1984Echoes

I think Maatta operates better as the 2nd defensive puck-handler (with a Seider, or Hronek, or Chiarot) and not so much as the primary (with Oesterle...). Too much attention on him... just a guess.

-4 each.

OK... 50/50 Maatta & Oesterle sucking it tonight...

And I just watched Simon lay out a hit (on Gudas) near the boards and he (Simon) ended up on his ass...

The whole team needs to add muscle. They've been knocked off the puck almost to a man tonight, have lost almost all corner battles and face-offs (or at least it seems that way...) and it also seems that Florida takes the puck off of Wings players almost at will... They're not a playoff-ready team until the whole team gets stronger/ tougher/ etc...

Just to get checked out 'cause Simon's back on the ice...

Yeah... Oof... -3 I'm blaming it on Oesterle although I wasn't particularly watching him closely... I saw Maatta turn it over at least once...

Their power play however... Looks beyond putrid this evening...

Not interested in the head that comes with that talent.

My first two memories were not Lions games: First Lions memory: a basketball game. Against my uncles South Lyon varsity basketball team, the Lions of course. I think I was 8 or so IIRC and the Lions (S Lyon varsity) lost to the Lions (Detroit football players) pretty handily... I don't remember the game much but I've had a South Lyons program autographed by all the Lions (Detroit) players that played that night since then... They must not have made that much of an impression on me because I don't ever remember actually going to one of the football games (in the 70's)... My second memory was: in the 1980 draft when we drafted Billy Sims #1 overall. OK, NOW I was interested in the Lions and started following them (especially as a draftnik) since then... although I've only been to 1 or 2 games in the early 80's and none since... Maybe when I retire and get out of Jersey and do some travelling...

You can see the high end skills: outstanding reach, passing, puck-carry... some physicality. I also saw him get out-physicaled for the puck right next to the Detroit goal... I don't remember who took it from him but Simon ended up on his knees... I'm going to maintain that you'll see his skills but he needs another 10 pounds of muscle on that frame in order to reach the top of his game in the NHL. Half and half upper body and legs: More strength up top to absorb hits and legs to keep his skates underneath him... That, and just the usual experience... IMO.

PS: 3 sacks in 34 games? That's not a 3-tech and it's not even Jerry Ball. It's primarily a run-stuffer. Which is not bad at all for McNeill. But... that's what he is.

McNeil is not really a 3 and is more of a nose.

AAA. 8th-ish starter (from Detroit-perspective...).

Defense: D-Line depth, mostly DT - They don't NEED another outside pass-rusher but I won't rule it out, especially Anderson if he falls. I have no idea what they think of him. But I do NOT want to trade up for Anderson... I am not 100% in his camp as others on this board are... feel free to disagree. I think their bigger need is DT. A run-stopper would be a later pick (2nd to 6th...). A 3-technique rusher would be even better, IMO. (Maybe both if a 3-tech is drafted early and a run-stopper drafted later for depth...). The guy I like more than anyone else would be a starting run-stopping DE who can also rush the passer from the edge AND rush from the 3 (basically, someone who can play all over the D-Line...) and the guy I like who fits that more than anyone else is Myles Murphy. But he's my personal favorite and others like Tyree Wilson more for doing the same thing, and others prefer Anderson who would not be a 3-technique but is the superior edge pass-rusher. LB'er Depth - Could definitely use another guy here and I like guys in each of the 1st three rounds like Trenton Simpson (I like all the coverage LB'ers because that is our WEAKEST spot in the LB corps, especially covering TE's...!!!); Daiyon Henley, and DeMarvion Overshown... Safety & Cornerback depth - I could see a developmental pick for each of these positions... do they like Brian Branch in the 1st? Or Jordan Battle in the 3rd? Lots of guys available here in the early rounds and someone will slip to the 5th or 6th that they might like to add to the secondary room. As for CB, I still see the possibility of using anything from the #6, to #18, to early (2nd/3rd) to late (5th/6th) selection(s) on one or TWO CB's to add competition and depth to the room... there are a lot of nice CB's in this draft so I'll be disappointed if they don't grab a high-end/ high-round talent to add to the team. Later round flyers are great but... I want an early round selection used here on one guy. Kicker competition - really wanna see them use a 6th on another kicker to compete with Badgley. I don't think I'm the only guy here on board with that... I know a team is not supposed to draft a kicker, but, we've successfully done it before and... let's see what Holmes does...

