MichiganCardinal

Alabama firing DeBour and hiring Kiffin would be the cherry on top of this hiring cycle.

I liked the finale more than I thought I would. [LOTS OF SPOILERS] In hindsight the lack of main character death, and the ambiguity of Eleven's fate makes sense. This is modern day E.T., not Breaking Bad. I will choose to believe that Eleven is dead, because I think a scenario where she survives in some Nordic paradise is no different than Dexter Morgan surviving in some remote lumber yard. What makes less sense is the lack of grief shown by Hopper. They built it up that he could never lose two daughters, and then he did, and then.... he's fine? At Enzo's? Getting remarried? Moving to New York? I mean, good for him I guess, but the grief of the loss of Sara nearly killed him. Does not compute. I still think they should have killed off Nancy and Jonathan in the lab in S5E7. That would have been a tragic but fitting end to their arc. And you have to set aside any notion of realism to enjoy this show, because the utter incompetence of the military combined with absolutely no one facing consequences of any kind for the mass murder of American soldiers on American soil and Dr. Kay just.... leaving? ... is a bit much. Speaking of uselessness, it also feels like Kali was brought back just to have someone to kill. I mean they gave her some important scenes, like hiding the kids from Henry, but I could have lived without her ever having been introduced to the series. And I was bummed we didn't get an epilogue from either Murray (other than his appearance at the graduation) or Dr. Owens. Setting aside my complaints, I still liked it. The Duffers did not lean into the whole "everyone is redeemable" trope with Henry that was there for the taking. He was evil, he chose to be evil, he needed to be killed. They could have done a lot worse. For having so few scenes, I thought Raphael Luce was phenomenal in his role as Young Henry. So much emotion from so few lines. Lots of good parallels to the ending too. Stand by Me comes to mind. "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?" At its heart Stranger Things was meant to be a coming of age story, and we got that. I'm not sure it's a series I will rewatch anytime in the next 5-10 years like Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul were. But it was a fun run that just took probably 2-3 years too long. [/SPOILERS]

Winning the Super Bowl isn't a perfect formula. You have to have the talent, but you also have to have the health and be hot at the right time, along with the luck to win 3-4 single elimination games in a row, in a league where like 80% of games are decided by one score. Campbell and Holmes have done enough to satisfy the talent piece. At least they did in 2023 and 2024. Now it's about maintaining that talent, and having everything fall together in a perfect January storm. Jacksonville winning it all would be no more an indictment on the Holmes and Campbell regime than had Washington won it all in 2024, or the 2017 Jaguars, or the 2014 Colts, or the Mark Sanchez led Jets, or even the 2007 Giants. The NFL format is such that a fairly mediocre team can do little things right, capitalize on a few turnovers, and find themselves a game away from a Super Bowl... If anything, it would just be an indictment on this version of the Detroit Lions that they couldn't put themselves in the position to be that team that's just a few lucky bounces away.

Setting aside Moore being a closeted basket case for a moment, it was grossly negligent of him to not get a competent quarterback in the transfer portal. They didn't even have to be good, they just needed to be better than 9/12 for 73 yards bowl performance Davis Warren. By not doing so, starting Underwood was the only decision. Moore went 8-5 fresh off a national championship. Good grace was fading fast, he got saved by the NIL donors in landing Underwood, and his choices were trotting out Davis Warren again and hoping a worse defense could win more games, or starting a true freshman. Any coach would have started Underwood, but a good coach wouldn't have been forced to in the first place.

I'm willing to admit that despite watching plenty of high school, college, and NFL football, I am not nearly knowledgeable enough to see a 17-year-old quarterback play and say "yeah, he's worth $10MM next year." Clearly there are folks out there on Michigan (and LSU's, and Rivals/On3/ESPN) staff who fancy themselves that good. That said, I really don't know how you look at Underwood against a high school schedule including teams like Fordson, Ann Arbor Pioneer, and Wayne Memorial and say "yep he's the one. Five stars. Future NFL talent. Let's play him immediately against Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Texas." Hell, in his last high school game against Catholic Central (a very good team) he went 11/23 for 219 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs. It's not just Underwood either. I'm not convinced there is any 18-year-old in the world who should play Big Ten or SEC football as a true freshman in the year 2025, especially not at quarterback. The game is too fast, too physical, the defenses are too good, and you're just asking to get him hurt or to delay his development.

