1984Echoes

This is exactly frickin' IT. Best player, was Cabrera now it's Greene, bats THIRD in the lineup, with OBP guys in front of him. No... it's NOT that complicated.

Here's my crazy lineup, with crazy reasoning: 1. Canha - best on base guy to put in front of Greene. 2. Wenceel - Switch-hitter, second best on-base guy to put in front of Greene, AND he can avoid hitting into some DP's with his speed. 3. Greene - obviously 4/5th - Depending on pitcher: Lefties = Vierling, righties = Carpenter. 5th batter is the opposite guy. 6. Keith - challenge him. 7-8. whoever else plays, except: 9. Torkelson - this is actually a challenge for him as well as an elimination of pressure ("you're at the bottom so we don't care what you produce... just do your best..."). It's a demotion to the bottom which will be a huge ego-killer for him... But the GOOD side of this challenge is that if he starts hitting like he's capable, and before there's a decision to move him back up in the lineup... Then he's getting ON-BASE at a much better clip (as he should be), AND that is in front of Canha-Perez-Greene... so he shouldn't feel totally lost or insulted in the 9th spot, if his bat becomes functional again. It actually extends the team offensively if he can find his bat again, from that spot. THAT's the challenge.

PS: I prefer the traditional location for the best hitter in the lineup: #3 spot.

With no one on base.

Why the F won't Hinch put some on base guys in front of Greene so when he hits these HR's there could actually, possibly, you know, be some freaking base runners on base...? I know others are annoyed by this... I'm starting to REALLY get annoyed by this. We got 1 run last night... and I'm certain batting Greene first played a REAL role in that.

Just looking for some certainty... But to your point (and if Holmes/ the Lions want to go this direction I will certainly live with it...): the team has to have some belief in DPJ and/or Green to roll this way... I would say from a schematic POV: IIRC, at the end of the season and into the playoffs, teams were doing everything they possibly could to double-cover ARSB and LaPorta... putting pressure on the other Lions receivers to step up. So that's where Khalif, Reynolds, Gibbs and Jameson would have to make plays and to varying degrees, they did. Successfully, obviously. So I am looking to replace the reliability of Josh Reynolds. I expect some growth from Jameson, Gibbs is a dangerous guy out of the backfield, Khalif is a pick-your-spot guy, so that leaves... the actual X Receiver. Which is DPJ and Antoine Green. This is why I was high on the trade for DPJ. For a 6th rounder next year: A big, tough, run-blocking, fast wide receiver. But we haven't seen anything yet from him, or from Green for that matter. If the team wants to go into the season trying to see what they can get from either of these guys, and make a trade at the deadline if they feel it's absolutely necessary, then I can also live with that. Like I said... I'm just looking for that certainty/ reliability. Boyd has it in spades... hence my desire to add him. The other guys on the roster... MIGHT also have it... but there's some risk/ uncertainty/ lots of hope in there. Dammit... I hope DPJ turns into our version of Tyler Boyd starting THIS year... (He's been between 44% and 71% catch rates in small samples sizes...) IF he could settle in at a 65-68% catch rate guy and bully his way to a plethora of 1st downs and half a dozen TD's or so and 600-900+ yards along the way... I'm good. And everything I said above that last statement becomes moot point. So... We'll see...

Well... We know he can bend the corner and get to the QB... But what else do we know about him...?

So switch to finding an OLB who can rush the passer like crazy. As well as do other OLB things. My 2 cents...

That's why I was fine looking at a later round guy like Chris Braswell or Adisa Isaac. Also... even if they like a bigger DE to set the edge and control the running game... there are alternatives like a do-it-all OLB. Someone who can make all the run fits, cover TE's or RB's coming out of the backfield, and rush the passer like crazy. Those guys may be unicorns or like a unicorn... but they do exist. Chop Robinson was actually a decent (but raw) attempt at such... but again, I liked the later round guys who were more OLB than (DE like Chop... and I also didn't want to spend the 1st rounder on him...). Which is again Braswell or Isaac or a few others. Also, these guys can come up to the line as a DE on obvious passing downs, like 3rd & long and such, whilst a Marcus Davenport swings inside to rush inside. I don't think a 1st rounder is required here... But a well placed 2nd or 3rd rounder could pay big dividends, IMO, for this defense.