Thinking out loud: Lions' position needs still on the board and it looks like the draft will fill them (mostly backup spots): Not ranked, just listed: Backup QB - high-end options exist at the #6, and #18 through 3rd round spots, depending on evaluations and how the draft falls. Potential starters down the road include any of the top 4 QB's who fall to #6 (personally don't wanna trade up for a QB...); and I also believe Hooker could become a starter, uncertain about McKee, although I have absolutely no idea where he falls to in this draft... 2nd? 3rd? Does someone reach in the late 1st? I've seen him mocked a couple times at the back end of the round... We'll see if Holmes does anything in the draft with this spot... or not. Backup RB - Swift is not a guarantee to be healthy the entire season and, more importantly, in the playoffs. I am perfectly fine with drafting another RB to back up Swift... I'll leave it to Holmes to decide who and when. I like Bijan in the 1st and Charbonnet in the 2nd/ 3rd-ish round area... Also several others in the 2nd/3rd round area but those two are my top favorites. Would Holmes be so wild and crazy guy from Czechoslovakia (err, sorry, went into a tangent there) as to draft Bijan at #6? I hope not... let's see what Holmes comes up with... X-Receiver - This spot could actually be a starter at this point... until/ if/ when they get Chark back into the fold. I haven't really researched the draft at all in this area except that I spotted a boatload of potential draftees that could fit into this spot across rounds 1 through 5... This could go in any direction including drafting a backup for depth, after signing Chark, to using a 1st round pick on a guy... Another "have no idea" so let's just see what Holmes comes up with in the draft... Backup TE - Developmental guy here if Holmes/ Campbell sees a guy that they like... could be anything. But please... no 1st round pick on this position. If a 1st round selection is used my auto-response will be "Are you freaking KIDDING me?!?!" No exceptions. Depth O-Line - could be anything here too... including a potential starter in the 1st if that's the way they wanna go (I desperately hope not). I'd rather they use a 2nd-5th rounder on a depth guy who can back up for now and EVENTUALLY become a starter.

Security reasons. Putin doesn't want to be assassinated on the tarmac and secondarily, also doesn't want Xi to end up as a secondary target for assassination. Wouldn't be a good look for them. Worse, in fact.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/314210684108

65+ years so your reference is off a bit...

Scary!!! (if you value your bank account that is... the future value...)

What I remember from Caldwell on the detractive side was that everyone believed he was a great locker room coach but not a championship level guy... from an X's and O's/ game management/ outcoach the other team perspective. Whether that was right or wrong... that stuck with me throughout his entire tenure that... he was great for the team, would get us to above .500, but in critical (IE: playoff) games, he would get outcoached and we would lose those games. I always felt that way with him.

That's the other thing... Even though we were having decent-to-good years, in all of those examples... we were NEVER the "Class" of the league, or conference, or sometimes even the division. Right now... it seems that Holmes/ Campbell are not only putting together an extremely high-end competitive team but... There's no one standing in our way.

Yes. And Fairley and several others had already imploded or left by that time...

I sort of, kind of, remember that too but wouldn't be able to put my finger on why that feeling of luck or playing over our heads lingers a bit... Maybe because of Fontes or Kramer getting us those wins. Those guys were luck... and Peete not a whole lot better but... a little.

I'm thinking that any real hopes in 1992 were all sitting 100% on Barry Sanders shoulders... and not too much else. Probably on the defense somewhat too but they got exposed by the Redskins... Maybe there was more hope there than I am remembering and if so it's probably recency bias... I just... I don't think my memory goes back that far anymore...