NYLion

I see people blaming the injuries and, sure, it played a factor but 5 (FIVE!!!) turnovers by the offense including a gifted 7 on an INT is what lost this game. Goff choked and Ben Johnson choked, those were the two main factors. A fumble and two INTs by the QB in the red zone, a third INT that ended up in his end zone and the arrogant OC neglecting the run after it was shredding the Commanders defense and doing that utterly brainless Jamo throwing the ball call down 10 early in the 4th, wtf was he thinking? Those are your two biggest culprits. The Commanders didn't even have to do anything special, just watch the Lions implode.

The biggest disappointment of this is a team that prided itself on composure and valuing the football did neither of that on the biggest stage.

13 minutes ago, buddha said:

which of those guards would you take over cade?

Brunson maybe and I say maybe because of his weak defense. Not a big fan of LaMelo, don't see him as a winner, so none on that list.

23 hours ago, MichiganCardinal said:

Seeing Minnesota's performance last night tells me that the nine-point performance against the Lions was likely more an indictment on Darnold than a sign that the Lions defense has markedly improved from its performance against the Bills and 49ers.

Daniels is likely going to have his, but the Lions offense will have theirs. If the Lions offense doesn't fall flat on its face, Washington's only real path to victory is going to be to just outpace the Lions, similar to what the Bills did. Which isn't an easy task when you still have Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph manning the deep ball, and when even the second string run defense is top five in the league.

Daniels is going to make a lot of plays against the Lions defense, it's going to get shredded at times, but the key is to stiffen up in the red zone like they did against the Vikings because the Commanders will probably get ample red zone opportunities.

I don't see how they stop the Lions offense though, they're weak against the run might be without Payne and Monty is back so it might be a matter of just playing keep away from Daniels by controlling the clock with the running game. I hope Ben doesn't cute (yes, hope against all hope) and just plays smashmouth football.

I'm fascinated by this deadline. The Pistons have something cooking so it's tempting to add an impact guy if possible but you don't want to lose sight of the big picture for a quick fix.

First of all, the Pistons don't really have the assets to make a real impact trade until that pick conveys and they have control of all their picks and the new salary cap rules with the second apron rule makes it more difficult to add long term salary so with Cade already maxed out and with Beasley due for a new contract and Ivey coming up it makes it complicated to add anything more than an expiring deal. I'd like to see the Pistons weaponize their current cap space to add picks for future ammo to make a bigger trade but don't see a path to adding any 1sts so I don't know what they should do tbh. Maybe a smaller deal for a vet like Brogdon to help alleviate the ballhandling duties from Cade? Something like that seems prudent.

16 minutes ago, Deleterious said:

Thompson is one of the most disruptive off ball defenders in the league.

If only he could hit some shots he'd be a star but in a league where shot making from long range is essential it's a problem having him out there in clutch moments. Love his game otherwise.

What a win. Cade is a full blown star now with performances like this against a top team finally showing aggression in big moments knowing he can score on anybody anytime and Beasley, what else can I say? Get that man signed. This team is a lot of fun to watch even in their early season close losses

29 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

Baker is such a baller. He deserved better than Cleveland, and he deserves better than Todd Bowles.

He is a baller but the constant knocks on Baker revealed themselves in this game with the botched handoff then the botch on the snap on 3rd down on the last possession although the center played a part in that mistake. He's always struggled with turnovers and it cost them in this one. 

The Commanders were my preferred choice of the possible divisional round opponents even though they have the most dangerous dual threat QB of the 4 teams. 

Lets be honest, if the Lions can't beat the Commanders, with all due respect to them, then they just aren't as good as we all think they are. It's like the Tampa playoff game last year, the Lions should be a strong favorite in this one.

4 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

I liked Mobley in that draft also. And TBF, while Cade is rapidly becoming a more dominant player, Mobley has been more productive over the 1st years of their careers, and he is also still improving.

Mobley is not a #1 option though. He's in a phenomenal situation to make the best use of his talents, that wouldn't have happened in Detroit. Cade was and is the right choice.

The Pistons are kind of playing with fire here barely beating terrible teams at home and with them pretty much running Cade into the ground because the bench just can't compete with no ballhandler. Tough schedule coming up too. It's nice being 20-19 but I feel like this thing can fall off the rails quickly if Langdon (almost said Weaver, sheesh) doesn't bring in another ballhandler at the very least.

Chill Trajan, Chill. A .500 team shouldn't make him stray away from the long term plan. The Pistons still need to build an asset base to make a real impactful move in the next year or two, that time is not now and Ingram certainly isn't that guy.

Trying to kill time here until wildcard weekend so I figured I'd ask you guys. Who is your preferred opponent? Now we all know that the Lions can beat anybody and shouldn't fear anybody but, as a fan, which team do you think would be the best matchup for the Lions next weekend.

Personally, I take Washington. Rookie QB facing this team in that environment seems like way too tall of a task. Green Bay would probably be the team I'd like to face the least but that would also mean that Philly would be out so a bit torn on that one. Not too interested in facing Stafford and those weapons either. I'd expect the Lions to beat either but still...

So, what say you guys?

I wouldn't hate a McCollum trade if it was an expiring, he's a sizeable THJ upgrade, but with the extra year at that number, no way in hell should it be entertained. Regardless, it seems like speculation at best.

49 minutes ago, Motor City Sonics said:

Over .500 nearly halfway through the season.   Who saw this coming?     I thought I was Optimistic when I said 30-52.   

