RedRamage

22 yarder is good.

Bates with a 51 yarder... that's his first time kicking on a natural surface.

Okay so... YAOM (yet another old man -- pronounced: yeah-ohm) commentary: If I separate the uniform from the Tigers... I actually like the uniform over all. I think it has a pretty cool look to it... I like to colors. I even think the hat goes decently with the jersey. It's not perfect. In particular there are three things I'm "meh" about: I'm not wild about dark jersey on dark pants... I don't think you could do white pants, but maybe some more or bigger detail/stripe? It looks like the pants were a bit of an afterthought. The hat feels much the same way. I think it actually looks good with the jersey, but again the lack of detail (simply dark blue with "Detroit" in white using the same font as on the jersey) makes it feel like an afterthought. Very bland, and generic even paired with the jersey. Horribly boring by itself. Looks like something you'd buy at a Walgreens when you're leaving Detroit after visiting because you forgot to buy a better souvenir. The 313 patch... I get the intention with making the '1' stand out, and that's nice. But the 3's are WAY to light imho. Again though, over all I do like the look of the complete package over all. I like the colors, the details... I like the VIN plate... I like the Tigers Eyes at the bottom. As a whole it's a solid B from me. BUT.... Do I like them as a Tiger's uniform? Meh... not really. I wouldn't want to see them used regularly. The classic whites are a fantastic uni with a lot of history. No need to try to improve on perfection. So if you ask me: "Don't mess with greatness. There's no need for this." BUT.... No's asking me and more jersey variation means more sales for the ball club so it's going to happen whether I like it or not. So if it's going to happen... well, while I think they could have done better, they also could have done much, much worse. Given that it has to happen, I'm mildly supportive of what we actually got.

Bates today: 50 yarder: Good, but a penalty gave the Panthers a first down so didn't count. 43 yarder: Good 60 yarder: Good 39 yarder: Good 49 yarder: Good 47 yarder: No Good, but a penalty nullified the play 42 yarder: Good

He better be! I don't know that there's any connection with the Lions beyond that he's playing Detroit and I'm sure many (if not all) of the other NFL teams will at least have some level of interest in him. So I don't think it's automatic that he comes to the Lions but I certainly hope that he enjoys playing in Ford Field a lot.

No... there's a rule in the UFL that NFL teams can not talk to the players or the players' agents in season. So, no NFL team can sign him right now.

60 yards through to end the half.

55 yard successful kick from Bates. It doesn't count because defense jumped offsides and that gave the Panthers first down. Panthers gain 12 yards and stall our again, just Bates kicks it from 43 and this one will count.

Yeah well... I did need another suit. I suppose I could have done one of the UofM or MSU, but neither of them are red. And as bad as the Pistons are right now (I really don't follow them much, but even I know how bad they are) they've at least had championships within my life time.

Okay, well then yeah... that's an official partnership and yeah that's not a great sign if they're desperate enough for money that they'll partner with a timeshare. On a completely side note: has anyone ever gone to one of these timeshare sales pitch thingies? I sometimes thought about taking one of these vacation deals, then just trying to find someone local and paying them to sit through the presentation so I didn't have too.

Where was this being offered? I'm wondering if it's an official UFL or did they just buy the tickets for the game themselves?

Putting on my Motown Bombers hat a moment: I don't think there are too many QBs who don't struggle when protection breaks down or players missing blocking assignments. The question isn't if he struggled, but how much did he struggle and was it appreciably more than other QBs. Now, obviously a more mobile QB will struggle less (all other things being equal) as a mobile QB has one more tool to use in those situations vs. a less mobile QB. (Or perhaps it's better to say a more mobile QB has a better tool than a less mobile QB... splitting hairs here.) But all other things aren't equal, ever. Would I take Gared Joff who's identical in all areas to Jared Goff except he can run like Justin Fields? Hell yes! But Gared Joff doesn't exist.

Obviously we're still early in the tenue of Holmes, but what this does NOT feel like is a Dombrowski built team. I'm not trying to hate on Dombrowski because he pulled the Tigers out of the depths of the MLB and put the team in a position to win World Series for a while, but he also heavily mortgaged the future to do it. Holmes seems to be trying to build a consistently good roster, not just a "run for the SB and then suck for 10 years" sort of situation, but a sustained success. Time will tell if it works, but the results so far are very promising.

If you're grading on a curve, yeah. But this is kinda like the PFF method of grading. Each pick can only get an A+ grade. ARSB should be like an A+++++++++ grade. Top 10 player at his position in round 4? Yeah, that's big time score! But if you can only be A+ per pick, then you average all the picks, you come out with an A- because of Levi. Having said that, this isn't probably the best way to grade a draft.

Between the draft and just life being busy this weekend, I completely forgot to tune into the Panthers... and it seems that my lack of watching them proved to be bad luck for Bates. 2 of 3 FG attempts were missed. A 58 yarder and 62 yarder were both missed, though he did make a Badgley-range 30 yarder. This was his first time kicking outside in the UFL, and there was a 13 mph wind, so that may have played a part. Next week is back inside at Ford Field.

I know it's been said a lot, but this draft is yet more proof that Holmes drafts BPA. He doesn't care (very much) about position. He just really, really doesn't. He drafted a CB... right after drafting a CB. He traded up to get a RB (among other things, but was "interviewed" as a RB) after drafting a RB in the first round last year. To completely mix some sports metaphors, Holmes is taking a home run swing on each an every pick. He's not interested in bunting to move the runs over so that maybe they'll score on the next at bat. He wants a home run. He'll use FA to fill in what holes there are in the roster. So far that's worked out in the Lions favor. We'll see if it continues to work out over the next 3-5 years, but it's hard to argue with his methods right now.

Can he play 1st? We need some serious help there right now.

I'd be really interested to see him play both O and D... but I kinda doubt it'll happen.

I apologize 'cause I'm sure this has been posted before. But holy ****... I seriously, seriously hope this guy works out because holy cow do I want to root for him. My goodness.

Totally agree. Now, that's not to say he's right. That's not to say that this guy will end up being a great player. Holmes can certainly be wrong. But this is definitely his style and his thinking.

I think you're all looking at it wrong. Brad (mostly) don't care about position. The draft is about loading up on promising talent not matter where they play. FA is for filling holes. Draft picks, to him, are about trying to hit homeruns every time he gets to the plate. He's not going to lay down a bunt to move the runners over. Brad is not going to settle for lesser player who might slot in somewhere better if he genuinely thinks the other guy is a better player.

Thank you for posting this. I appreciate it!

I have to hand it to him on the suit color choice... it's flashing but it's a color that isn't used by any NFL team, so it's not going to clash or look like he's wearing an opponents colors for which ever team ended up picking him.

Dang it... you beat me by an hour.