NYLion Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 (edited) On 10/25/2022 at 11:52 AM, MichiganCardinal said: I don’t think the Lions are the worst team in the league. I think they’re around #25 with their injury depleted roster and around #15 when fully healthy. It doesn’t make it feel any better that they’re 1-5. I know I know, it's excuses, but I firmly believe this team is better than their record indicates. I know that every team suffers injuries but I'd be hard pressed to find any team that has been hit as hard as the Lions. 4/5 of their offensive line has been out at some point, not to mention their backup guard as well in Evan Brown (Vai Tai gone for the year). Their top running back has been out half the year, their most dynamic receiver (potentially) hasn't played a snap yet, their best receiver has missed about half the time, their top free agent receiver has been out about half the games now, their other receiver (Reynolds) has been hampered by injury the last few weeks, their top pass rusher and big money defender hasn't played a snap yet (and will likely be out for the year), just about every defensive tackle outside of McNeil has been injured, their top CB from last year has been in and out of the lineup, their top defensive player in Walker out for the year. Again, I know that injuries happen to every team but come on, this is not only an absurd amount of injuries but key players being out. I want to see what this team looks like with "relative" health before making any final judgments. Despite all the injuries, each game outside of the New England debacle has been competitive and could have easily gone either way. I don't think it's as dire as some are making out to be but, then again, it could be wishful thinking on my part. I guess we'll see what the second half brings when some healthy bodies hopefully return. I say this as somebody who posted doomsday posts at the end of the last few games in the heat of the moment but in really thinking about it, it's only fair to let the season play out before giving up on this regime. Edited October 27, 2022 by NYLion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 according to fox, the lions arent even in the top 10 of most injured teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 i also find it very hard to believe the lions are the 15th best team in the nfl. the lions are in the bottom third of teams at best, imo, with maybe the least talented defense in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 okudah played really well in the last game. he was basically playing as a linebacker/box safety. played the run very well. we've all seen okudah get dusted by top receivers this year when he doesnt have safety help. is it possible that okudah's best position is at safety? someone strong enough to play the run in the box but also good enough to cover receivers? he may be more suited to that role than a "#1 corner". of course that means the lions still need a top cover corner, but i think we all knew that anyway. current draft needs: cornerback quarterback defensive tackle linebacker playmaking running back interior oline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganCardinal Posted October 27, 2022 Author Share Posted October 27, 2022 14 minutes ago, buddha said: i also find it very hard to believe the lions are the 15th best team in the nfl. the lions are in the bottom third of teams at best, imo, with maybe the least talented defense in the league. I think they'd be 4-2, maybe 3-3, if fully healthy. They've played a top five team in the Eagles and three top 16 teams in the Vikings, Cowboys, and Patriots. I don't think it's crazy to put them around the bottom of the top 15 (if they were healthy). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 8 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said: I think they'd be 4-2, maybe 3-3, if fully healthy. They've played a top five team in the Eagles and three top 16 teams in the Vikings, Cowboys, and Patriots. I don't think it's crazy to put them around the bottom of the top 15 (if they were healthy). i think that's your lions bias. and no team in the nfl is fully healthy. have you seen the dolphins injury report? they lost their entire secondary a few weeks ago. the niners were down 9 starters on defense the other day. would you rank the lions above the bears? the bears whooped the pats in new england, beat the niners in a flood, almost beat the vikings, and played the giants very tough. their resume is better than detroit's. honestly, everyone's resume is better than detroit's. we only really pay attention to detroit, but other teams have issues too. next year i expect them to be in the middle of the pack in the league, but theyre not there yet. not close really, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 im fairness, losing st brown and swift crippled the offense, so i understand your point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganCardinal Posted October 27, 2022 Author Share Posted October 27, 2022 19 minutes ago, buddha said: okudah played really well in the last game. he was basically playing as a linebacker/box safety. played the run very well. we've all seen okudah get dusted by top receivers this year when he doesnt have safety help. is it possible that okudah's best position is at safety? someone strong enough to play the run in the box but also good enough to cover receivers? he may be more suited to that role than a "#1 corner". of course that means the lions still need a top cover corner, but i think we all knew that anyway. current draft needs: cornerback quarterback defensive tackle linebacker playmaking running back interior oline You named these as draft needs, and generally I would agree with the list. I would add tight end, given a decision needs to be made on Hockenson, and I would have maybe a slightly different order. I would expect the Lions to play a larger role in free agency this offseason though. I think they expect to contend for the playoffs next season, and they are not going to just patch any holes next year, like they did with Chark, or by re-signing Anzalone. Particularly on defense, I would expect us to explore some of the better free agents. JJ Watt will be available if he doesn't retire. If he'd be willing to move to Detroit, he could be a huge veteran presence on the team, even if he's not what he once was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganCardinal Posted October 27, 2022 Author Share Posted October 27, 2022 4 minutes ago, buddha said: i think that's your lions bias. and no team in the nfl is fully healthy. have you seen the dolphins injury report? they lost their entire secondary a few weeks ago. the niners were down 9 starters on defense the other day. would you rank the lions above the bears? the bears whooped the pats in new england, beat the niners in a flood, almost beat the vikings, and played the giants very tough. their resume is better than detroit's. honestly, everyone's resume is better than detroit's. we only really pay attention to detroit, but other teams have issues too. next year i expect them to be in the middle of the pack in the league, but theyre not there yet. not close really, imo. I see your point too. It's fully possible our defense still would have "collapsed to the occasion" even without the injuries, which occurred primarily on the offensive side. I think my ultimate point is that they're better than their record indicates. Power rankings are inherently trivial, because on any given Sunday the #30 team could beat a top-5 team. Where exactly you plug them is certainly liable to bias. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1984Echoes Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, buddha said: according to fox, the lions arent even in the top 10 of most injured teams. That's 6 weeks for the Lions instead of 7, like most everyone else (look at the star next to LV, Hou, and Detroit). That's also about 12 gameday players lost per week for the Lions, so they would have a roughly 81.6 missed player-games if they had 7 games played. Las Vegas and Houston would also move up on the same basis (6 games instead of 7)... Putting the Lions at about 9th on a pro-rata basis. With 81.6 versus the leaders 88.2. Not good. Edited October 27, 2022 by 1984Echoes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 39 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said: You named these as draft needs, and generally I would agree with the list. I would add tight end, given a decision needs to be made on Hockenson, and I would have maybe a slightly different order. I would expect the Lions to play a larger role in free agency this offseason though. I think they expect to contend for the playoffs next season, and they are not going to just patch any holes next year, like they did with Chark, or by re-signing Anzalone. Particularly on defense, I would expect us to explore some of the better free agents. JJ Watt will be available if he doesn't retire. If he'd be willing to move to Detroit, he could be a huge veteran presence on the team, even if he's not what he once was. im not sure how much money they will have for free agents if they keep or dont extend goff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYLion Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, buddha said: according to fox, the lions arent even in the top 10 of most injured teams. "Key" injuries is the key word. The quality of the injuries is absurd as I pointed out in my earlier post. Also, I'm not sure if they count rookies that never played a snap in there (Williams and Paschal in the Lions case, who are supposed to be key contributors). I doubt many teams were missing pretty much their entire receiving corp. for multiple weeks, their top running back at the same time, two top defensive players most of the season, two of their top rookies all season etc. Edited October 27, 2022 by NYLion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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