Week Seventeen: Detroit Lions (8-7) @ Minnesota Vikings (7-8)

[Hongbit]

I’ve talked a ton of **** over the years on Ryan Poles.  I’ve got to tip my hat.  He traded a 4th for starting guard and pro bowler Joe Thuney while Brad traded 2 3rd round picks for rookie backup WR Isaac Teslaa.     I think Ike is going to be a really nice player but we are probably a playoff team and playing for the division next week if we had Thuney instead.  

[Nate7474]

6 minutes ago, ewsieg said:

I suspect my thought here is likely baseless, but in the NFL one of the things i've always heard is 'If team X is healthy, they can win it'.  It's a violent sport.  Seems like at least for the last few years we're one of the worst with injuries.  Just a couple of unlucky years?  At some point, is it valid to question why we seem to be one of the most injured teams?   

Offensively I think this year has just been bad luck. Defensively I strongly feel that our scheme allows for more injuries specifically in the back 7. We are one of the highest man to man teams so we are always chasing and tired. This to me leads to bad tackling form and playing out of control which leads to more injuries. We need to mix in more zone or at the very least rotate earlier in the year more often to save snaps for later on. 

[buddha]

1 hour ago, Hongbit said:

I’ve talked a ton of **** over the years on Ryan Poles.  I’ve got to tip my hat.  He traded a 4th for starting guard and pro bowler Joe Thuney while Brad traded 2 3rd round picks for rookie backup WR Isaac Teslaa.     I think Ike is going to be a really nice player but we are probably a playoff team and playing for the division next week if we had Thuney instead.  

2024 and 2025 lions drafts look pretty bleak right now.

nobody is perfect, but maybe the consensus draft folks were right to wonder why the need to trade up for martin, manu, and teslaa?  

this is the first time theyve tasted failure.  lets see how they respond.  the fancy stats say theyre still an excellent offensive team, im not sure i buy it but that's what they say.

on defense?  injuries killed them last year, but even when theyre healthy they cant seem to get to the qb.  and this year they couldnt stop the run even with mcneill back and their first round pick being a supposed run stuffer.

 

[buddha]

and the bears have been the luckiest team in the nfl.  every year there is a team with a horeshoe up its ass and this year its chicago.  that team could easily be 8-8 and has played a very easy schedule.  we'll see about next season.

[lordstanley]

1 hour ago, buddha said:

and the bears have been the luckiest team in the nfl.  every year there is a team with a horeshoe up its ass and this year its chicago.  that team could easily be 8-8 and has played a very easy schedule.  we'll see about next season.

Agreed, but OTOH, if the Vikings move on from JJ and get a decent QB they could be a 10+ win team again.

[romad1]

This is not the Wayne Fontes Lions.  When the current Lions had a functional OL this team imposed itself on even great teams.  Not being able to do that was a huge problem.   

I agree that the amount of time our DBs spend in "panic trail" because of the high use of man might contribute to injuries.  Not sure how we fix that unless we are lucky enough to get an effective pass rushing DT somehow this offseason. 

[Motor City Sonics]

Problem 1 - Going from Ben Johnson to John Morton is trading a Ferrari in for a Golf Cart

Problem 2-  O-Line going from the best to barely functional.  And Decker's retiring. Better fix that and quick

Problem 3 - Injuries.   Holy **** can this team get hurt.  

Problem 4 - Dan, you don't have to go for it on every 4th down.  We get it, your balls are big.  Okay.  Jake Bates is great.  Use him. 

 

I still strongly believe in this regime.    Next year they'll have a 4th place schedule and that'll help - a lot.    Remember, the 49ers were toast last year but came back strong this year.   I think we just had the season they did last year.   The Super Bowl window is far from being closed.  

And by the way, I could go look up my earlier posts from the last year and this year, but I thought this team might take a backwards step before making the big leap to SB contention.   This was that year.  

But please - figure out a way to stay healthy.   PLEASE!

 

 

Okay - The Pistons are 24-6 - the best in the East (with NY only 2 games behind them).  The Pistons aren't even a great shooting team.  They could pick up a piece that gets them all the way to the Finals.   I know, I know, trade deadlines are tremendous letdowns in this town.  I think the Pistons buck the trend

 

The Red Wings are in first.  They're playing great.  They have most people believing.  But we've seen this before in recent years.  Can we please avoid the March Malaise this season?   As good as they've been, they're only 6 points away from missing the playoffs.   Can't afford even a mini-collapse.  We already know that no help is coming at the trade deadline.

 

And the Tigers.   Well,  maybe Jace Jung can put it all together because they sure aren't reaching for anything to improve this team.    Selling more tickets in the middle of the season seems to be the only real goal for Chris Illitch.  Fill those parking lots.    

Edited 9 hours ago by Motor City Sonics

[papalawrence]

When will the draft thread appear?

