Week Sixteen: Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6) @ Detroit Lions (8-6)

[lordstanley]

I still don’t get it. 
 

 

[Motown Bombers]

Remember 2023 when the Eagles collapsed and they started last year shaky and people were calling to fire Sirianni? It happens. The Lions have a good foundation. This wasn't their year. 

[KL2]

2 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

There's surprises every year. Good and bad. Who thought Chicago and Carolina would be in it this late? And how about the Kansas City collapse? Sometimes the teams that make the playoffs arent the best teams, they're the ones who stayed the most healthy.

That seems to be the thing they need to figure out. Do we have more than others? If so why? Is it something that can be fixed is it dumb luck?

Part of me would like them to sign a few more veterans who are ring hunting. They might not be the most perfect scheme fit but they can play at a nfl level and can often plug in better than a 6th round guy.

[GalagaGuy]

Remember those 3 points we gave up on the first drive by not taking the FG?  They sure could have come in handy there at the end.  

Edited 4 hours ago by GalagaGuy

[Sports_Freak]

1 minute ago, KL2 said:

That seems to be the thing they need to figure out. Do we have more than others? If so why? Is it something that can be fixed is it dumb luck?

Part of me would like them to sign a few more veterans who are ring hunting. They might not be the most perfect scheme fit but they can play at a nfl level and can often plug in better than a 6th round guy.

The problem with that is some guys are just looking for one last pay day and get "injured" quickly. What I'm really tired of is Brad signing or drafting injured players and sticking Campbell with them. No more of these "injuries waiting to happen" types.

[Motown Bombers]

Just now, GalagaGuy said:

Remember those 3 points we gave up on the first drive?  They sure could have come in handy there at the end.  

On the flip side, if the Lions score 7 they can just sit on the ball. Fans want teams to be aggressive until it doesn't work. 

[NYLion]

13 minutes ago, number20 said:

Picked to win the North by many. Super Bowl pick by some. And they likely won't even make the playoffs. Even the most cynical, negative Lions fans didn't see this coming.

I didn't see them missing the playoffs but I did predict 10-7 or 11-6 and a struggle to make the playoffs because of many factors, losing the continuity with both coordinators, losing vital pieces of the offensive line and replace them with young guys, Hutch and Alim likely not being the same after injury and a harder schedule so I'm not shocked that this happened. What I didn't see was their lack of execution in key moments by guys that are usually reliable, Amon-Ra made a ton of critical errors this season for instance. 

Either way, the Lions either take this as a learning experience and springboard to better things going forward or maybe this is what they are now. I do know that Holmes and Campbell have had some arrogance to them Brad in particular that was becoming a little off putting so hopefully this humbles them a bit and they get back to work.

Edited 4 hours ago by NYLion

[Motown Bombers]

1 minute ago, Sports_Freak said:

The problem with that is some guys are just looking for one last pay day and get "injured" quickly. What I'm really tired of is Brad signing or drafting injured players and sticking Campbell with them. No more of these "injuries waiting to happen" types.

What injured players are they always drafting? Jameson Williams has turned out to be a good pick. Rakestraw had some injuries and Levi was known to have an issue. 

[KL2]

3 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

The problem with that is some guys are just looking for one last pay day and get "injured" quickly. What I'm really tired of is Brad signing or drafting injured players and sticking Campbell with them. No more of these "injuries waiting to happen" types.

Yeah but if you’re just using them for depth, which is what I was saying sign a ring chase to be corner 5 instead of a cheap 6th round pick, it doesn’t matter as much. They wouldn’t be playing early and wouldn’t get injured quickly they would be the fill in when that can 2 does get hurt instead of relying on an untested guy. But we don’t have or add those guy instead we rely on the vildor of the world.

Edited 4 hours ago by KL2

[Sports_Freak]

36 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

A FG coulda won it.

 

2 minutes ago, GalagaGuy said:

Remember those 3 points we gave up on the first drive by not taking the FG?  They sure could have come in handy there at the end.  

Yup. Campbell going for it from the 3 yard line was kinda....stupid.

[Mr.TaterSalad]

Many in the fan base were calling for this team to address the the offensive line during the 2024 draft. That's not hindsight. We all worried that Ragnow might be considering retirement and we did indeed see it. We saw the decline in play from Glasgow. We wanted a long term plan in place for the interior of this line and we didn't get it. I know they drafted Ratledge, but they still had more needs than that and they didn't address them. Please, spare me 5th round picks used on Fraizer and Manu. They needed to invest more high round draft capital or sign someone to shore up the line. 

Many of us in the fan base were clamoring for this front office to address their pass rush situation and get Hutchinson some help along the line. Again, this front office did nothing. Instead, they banked on oft injured guys helping them out like Marcus Davenport, Paschal, and Levi. And guess what happened? The injured guys got injured. Now, Trey Hendrickson was always a pipe dream. But they could have done something in the draft, in free agency, a trade. Instead, they realied on what they had in house like the smartest guys in the room and it backfired.

We also got a Brad Holmes press conference full of receipts, arrogance, and dismissal of what many thought yous teams needs were. This season falls at Holmes and the front office's feet in many ways. 

[Sports_Freak]

1 minute ago, KL2 said:

Yeah but if you’re just using them for depth, which is what I was saying, it doesn’t matter as much. But we don’t have or add those guy instead we rely on the vildor of the world.