The U.S. is attempting a 4-way peace agreement with us, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Gaza (or Palestine as a recognized two-state solution with Israel). They're calling it the "None go forward without the Others" deal. There are moving parts, not all happening at the same time... but, anyways, details: https://www.aol.com/none-forward-without-others-us-012341661.html (There's more than what I just clipped and posted below): ‘None go forward without the others.’ US mega-deal would tie together the futures of Saudi Arabia, Israel and Gaza ANALYSIS BY BECKY ANDERSON, MOSTAFA SALEM AND JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN May 3, 2024 at 6:47 AM Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters/Pool Saudi Arabia and the United States are finalizing the details of a landmark deal to strengthen bilateral trade and defense – but an agreement will not be reached if the kingdom and Israel do not establish diplomatic relations, US officials said... ...would solidify the seven-decade security alliance between Saudi Arabia and the US, and ... Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long sought relations with Saudi Arabia, home of Islam’s holiest sites, as the move could domino across the wider Muslim world. The US is currently negotiating one mega-deal involving three components, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Thursday. The first component includes a package of agreements between the US and Saudi Arabia, another component has the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, and a third component for a pathway to a Palestinian state. “All of them are linked together. None go forward without the others,” Miller said. For normalization to be realized between Saudi Arabia and Israel, there has to be a pathway for a Palestinian state and “calm in Gaza,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a panel at an economic conference in Riyadh this week. “The work that Saudi Arabia and the United States have been doing together in terms of our own agreements, I think is potentially very close to completion, but then in order to move forward with normalization two things will be required: calm in Gaza and a credible pathway to a Palestinian state,” he said.

Lakeland's starting lineup sans Max Clark. (Max Clark not Maxx Clark... sorry, visions of Maxx Crosby were dancing in my head...)

You were right earlier in the thread Tater when you said it seemed the Lions had some interest in drafting him in the 1st... But I can't figure out why. And it's not only Josh Paschal... They already signed another Josh Paschal as a FA in Marcus Davenport. So now we need 3 of the same guy in Darius Robinson? Josh Paschal 3.0? And it's really Paschal 4.0 because Cominsky is ALSO the same type. (A run-stopper at DE and NOT a pass-rushing DE but can swing into DT if needed to try and generate an inside rush on passing downs...). WTF? The only thing I can think of is they felt there was a huge amount of untapped potential in him and their coaches could bring that out. And he would be better than the other 3 guys... But again... WTF?

The Handmaid's Tale. It's starting, in earnest.

If he's looking for a team where he can get the most catches possible... Yeah, that ain't Detroit. I preferred Tater's version, but if that ain't happenin' then it ain't happenin':

Absolutely. He needs to bat 3rd. So the chances are better there's men on base when he comes to the plate. And at least, as of today, that means putting Canha & Wenceel in the top two spots... Followed by Riley...

Isn't this: The PROBLEM?

If the Org believes in Yesavage, or if Burns or Hagen Smith falls to 11... I'll be OK with a pitcher since overall it doesn't look too good at our #11 spot. And as drafts go... either is probably at least a possibility. If Burns doesn't fall and the team doesn't like Yesavage's mechanics... Then my vote is also for Rainer to fall. But if that ALSO doesn't happen... or even if it does: I could see Harris eyeing a hitter with the best hit tool and most discerning eye out of the next tier of 3B'men: Seaver King, Cam Smith, Billy Amick, or SS Kaelen Culpepper. I'm going to keep my eye on these guys as well so I am not totally surprised when Harris pulls a rabbit out of his hat...

My target is still Tyler Boyd. I know he played mostly slot but he's also played roughly 20% on the outside so it's not like he's incapable or inflexible. He catches at a 68% rate. I think that level of reliability would absolutely be a positive for the Lions and I have no doubt whatsoever that Ben Johnson would be able to effectively utilize BOTH ARSB and Boyd in all sorts of formations and pre-snap movements, even when they are on the field at the same time. Jameson has not reached that level of reliability, IMO, and therefore, I would prefer to take whatever he contributes to the team as gravy rather than as a must-have-reliability. As for DPJ and Antoine Green... I'm fine with them "earning" playtime/ snaps/ targets... in if they do so, awesome. But I want one other guy that I have serious belief in their reliability as a pass-target for Goff in 2024. IMO... That's Tyler Boyd.

Golladay's still floating around unsigned...? I could do a 1-year prove it with Kenny G.

How about 4-letter words? 😉

I'm guessing that's a definitive yes. And he'll get some RB snaps this year... But since they have Montgomery, there's no need to rush. If Montgomery gets nicked up... Then I could see Vaki getting 100% of those injury snaps... Otherwise, those RB snaps will mostly be parsimonious at least compared to his special teams snaps. Maybe by the end of the year those will tick up slightly...?

Trump can no longer handle 4 syllable words? HAHAHAHAHA!!! https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-apparently-having-trouble-pronouncing-230259903.html Trump Is Apparently Having Trouble Pronouncing 4-Syllable Words David Moye Wed, May 1, 2024 at 7:02 PM EDT

PS: Also... that's obviously one of the things where Holmes was so excited to draft him as a RB.... I think he will be a MAJOR special teams guy this year... And will only see a few scraps here and there as an actual RB. Maybe a few more snaps at WR. I think in year two or three... just guessing... he'll be all over the place: Special teams, RB, WR, Safety...

He was a RB in high school... So... I guess it's like riding a bike? 😁😉

And this is even better...