[KL2]

8 minutes ago, papalawrence said:

When will the draft thread appear?

11 days ago

[Shinzaki]

I don't get people calling the 2025 draft a failure.  Williams and Ratledge started and at times played very well, TeSlaa made some spectacular, clutch catches and looks like a major threat in the red zone going forward.  Frazier was hurt, but showed some promise in limited activity.  Hassanein and Jackson got hurt in camp and Lovett at least saw the field.

2024...OTOH...

[CMRivdogs]

9 hours ago, buddha said:

and the bears have been the luckiest team in the nfl.  every year there is a team with a horeshoe up its ass and this year its chicago.  that team could easily be 8-8 and has played a very easy schedule.  we'll see about next season.

The Bears are last year's Commanders, possible the Lions from 2 years ago. 

[RatkoVarda]

with the season on the line, Dan started and played Eguakun over Glasgow, who dressed for the game?

2 fumbles are the direct responsibility of Eguakun, 2 fumbles that I will say Glasgow would not have made

terrifying thought: they are trying to get Eguakun (next man up!) ready for his starting 2026 role

[KL2]

1 hour ago, Shinzaki said:

I don't get people calling the 2025 draft a failure.  Williams and Ratledge started and at times played very well, TeSlaa made some spectacular, clutch catches and looks like a major threat in the red zone going forward.  Frazier was hurt, but showed some promise in limited activity.  Hassanein and Jackson got hurt in camp and Lovett at least saw the field.

2024...OTOH...

I think a lot of this post lacks context. 

Williams played, but had a 1 TFL all year. He made very little impact and seemed like a luxury pic at the time. Ratledge is fine. TeSlaa was burried at fourth on the depth chart all year, and while he had a couple catches, its the problem of drafting a 4 wr development project, and trading up for one, when again there were other needs. The rest dont matter becuase the same could be said for pretty much any 4-7th pick on any team. 

Thats why people call it a failure. Little impact and when given context its gets worse. 

Edited 6 hours ago by KL2

[MichiganCardinal]

39 minutes ago, RatkoVarda said:

with the season on the line, Dan started and played Eguakun over Glasgow, who dressed for the game?

2 fumbles are the direct responsibility of Eguakun, 2 fumbles that I will say Glasgow would not have made

terrifying thought: they are trying to get Eguakun (next man up!) ready for his starting 2026 role

That decision was clearly an indictment on Glasgow, not an elevation of Egukuan.

[MichiganCardinal]

18 minutes ago, KL2 said:

I think a lot of this post lacks context. 

Williams played, but had a 1 TFL all year. He made very little impact and seemed like a luxury pic at the time. Ratledge is fine. TeSlaa was burried at fourth on the depth chart all year, and while he had a couple catches, its the problem of drafting a 4 wr development project, and trading up for one, when again there were other needs. The rest dont matter becuase the same could be said for pretty much any 4-7th pick on any team. 

Thats why people call it a failure. Little impact and when given context its highly disappointing from an impact perspective. 

I think we need to temper our expectations on what can be expected of a draft class in their rookie seasons.

TeSlaa was fantastic for a rookie WR. In a perfect world, Ratledge probably learns for a year as a backup. He was forced into being the best IOL on the team. Disappointment regarding Williams is understandable, he was the 1st round pick. But you had the luxury of Reader and didn’t need to rush him.

If you compare TeSlaa to ASB, Williams to Alim, and Ratledge to Sewell, apples to apples in rookie seasons, I think they all look just fine.

The secondary is more of an indictment on the 2024 draft, but when your top two draft picks have season ending surgery, you’re going to have a bad time.

Edited 6 hours ago by MichiganCardinal

[RatkoVarda]

most of us will be dead before the NFL sees another game like yesterday's: 3 yards passing and a double digit win

 The only other teams that have won games with fewer than 10 net passing yards over the past 40 years are the 1987 St. Louis Cardinals (4 yards) and the 2006 Houston Texans (minus-5 yards). It's even rarer to win by a double-digit margin, with the last victory for a team by at least 10 points with less than 5 net passing yards coming in 1974.

[buddha]

8 minutes ago, RatkoVarda said:

most of us will be dead before the NFL sees another game like yesterday's: 3 yards passing and a double digit win

 The only other teams that have won games with fewer than 10 net passing yards over the past 40 years are the 1987 St. Louis Cardinals (4 yards) and the 2006 Houston Texans (minus-5 yards). It's even rarer to win by a double-digit margin, with the last victory for a team by at least 10 points with less than 5 net passing yards coming in 1974.

dare i say it?

sol?

[buddha]

15 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

I think we need to temper our expectations on what can be expected of a draft class in their rookie seasons.

