1984Echoes

Aren't Holl & Maatta's skating less gone than Petry's? I'd rather Holl with Edvinsson.... more defensively responsible and better skating. IMO... I could be wrong on that... So... can Maatta play his off-hand? Because he's the younger/ better skater and he's a +14 (I know +/- is flawed... HOWEVER) while Petry is -5 and all the starters get incrementally worse than that... Topped out by Gost's -18. (Holl BTW is +8).

Any American that votes for Trump hates America. They hate everything about America, and they should be ashamed of themselves because America, and the "America Way of Life", will be destroyed by their stupidity. And Trump sees that. To him weak-minded Americans means votes, and a cash stream that he can misuse to his own purposes. And a means to replicate Kim Jong Un's or Xi Jinping's fascist dictatorship in America. At least in his dreams. Moral of the Story: Vote Democrats only November 2024.

👍 I think the only thing I have left on my shopping list is Justin Simmons. Oh wait: Are there any pass-rushers left? If not, then just Simmons to be part of a Safety rotation and to coach our young guys up... on the field and off. Then... I'm good. Just waitin' for the draft.

Let me rephrase my prior post: 30% of this country is registered Republicans. Mostly dedicated to voting their party. 35% of this country is registered Democrats. Mostly dedicated to voting their party. 35% of this country is INDEPENDENTS. So, who are the swing voters in this country? Who could vote either way? Who is persuadable, or needs to be persuaded?

Why does this exact point constantly get IGNORED???

Why not keep both and have them tandem start? The cost is only one more middle reliever in Toledo instead of Detroit.

That may very well be... But I don't think that changes the narrative any... If those three "big money" signings flop, then G2 is correct and Avila was basically a failure at international signings. If those three, and/or any other internationals signed by Avila make an impact for the Tigers, then it's not any different than any other thing he did with the Tigers: He had some good intentions, and/or did some good things... But it's taking Harris to "finish the job".

This part we don't know for certain yet. He's got multiple higher-end guys in the system. And we don't know if they'll figure things out and make it to MLB... or if they'll all just flop out. But I think we have to wait for the jury to come to a verdict on this; and they will be sequestered for at least a few years. A verdict that centers mostly, but not exclusively, around Christian Santana, Roberto Campos, Josue Briceno and maybe a couple others... Quite a long time to render a verdict, but... it is what it is.

That would be called the "long view." As long as they can get themselves another winning streak going we can still have faith in this team...

I don't think Holmes thinks like that. Actually, let me rephrase that. If the 85 is a QB, he's definitely going to pick the other guy. But I'd flesh that out thusly: I think this is how he thinks: "Hmmm, looks like an 85 (on the LIONS scale) is going to fall to our spot, but there's NO WAY we're going to draft another QB. Hmmm, I could select this 84 also dropping to us, OR I could trade up the 3 spots that Tampa is offering us for our 5th rounder (too cheap, GOTTA do it...!) for that 86 OG/C that we're in LOVE with" ("woohoo!"). OR... they really want that 84 so yes, select him. OR... A trade down is offered to the 2nd because someone really wants that falling QB and we can pick up an extra 3rd round pick and if I count the # of spots we drop down we can STILL get our guy (because he reads what the other teams seem to be doing pretty damn well it seems to me...). Meaning... I'm not certain we can put "simplistic" and Holmes in the same sentence...

I should be in the New York area and outside the Philly area though...

Yep. Thanks.

It's also supposed to be on ESPN+. I have the game on now... except... it's nothing but ESPN+ commercials. No game.

I think JPJ has been flying up mocks to the mid-1st. That doesn't mean anything... but if it does, and he's a mid not late 1st, either the Lions have to work a trade-up or set their sights on a lesser talent. Frazier is the next OC who can play OG and... he's not much different than JPJ (per scouting reports): very high FB-IQ, nasty/mean streak, very athletic. JPJ is the better athlete, but Frazier's pretty close. Per scouting reports that is. I'm thinking they wait for Frazier to fall to 29 (he's starting to get mocked to the Lions quite a bit); OR they trade up for someone they believe that impacts the game/ wins at a higher level. But there's lots of options with that so... I wouldn't hazard a guess if they moved up... could even be a WR like Brian Thomas. But I think they can let the draft fall to them and get a Chop Robinson or Cooper DeJean (he's fallen just slightly as teams look at him as more of a FS than a CB... but I think the Lions would be tickled to nab him as a hybrid FS/CB and play him wherever they needed him...), or Frazier. The thing with Barton is he hasn't played Center in over 3 years so I'm not certain how viable that is. I think he's also a Guard, not a tackle, in the NFL. Maybe a right tackle if Sewell moves to take over from Decker. He's probably a higher draft board rank for the Lions... as long as he still has some position flexibility (I think the Lions will value that highly). He looks like a BEAST. So that'll be high on their radar. Little? Who dat?