I know there would not be a chance of him winning it with a team that's 32-4 (and and another at 30-6), but J.B. Bickerstaff certainly should be a finalist for Coach Of The Year so far. 

But now there's a dilemma -   The trade deadline.    Some teams will have interest in Beasley, Harris and Hardaway Jr and others that have really helped Cade become a star player.     If this team is still around .500 and still within 1-3 games of the Top 6, do you go for it because you haven't given this town a playoff game for so long or do you try to get more draft capital to make sure the team is infused with young talent?  

Seems like the NBA East is Cleveland, Boston, New York and then everyone else.     If you get into the playoffs you'll probably have to play one of those teams, unless the team pulls off a miracle and cracks the top 4.  Crazy as it may seem, they are only 2 1/2 games out of #4  (and 1 game out of the 5 slot).     

I know there is a house of cards feel to it and you better hope Cade stays healthy, but the Pistons are in a group of 6 or 7 teams who are in a very similar position right now.    They've made me interested in them again.    

Cade's quietly one of the best players in the NBA right now.     It's nice to see the team can win when he has a so-so night.  The Nets are an awful team, but last year's Pistons would not have won.   

 

Orlando and probably Milwaukee will be in that mix. Orlando is devastated by injury but they'll be healthy come playoff time and be as dangerous as anybody. Milwaukee and Philly with Giannis and Embiid will be a threat. After that, it's wide open.

I saw before the game that the Pistons were 9.5 point favorites on the road and couldn't believe my eyes but then I saw the Nets lineup and understood why, that's a glorified G-League lineup. In any event, the Pistons took care of business which is a good sign of growth. 19-18 is crazy especially after the 0-4 start, 19-14 in their last 33 considering the last 4 seasons is surreal.

Most were predicting 30 wins as a good season and a good step forward, 40 now seems realistic. Amazing what competent coaching and a few solid vets could do for a young group. What Weaver and Monty did should be considered executive and coaching malpractice.

Hutch PROBABLY gets a new contract? He's getting extended long term the moment there's an opportunity to do so. He had a clean break, his long term prognosis isn't being effected at all by this injury. He'll get the big ticket contract and well deserved.

The immediate priorities are Davis, Zeitler, Barnes, Levi, Iffy and whether or not they want to extend Kerby because he's likely going to be the highest paid safety in the league and the question is do you want to pay two safties (when Branch is due) top of the market money? Tough decision. I think eventually, they're going to have to choose between Jamo or Kerby.

Out of the UFA's.... I gotta run so I'll finish this later

1 hour ago, chasfh said:

"Fully" sounds a bit interpretative, which has a tinge of subjectivity to it. Or maybe I'm wrong there.

I want him in there if he's 100%. Will he be 100% healed in a smidge less than four months? Do these kind of severe fractures heal that quickly for guys in their mid-20s? Especially two in the same general area?

I fully believe that Hutch is done for the season and it's just a lot of wishful thinking. It just seems rushed and I don't think he'll play unless he's 100%, coach won't allow it.

2 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

Collingsworth was really pushing Goff's physical courage to keep standing in and making the throw he knew would be there knowing he was going to be hit. It's maybe the most 'intangible' of all a QB's intangibles. Every great QB has to have it. The ability to block that hit out of your mind and complete your process is a heck of a talent.

He made a bunch of those yesterday but the one to Jamo on 4th down was an incredible throw under immense pressure. Goff had a few jittery moments but he made some deadly accurate throws under pressure that few can make, a few to LaPorta and St. Brown in the second half in particular and the Vikings were bringing a lot of heat.

This game was a story of 2 QBs, one couldn't handle the pressure while the other could. Both defenses brought a lot of pressure.

46 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

I don't know, Darnold wasn't very accurate. He missed some pretty easy throws. 19 for 41, or something? His completion % was pretty horrible. 

A lot of that was due to the pressure the Lions put in his face early and often. They never let him get comfortable and he got rattled seeing ghosts and missed some easy throws as a result.

9 hours ago, Sports_Freak said:

Vikings were worse than I thought and hoped.

The Lions are better than some people thought, people that didn't have faith in this group that was within a Reynolds drop essentially of a Superbowl last year and 14-2 with one of the biggest point differentials in league history.

People say that Darnold choked. No, it was AG and crew that made it tough on him and rattled him. This was more about the Lions winning than the Vikings losing.

17 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

I can't ****ing believe we're 15-2, we've won the NFC North and won the #1 seed. All the years we had to suffer through SOL moment after SOL moment was for this feeling right here and what a feeling it is. 

SOL is a thing of the distant past. Seems like some fans @Mr.TaterSalad included that had a little SOL PTSD thinking the Vikings were going to win this game. Dan Campbell's Lions won't have any of that. 

11 minutes ago, CMRivdogs said:

That could be scary. Washington is schizophrenic

Nothing should be scary for the Lions, at least in the NFC. The games will all be tough but the AFC opponents are the scary ones.

As I've always said, this Lions team is built different. I had full confidence that they'd win this game. The Terrion injury is troublesome going forward but AG seems to have a plan to cover for his loss. Anzalone is way more important to the defense than some people realize, he was massive tonight

4 hours ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Am I wrong or a bad fan for thinking the Vikings are going to win?

Yes

Ant had the points but should be All Star Cade had the much better overall game. This team is fun to watch, now lets go beat that other Minnesota team tomorrow night.