TeSlaa was fantastic for a rookie WR. In a perfect world, Ratledge probably learns for a year as a backup. He was forced into being the best IOL on the team. Disappointment regarding Williams is understandable, he was the 1st round pick. But you had the luxury of Reader and didn’t need to rush him.

If you compare TeSlaa to ASB, Williams to Alim, and Ratledge to Sewell, apples to apples in rookie seasons, I think they all look just fine.

The secondary is more of an indictment on the 2024 draft, but when your top two draft picks have season ending surgery, you’re going to have a bad time.

fantastic?  he caught 15 passes all year.

most people's objections to him were giving up draft capital to move up to take a guy nobody had on their radars.  secondly, to do so at a position where you already have three star players (counting laporta as a reveiver), and when you had so many other pressing needs.

but to your earlier point, it is too early to call the class a disappointment.  i was probably too hyperbolic in that.  but for this season - other than ratledge - it didnt provide much help.

[RatkoVarda]

2025 draft could be solid

2024 is just really bad: traded up for Arnold, when early 2nd round guys are now better, healthier; drafted yet another injured player (Rakestraw) who (shocker!) has been injured for 2 years; traded up for Manu, LOL!; traded up for Vaki, LOL! which is indefensible when you already had Monty, Gibbs, Reynolds; Wingo is too small to do anything in their system; Mahogany, almost be default could be best pick.

[Sports_Freak]

18 minutes ago, buddha said:

dare i say it?

sol?

No SOL. People need to restrain themselves from the knee-jerk reactions. Yes, we stunk up Netflix yesterday. Yes, our OL played horribly. We'll be back next year with a rebuilt line and a new OC. Look at the Bears from last year to this year. They turned a major weakness, their OL, into a major strength. In one off-season. The Lions still have major talent in the skilled positions. Brad does have his work cut out for him but I see him acquiring free agents and players in the draft that will get us back into serious contention. 

[Hongbit]

Good news is that despite being told otherwise all season long, there is plenty of money available to acquire players this offseason.

From Spotrac:

POTENTIAL CAP CONVERSIONS

QB Jared Goff’s cap number rises to $69.6M next season. A simple salary conversion (plus two void years) can open up a much needed $42.9M of space.

WR Amon-Ra St. Brown’s 2026 salary is already fully guaranteed. Converting it to bonus (plus two void years) frees up $21.5M.

DL Alim McNeill’s knee issues may have the Lions weary of moving money around too much (in order to preserve a cleaner out potential after 2026), but there’s over $18M of cap space to open up here if needed.

OT Penei Sewell’s 2026 salary is fully guaranteed. A simple salary conversion can free up nearly $15M of space.

CB D.J. Reed’s 2026 salary is fully guaranteed. A simple salary conversion can free up over $11M.

[MichiganCardinal]

2 hours ago, buddha said:

fantastic?  he caught 15 passes all year.

most people's objections to him were giving up draft capital to move up to take a guy nobody had on their radars.  secondly, to do so at a position where you already have three star players (counting laporta as a reveiver), and when you had so many other pressing needs.

but to your earlier point, it is too early to call the class a disappointment.  i was probably too hyperbolic in that.  but for this season - other than ratledge - it didnt provide much help.

He’s caught six touchdowns as a rookie WR4. I think that’s pretty darn good. He and Titus Young are the only two in Lions history to do that. ASB had five. As long as he’s not a head case like Titus, I think we found the X receiver we’ve all wanted. 

[romad1]

Having my mentally handicapped brother in the house has reminded me how simple a lot of fan experiences are.  The QB is either unassailable or the worst jerk who ever jerked.   Coach either is great and just needs more time to bring in his people or a terrible person.  

He was literally shouting at the top of his lungs at the TV while a bunch of normie DC people were in the house last night.  It was difficult. 

[Shinzaki]

3 hours ago, KL2 said:

I think a lot of this post lacks context. 

Williams played, but had a 1 TFL all year. He made very little impact and seemed like a luxury pic at the time. Ratledge is fine. TeSlaa was burried at fourth on the depth chart all year, and while he had a couple catches, its the problem of drafting a 4 wr development project, and trading up for one, when again there were other needs. The rest dont matter becuase the same could be said for pretty much any 4-7th pick on any team. 

Thats why people call it a failure. Little impact and when given context its highly disappointing from an impact perspective. 

Williams played well against the run for the most part...I don't think drafting him was a mistake, assuming they did so to have a replacement for Reader. 

Failing to replace Ragnow and Zeitler with quality vets was an issue on the OL

[Mr.TaterSalad]

4 hours ago, buddha said:

dare i say it?

sol?

Oh, yesterday was SOL's greatest hits. Turnovers, fumbles, interceptions, bad coaching, having a unique thing happen to the team with the passing yards stat, losing up a third string QB. You can't deny the game yesterday was SOL.