leading up to the Panthers game not the Jets game itself. I don't think we have to worry about the Lions letting down, I don't see that happening with a Dan Campbell coached team, it's possible that they could just get beat by a good team in a tough road game. The Lions have also had nightmares containing running QBs so I think this is a bad matchup stylistically. The Lions are due for a loss and this could very well be the week but it won't be because they took the game lightly or got too full of themselves from reading press clippings, I guarantee that.