So... In the 1st round they've selected: Sewell - A dominant All-Pro level OT. Gibbs - a game-breaking RB with elite speed (traded down to draft him). Jameson Williams - a game-breaking, elite-speed WR (traded up to draft him) Hutchinson - a dominant, relentless, pass-rushing and run stopping DE demon. Jury has not yet decided on Campbell. But you think the Lions are set on Darius Robinson in the 1st round, who, in your own words: "anything (nothing) more than an average at best lineman with little pass rush ability, no explosiveness and his best trait is his versatility to move along the line". Again, that makes ZERO sense. I will state it thusly: I think you are FLAT out WRONG. Not even in the ballpark wrong.

I believe there are certain Republican politicians who can, or cannot, cross that bridge (actually endorse Joe Biden). I don't believe Haley can... because she is hunting for some possible future in the Party post-Trump; however that comes about and in whatever form that looks like. There are other Republicans who have actively been kicked out of the party politics due to their non-alignment with Trump, and that is not just Adam Kinzinger or Liz Cheney. I'm not certain where Pence falls within that spectrum. But for those who are no longer welcome in the Party, unless they straight up start boot-licking Trump (the only acceptable position in the current Trumpublican Party), I believe that aside from their own possible political ambitions, or lack thereof, that the GOP is lost to them. And that their only discourse is to openly support a Biden 2024 Presidency in order to defeat the MAGA hold on the GOP. They can NOT chart another course for the GOP... unless they chart another course for the GOP. Explicitly, and out loud. I know there is a major fear factor in this... losing one's political career... but some have already lost theirs. It's gone. Replaced with the GQP. They have nothing left to lose, IMO. Just my 2 cents.

In its simplest terms: I think Avila did a great job at getting the ball rolling towards modernizing the Tigers organization, including hiring such key people as Ryan Garko, AJ Hinch, etc., starting up a data analytics program, etc. The Org was starting to draft better players with skills that translated to a higher level than his early GM years, as a result. Including several later round pitchers and a couple later round position players. But he didn't come from an analytics background and was therefore mostly behind the 8-ball, with a general lack of understanding on how to apply the analytical data within the organization. This, and many other flaws, says that the bottom line with Avila was that he just wasn't good enough to get the Org all the way to where it needed to be. On Harris: he was able to see an Org that had laid the groundwork, and just needed the right person to get the Org to the finish line. The Tigers chose him, and he chose the Tigers. I think Harris is the right guy to get us over the finish line, and Avila was not that guy.

That's a great angle to take. But I think my point is valid. The more "normal", "moderate", "centrist", and even "evangelical" Republicans, like Mike Pence, that come out and straight up state that they are voting for Joe Biden because of Donald Trump: The more cover is provided for other Republicans to do the same. The more damage MAGA takes. The less likely Trump gets re-elected. The more likely moderates can wrest some kind of control over their Party. Because they've lost it completely at this point. The RNC will now be completely MAGAfied. The Republican Party is now being whittled down to MAGA-only, by Trump. And his cohorts. In fact, "normal" Republicans may not even want to try and regain their party and will now be lost... looking for a home. Wherever that may be. But it all starts out with "normal", and again, even evangelical Republicans similar to Mike Pence, speaking out unequivocally that they no longer stand behind Trump's and MAGA's fascism and therefore are voting Democrat. They have no chance of anything until they are able to discredit Trump. And this is the biggest possible way to do that. It's necessary and they all know that. But do they have the courage? So far... no.

That's pretty freaking comical!