Same here. I won't be able to watch until tomorrow. Hopefully I don't stumble into a spoiler by accident.

In order: 1. Panthers 2. Chargers 3. Bills 4. Jaguars 5. Broncos 6. Texans 7. Patriots 8. Steelers 9. Ravens 10. Seahawks 11. Buccaneers 12. 49ers 13. Rams 14. Eagles 15. Bears 16. Packers

This would be much more satisfying than what I would expect. It just feels like two hours is not long enough to tie up every loose end. I'll just make death predictions: [SPOILER] 1. Henry/Vecna: I think the party will win somehow. 2. Will: I've had a sneaking suspicion that Will is Vecna's horcrux of sorts. There are a lot of Harry Potter analogies to be drawn here (e.g., Vecna / Voldemort accidentally giving Will / Harry powers after underestimating him... Young Will even kind of looks like young Harry). I think there might be a "prophecy" realization at some point (e.g., "neither can live while the other survives.") The Duffers also love them some Stephen King, and if the Losers Club can't survive their final battle in IT, I don't think the party will survive intact either. If it's not Will, I think it might be Mike. Dustin would be my third guess, followed by Lucas. 3. Kali: I agree there is a fight between Kali and Eleven brewing. The setup for them to both die feels a bit too on the nose for that to be what happens. She's also the most useless character of all time and I haven't forgiven them for S2E7. 4. Jonathan: They should have probably killed him and Nancy off in S5E7. That would have been a fitting end to the character's arc, rather than the molten rising bubbling substance just... solidifying. And then Dustin/Steve just... finding them. (I liked S5E7 more than most but I thought that was lazy writing)... Since they didn't die then, I think they'll kill him off in the final battle as he protects either his brother, or Nancy, or (less likely) Steve. 5. Murray: Feels like a supporting character death that will come as a sudden surprise. Maybe the first to go tonight. [/SPOILER]

I don't think anyone on the team is the answer at center. Except maybe Ratledge, but that just creates a problem at guard.

A coach who goes 15-2 does not get fired for going 9-8/8-9 the next season. In any NFL organization.

I completely forgot that Kelly was once the 49ers head coach.

Yeah if AQM is going to demand $8MM APY on the open market there’s no chance. He was a product of his surroundings, lining up across from Hutch who attracted all the attention. He did well in that role, but I think you could find someone to do that off the street. You don’t need to pay $8MM for it. I’m meh on Paschal, but I like Levi. He played a huge role on the 2024 front when he was ironically the only healthy lineman left. I wouldn’t count on him like they inexplicably did Davenport this year, but I would bring him back on a cheap deal if it’s only upside to be had.

Morton averaged 29.9 ppg to Campbell's 27.9 ppg. Numbers to numbers they are pretty similar, but Campbell had the upper hand until the wheels fell off two weeks ago. Morton also had the luxury of LaPorta, Wright, and a healthy OL. Morton: 13 52 38 34 37 17 24 24 Campbell: 44 9 34 24 44 34 24 10 I'd prefer Campbell make the change when he sees it's not working. He needs to make the right hire now though. No double mulligans.