Brad needed to acquire help at the trade deadline. If there even was any available help...

[Motown Bombers]

They signed Maddox and Ya-Sin and let Vildor walk....

[Motown Bombers]

1 minute ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Many in the fan base were calling for this team to address the the offensive line during the 2024 draft. That's not hindsight. We all worried that Ragnow might be considering retirement and we did indeed see it. We saw the decline in play from Glasgow. We wanted a long term plan in place for the interior of this line and we didn't get it. I know they drafted Ratledge, but they still had more needs than that and they didn't address them. Please, spare me 5th round picks used on Fraizer and Manu. They needed to invest more high round draft capital or sign someone to shore up the line. 

Many of us in the fan base were clamoring for this front office to address their pass rush situation and get Hutchinson some help along the line. Again, this front office did nothing. Instead, they banked on oft injured guys helping them out like Marcus Davenport, Paschal, and Levi. And guess what happened? The injured guys got injured. Now, Trey Hendrickson was always a pipe dream. But they could have done something in the draft, in free agency, a trade. Instead, they realied on what they had in house like the smartest guys in the room and it backfired.

We also got a Brad Holmes press conference full of receipts, arrogance, and dismissal of what many thought yous teams needs were. This season falls at Holmes and the front office's feet in many ways. 

Many in the fan base were whining for a defensive back and they drafted Arnold. 

[Motown Bombers]

I think their interior OL is looking fine. Ratledge at center with Mahogany at LG and Frazier at RG. If you want to get younger there's going to be some growing pains. The biggest concern on the line is Decker. I don't know if he has anything left. 

[Sports_Freak]

8 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Many in the fan base were calling for this team to address the the offensive line during the 2024 draft. That's not hindsight. We all worried that Ragnow might be considering retirement and we did indeed see it. We saw the decline in play from Glasgow. We wanted a long term plan in place for the interior of this line and we didn't get it. I know they drafted Ratledge, but they still had more needs than that and they didn't address them. Please, spare me 5th round picks used on Fraizer and Manu. They needed to invest more high round draft capital or sign someone to shore up the line. 

Many of us in the fan base were clamoring for this front office to address their pass rush situation and get Hutchinson some help along the line. Again, this front office did nothing. Instead, they banked on oft injured guys helping them out like Marcus Davenport, Paschal, and Levi. And guess what happened? The injured guys got injured. Now, Trey Hendrickson was always a pipe dream. But they could have done something in the draft, in free agency, a trade. Instead, they realied on what they had in house like the smartest guys in the room and it backfired.

We also got a Brad Holmes press conference full of receipts, arrogance, and dismissal of what many thought yous teams needs were. This season falls at Holmes and the front office's feet in many ways. 

We also lost an OL to free agency. Zeitler signed with Tennessee. Our OL was a huge strength that turned into an even bigger weakness. It needs to be addressed, I would say our biggest need.

[Sports_Freak]

4 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

I think their interior OL is looking fine. Ratledge at center with Mahogany at LG and Frazier at RG. If you want to get younger there's going to be some growing pains. The biggest concern on the line is Decker. I don't know if he has anything left. 

True but it's depth, quality depth, that needs to be looked at. If there's any money, sign a couple veterans. Injuries and inexperience killed us.

[Motown Bombers]

3 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said:

We also lost an OL to free agency. Zeitler signed with Tennessee. Our OL was a huge strength that turned into an even bigger weakness. It needs to be addressed, I would say our biggest need.

The plan was for Mahogany to take over for Zeitler. Glasgow would compete with Ratledge to start but Ragnow retiring through a wrench into that. The Lions lost two interior lineman plus Decker regressed. If they would have addressed the line then they would have to neglect something else the fans would complain about. I think they were expecting at least one more year out of Ragnow. 

[Motown Bombers]

Zeitler and Bitonio are free agents but I don't think they need to sign someone for the interior. 

[Motown Bombers]

Decker has no more guaranteed money after this year. The Lions can cut him with a June 1st designation and save $18 million. It's something to consider. 

[GalagaGuy]

Over the next two weeks, the entire division has a chance to end the Lions season.  

[Hongbit]

What happened to our interior DL.  Alim has disappeared.  DJ Reader hasn’t made an impact in two years.  Tyliek started off promising but has been MIA for months now.    All of these guys have better in them than what they showed this season:   Very disappointing.

[Motown Bombers]

Just now, Hongbit said:

What happened to our interior DL.  Alim has disappeared.  DJ Reader hasn’t made an impact in two years.  Tyliek started off promising but has been MIA for months now.    All of these guys have better in them than what they showed this season:   Very disappointing.

Honestly this is the most concerning as the interior DL hasn't been hit with injuries. Lopez has really been the best of the bunch. I hope it's just a case of McNeil needing more time to get back to strength. Reader looks finished. I think he retires. 

[Sports_Freak]

Here's the Teslaa OPI. Does it look like an illegal pick?

 

[Sports_Freak]

26 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

The plan was for Mahogany to take over for Zeitler. Glasgow would compete with Ratledge to start but Ragnow retiring through a wrench into that. The Lions lost two interior lineman plus Decker regressed. If they would have addressed the line then they would have to neglect something else the fans would complain about. I think they were expecting at least one more year out of Ragnow. 

And there probably wasn't any help available at the trade deadline. It was just an unfortunate situation that really hurt our offense.