So why would he be on their 1st round radar? You're making zero sense. Is he a "dog mentality" or laden with "grit"? Because I would need to see that somewhere for this to make any kind of sense. Is he explosive or dominant at his position? Like Sewell? Jahmyr Gibbs? Hutchinson? Jameson Williams? Because if he's not. And he's only "flexible", as you've stated.. then you just described a mid-2nd round guy, which is where they drafted Paschal and where Darius Robinson would most likely be graded by the Lions. You describe 2nd-rounder Josh Paschal and then state that as the reason to select Darius Robinson in the 1st round? What is your reasoning, please?

Call up Cossa and Edvinsson.

Agreed. The only way for Pence to make more of an impact is to come out much, much, much stronger than that. "No surprise I will not endorse Trump." meh. Pence: "I will be voting for Joe Biden in November because TFG is an existential threat against our Democracy. I encourage my fellow Republicans to do the same. I also encourage a split ticket vote to have a check against President Biden. But I implore you... you MUST vote for our Democracy and that means Joe Biden, NOT Donald Trump." result... MAGA explodes. Trump explodes. Trump has an aneurysm as his head explodes. Much better result. And the media might even cover that.

The best guys for that (IMO) are Fuaga & Fautanu at OG/OT, and Powers-Johnson & Frazier at OG/C.

Right. I expect him to be in a rotation at some point but they don't "need" to force him in there. Meaning if Levi is the #3 tackle because he's more advanced/ football ready than Martin... they can afford to wait on him until he's ready to join in the rotation. I don't know when that will be. I'm just saying they don't need to rush him or force him in there if he's not ready yet. Plus... I think Reader is going to "SCHOOL!!!" him over the next year...

On that note: If I'm looking at 1st round talent... the next thing I am considering is "but are these Holmes/Campbell players"?) If I look at 1st round players... I'm looking at it from the perspective of, are these guys even on the Lions draft board, and finding multiple reasons to exclude guys, using a Holmes/ Dan Campbell reason. IE: 1) "We are just not going to use a 1st round pick on a QB". So, ixne QB's. 2) "We see no need to move up to a top 10 pick, the cost is too great." So, not only QB's, but also top 10 WR's and OT's. 3) "If a CB won't tackle in run support, we don't like them." So, Wiggins and Kool-Aid are OFF the Lions draft board, entirely, because they are both ****ty tacklers. It doesn't matter if either or both are available at our pick, and they are the "consensus" BPA players... they are NOT on the Lions draft board because they are not LIONS type of players. So again, toss "BPA" out the door because it's meaningless, in a Lions context. 4) "We want players who love the game, play the game for their teammates, and have 'True Grit'. And who dominate their man/ position. And have the leadership qualities that "drive" their teams to wins." That strips down "1st round talents" to only a few players that (because I'm just guessing here...) could fit on the Lions draft board... and I'm not working with all the info that they have available... I'm just taking a guess based on the scouting reports. Also, I don't agree that "BPA" basically rules all. If a QB or TE or RB is the "so-called" BPA pick, they aren't selecting those guys when making the Super Bowl is paramount. What that means (to me), is that if they like a player more than those 3 positions, but would need to trade up to get him, or they felt confidant they could trade down and STILL get their guy... that they would rather maneuver and get the guy that helps them win games rather than just stay at their draft spot and select JJ McCarthy just because "well, he was the BPA". They're just NOT going to do that. They will maneuver up or down to get a player they want, rather than simply draft a "BPA" player because there just simply is no other choice. Wrong. There's always a choice: Maneuver and get the guy you want. That being said: Top 10-11 guys I think are on the LIONS Draft Board: 1) Edge - Jared Verse 2) CB - Quinyon Mitchell 3) OG/OT - Taliese Fuaga 4) OG/C - Jackson Powers-Johnson 5) WR - Adonai Mitchell 6) WR - Brian Thomas 7) EDGE - Chop Robinson 8 ) OG/OT - Troy Fautanu 9) CB - Terrion Arnold 10) OG/C - Zach Frazier 11) CB/S - Cooper DeJean I think only a couple of those players will fall to the Lions' spot. I'm going to guess that Holmes might be "tempted" to move up for one of "his" (or DC's) "guys". The next guys that DC/ Holmes would be interested in, IMO, would all seem to be "2nd-round grade" guys.