I agree that priority #1 has to be the offensive line. A common trope around the NFL is the ole "with how good [unit] is, if the [other unit] can just play league average, this team will be in Super Bowl contention." For the Lions, that's the defense. They have a top-five offense, and just need a top-sixteen defense. But, that works in reverse too. If the offense takes a step back and becomes a bottom-16 offense, well all of a sudden they're a five or six win team and everyone is getting fired. The only reason they didn't take that step back this year was Goff. That dude has beaten every stereotype thrown at him and is still catching so much heat. It's absurd. He was incredible this year and deserves better. So that being said... Offensive Priorities: 1. Call Ragnow. See what he wants to do. If the reports are right and he was staying in game shape, I don't think he's done. Especially not if he's been watching the games. But we need to know. No late season surprise and rug pull, are you in or out? If he's in, and I think he might be, then plan around him missing at least 4-6 games in the name of load management. 2. Call Decker. I don't think he's done either, but I think he's close. Justin Rogers reported he would be surprised if Decker retires (but he also said the same thing about Ragnow, so take it with a grain of salt). I think he needs surgery he's been putting off all season long. 3. Get an Offensive Coordinator and don't screw this one up. Zac Taylor (CIN HC) would be my instant pick if the Bengals fire him. If they keep him though, my shortlist would be Marcus Brady (LAC PGC), Brian Dabboll (former NYG HC), and Mike McDaniel (MIA HC). I wouldn't discount a name like Kevin Stefanski (CLE HC), Kliff Kingsbury (WAS OC), Davis Webb (DEN PGC), or Nate Scheelhaase (LAR PGC) either. If they go outside that list or get creative with a known commodity retread who hasn't done well in the gig (like Morton was), I'll be worried. If they promote Fraley and Campbell retains play calling duties I'll be very worried, but I don't think that's on the table. 4. Re-sign Awosika and Kyle Allen. I would probably let everyone else on offense walk, most notably Kalif Raymond. I think he'll want too much money for his contributions on special teams. 5. Sign a veteran IOL for a one- or two-year team-friendly deal. Ryan Bates (CHI) makes a lot of sense. He'll be 29, probably doesn't have a lot left in him, but would excel as a fill-in center where needed and can play either guard position as well if needed. 6. Draft Decker's replacement, even if he's back. I don't think Manu will be a high-end starter, but he might become a decent backup. Either way, get the replacement ready. Starting offense: Goff, Gibbs, LaPorta, ASB, Jamo, TeSlaa, Decker, Mahogany, Ragnow, Ratledge, Sewell. Backups: Allen, Montgomery, Vaki, RB4 (low-end draft or UDFA), Lovett (returning punts), WR5 (low-end draft or UDFA), Wright, TE3 (low-end draft or UDFA or Zylstra), IOL4 (free agent), Awosika, Manu, OT4 (high-end draft). Defensive Priorities: 1. Re-sign Amik. Earlier this season, it looked like he would price himself out of Detroit, but I think he'll be back now. We need him back too, at the level he was playing at early in the season. 2. Re-sign Levi, AQM, Roy Lopez, Josh Paschal, Grant Stuard, Rock Ya-Sin, Zach Cunningham, and Avonte Maddox. All of these guys should get near veteran minimum one-year deals. They are all worthy of that when compared to the value they could potentially bring (e.g., Levi and Paschal) or just for cheap dependable depth. 3. Sign at least one veteran DB for a one- or two-year team-friendly deal. Eric Stokes (LV) fits the bill, he's a press-man corner who could assist while waiting for Branch to return. A return of Iffy from Miami may make some sense. Kyle Dugger (PIT) or Andre Cisco (NYJ) may make sense if they'd rather a true safety. I wouldn't be that surprised if they sign two veterans here with the uncertainty around both Branch and Joseph. Having a CJ Gardner-Johnson safety net was important in 2023 (or would have been if he didn't tear his pec), and it will be even more important going forward. 4. For the love of everything, find a dependable starting edge rusher across from Hutchinson. Just do it. Finally do it. Starting defense: Hutch, McNeill, Tyleik, EDGE2 (high-end draft pick), Campbell, Barnes, Arnold, Reed, Amik, Joseph(?), DB2 (free agent) Backups: AQM, EDGE4 (low-end draft or UDFA), Levi, Wingo, Lopez, Rodrigo, Stuard, Nowaske, Cunningham, Ya-Sin, Rakestraw, Maddox, Harper, Dorsey, DB6 (free agent). Injured: Branch Draft Priorities: 1. 2026 or 2027 Starting LT 2. 2026 Starting Edge Rusher 3. 2026 or 2027 Starting C or RG 4. Defensive Back Depth 5. Defensive Line Depth 6. Offensive Depth (TE/WR/RB)