MichiganCardinal

I'm not opposed to bowl games generally, but I am opposed to having them being made out to being the pinnacle of a season, at least for Power Five schools. If you're Central/Eastern/Western Michigan, Marshall, Fresno State, Coastal Carolina, etc., your chances of putting together a 22-1 run like Cincinnati has, with the luck falling in their favor to give the committee no choice, are no more than a pipe dream. Bowl games can be a good incentive for those teams to get to travel, make the school and conference some money, and gain an experience. Even if the playoff model eventually becomes something like I want, with one Group of 5 champion built in, a lot of teams won't ever come close to reaching that (and would be curb stomped if they ever did). They deserve the bowl games to hang their hat on and to show recruits. If you're a true contender though, or aspire yourself to be one, it's time to stop pretending like the (Insert Brand Here) Bowl means anything if it's not a playoff game. Its importance is no more than a preseason game.

If you or your business has the money to spend and are going to get a half or full season anyway, I understand it. Games played before June have the potential to be 50* or below, games played during and after June have the potential to be rainy and miserable when the sun goes down. Games with either won't do well on the resale market (though any of the included concerts will). You might as well have an enjoyable indoor experience at the ready. They used to have an All-You-Can-Eat Suite sold to the general public. I remember going with the family to Opening Day in 2010(?) in one of those. Probably closed it the next day after losing money to me and my dad.

With 16 Jets plus Saleh on the COVID list, seems like the Jags may be primed to win their 3rd game of the season this weekend. The NFL set a precedent with the Lions last year that they don’t reschedule games they don’t care about.

If fully vaccinated with no symptoms it only requires a single negative test and he can be back... His describing it as a minor cold tells me he may have some symptoms though...

I feel like this year’s QB class has shown how much a prospect (at least in their rookie year) can be a product of their surroundings. Lawrence, Wilson, and Fields have largely looked awful with their respective awful orgs, while Lance has looked OK and Mac Jones has looked pretty good on better orgs. Largely, I feel like these could be interchangeable. If the Patriots had taken Fields, I would bet he looks much better than he does right now.

A piece I remembered today, Holmes was in the front office for the Aaron Donald selection at #13 (after Jedeveon Clowney, Khalil Mack, and Anthony Barr were added to other front sevens). I think I trust him to identify a defensive difference maker at #5 instead of #1 if it allows us to move in a positive direction as this season ends.

The team to jump ahead of in such a scenario would likely be the Texans. I also think last year was unique, with the five QBs taken in the first half of the first round. I don't think those trades happen too often because usually you don't need the #3 pick in the draft to get one of the top 3 QBs in the draft. If Atlanta falls in love with Corral, Willis, or Pickett, they can likely stay around where they land at #8-12, or at the very least, they shouldn't need to jump all the way up to a top three spot.

Lot of football left to play and lots draft analysis left to do. Jaguars play the Jets this week. A win wouldn’t surprise me at all. I also think the Texans will ultimately end up reaching for a QB (Pickett or Corral) in the 1st round. I think one of Thib and Hutch will be available at 4 or 5 when everything shakes out.

Which is pretty incredible considering our tackles are a rookie and Decker in the worst year of his career, our guards are a 2nd-year 3rd-round pick and a tackle-transplant, and our Pro Bowl center is out for the season. Take the kneecaps of anyone who wants to interview Hank Fraley or Aaron Glenn.

It's hard not to already be getting excited about what 2023 and beyond may bring. They're doing this rebuild the right way, and we just witnessed the fruits of player development the likes of which Detroit hasn't seen in at least my lifetime. A lot of Lions 2nd and 3rd-string players just plain outplayed one of the best teams in the NFL.

If that touchdown allows us to keep Aaron Glenn it’s 6 points worth sacrificing.

I’m just looking for the “I’ve attended 189 consecutive home games” badge when we win the next playoff game. 😁

I cheered, can’t speak for the other 59,999

As a player I’ve never heard of puts the Lions across midfield, can the Campbell hate be put on pause at least through the offseason?

Goff walking off under his own power

At least our coach doesn’t get pointlessly aggressive as a top-5 team against a bottom-2 team.

They’re killing us with screens. Let’s see if they adjust.

Who had Kyler Murray with -3 pass yards through nearly 20 minutes on your bingo sheet?

Might beat out Jermar next year.

The crowd is more lively than usual. May just be because I pregamed in anticipation of pain.

I don't know if I would go that far. I could see a tie game at the half though. I'll say Cardinals 28 Lions 17 final.

No one says he has to have enough to retire by 25. I'm saying that he should consider the long-term implications of playing in games that don't matter, and that if I were in his shoes, I would do the exact same thing. If my career could end on any given snap - if my life and health could be altered on any given snap - I want to make the most money possible, as quickly as possible. He's compensated so well because he is good at what he does, and because he is putting his health and future on the line every time he straps on the pads. These NFL-caliber players are not going to college to be Communications or Kinesiology majors, or to play football for a couple years and then become a sales rep or a marketing guru... They are going to college because the NFL says they have to. The University of Michigan made about $126 million from the football team in fiscal year 2020. If my company was making $126M, and relied exclusively on a group of 85 unpaid college interns to generate that revenue, in exchange for paying for their education, I would not consider those interns to be receiving a free college degree. They clearly are working their asses off for it, whatever they're doing... To take that analogy further, if one of the best interns of the group said that he was not going to participate in a final piece of the unpaid internship experience because rich companies were considering hiring him in a few months and will pay him $3-5M or more, I would not fault him for a second.

I should add too that guys like Hutchinson DO make that million dollar gamble on playoff games that matter, and I’m sure Pickett and Walker would too if the playoff were expanded. The allure of the magnitude of an NCAA championship in football outweighs a lot of logical decision making. If you want to see good and exciting football games between good football teams, make the games meaningful. Don’t get mad at the players for making an astute financial decision regarding a meaningless game.