Jason_R

They should have come out right away and said they drafted him as an athlete, and they plan to use him like Sean Payton used Taysom Hill. All of the 1st round QB hype might destroy this kid before he ever sees the field.

We need a Game 7.

True story, I used to see this guy in a coffee shop. In the suit.

🙄

With Stevie Y and Brad Holmes in town we are learning fast what a good GM can accomplish.

As you explained, he's played like 4 games. In two years. This is why people call him a bust. If he makes the team, it is likely to be as a #3 or #4 corner. In a weak secondary. Next year's 1st round draft pick is more likely to be a CB than a QB.

So you’re saying he pulled out just in time?

Maybe but I think these teams get a lot of medical detail that would help them gauge the player's progress against normal recovery timelines. And none of the teams who drafted ahead of Detroit could wait. Atlanta is in year two of a new coaching staff, rolling with Marcus Mariota. They aren't going to make him do what Jared Goff did last year, which is play half a season with just a TE. NYJ have a young QB who might be broken for good if he starts this season slow. The Saints are trying to ride on the fumes of a HOF coach and QB, and they knew then what we now know, that Michael Thomas is messed up bad. ACL recovery is typically 9-12 months and he got injured in January. Hopefully Williams is ready to play before Halloween.

Dan Snyder. Even a worse owner than William Clay Ford.

If teams thought he would have been ready for week 1, he wouldn’t have been the fourth guy off the board. But Holmes has low expectations on him for this season and a long runway. So if he can’t play until mid season, that’s fine.

Exactly. This is all part of his PR campaign, including the Raiders tryout.

I seem to recall that he refused to take a backup job. I also think he was using his situation — lack of skill for QB1 and unwillingness to accept QB2 — as fuel for his indignation machine. Listen, the Browns signed Watson because he can win. They would have signed Kaep if he had the skill.

Huh? His stats from his last two seasons were the same then as they are now. He’s just like so many other running QBs… catches the league off guard in his first season then they take away the run and that’s it. He’s one dimensional and his one dimension is not good enough. Wasn’t good enough then, not good enough now.

Are we still talking about a guy with a career completion percentage below 60%? And who went 3-16 as a starter during his last two seasons? A GM would be committing malpractice to sign him to anything but a backup contract.

But the other day I heard a commercial for some kind of slot machine licensed by the NFL. That’s starting to seem pretty seedy.

Hey if they banned beer ads we never would have gotten this. 😂

In little more than a season Brad Holmes has already distinguished himself as the best GM the Lions have had in the Super Bowl era. I guess he still has time to revert to the SOL mean. 😂 But I like his chances of ushering the team into a new era of sustained competitiveness.

…In 2024 after Aa-Rod retires.

Goff is not the fourth worst QB in the NFL. He looked ugly at the start of the season under a bad offense with no weapons. At the end of the season he was 17th in passer rating and 25th in QBR. Not great, but not fourth worst. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2021/passing.htm Using the eyeball test, it looks like there were six tiers of QBs by QBR in 2021. Goff fits in tier 5, with people like Jones, Heinecke, Roethlisberger, Mills, Mayfield, Dalton, Lawrence, and Darnold. Tier 6 includes Wilson and Fields. I predict Goff's 2022 season will rank somewhere in the fourth tier, above the Teddy Bridgewater line. If so, I also think he will play for the Lions in 2023, as Holmes may decide to get his shutdown CB in the first round, rather than a QB. If this is the case, it wouldn't even surprise me if they sign Goff to an extension! In 2023 their defense should begin to solidify and barring injury they should compete for a playoff spot. 2024 is the earliest year the Lions could seriously compete and that is the last year of Goff's contract. Holmes has been in two front offices that traded to get this guy. They like him better than we do.

I’m not sure Goff even needs to take a step forward. He started six games after Campbell took over playcalling. The team averaged 22.7 points during that stretch. Over a whole season that would have been good enough for 18th, just ahead of the Raiders, just behind the Ravens. In the eight games he started with Lynn calling plays they averaged 16.75 points. That would have been good for 29th, just ahead of HOU, NYG, JAX. Presumably the return of Ragnow, the additions of Chark and eventually Jaymo, and a full offseason with a new OC will help the offense improve even if Goff does not. It is not out of the question that, even with no improvement from Goff, the Lions could move from the 25th ranked scoring offense to the 15th. Still not great but respectable, even if Goff doesn’t improve appreciably from how he finished last season.

Missing on a QB switch is an easy way to create controversy in a front office. Missing on a massive trade is another way. Doing them both at the same time won't go unnoticed. But I don't see how they trade Jimmy G at this point. They turned down the offer of a 2nd round pick already. And what team is going to give up a 1st for a QB who will have to come in and learn a new system without being able to throw until July? The 49ers are walking a tightrope. They need Jimmy G but they can't admit it because that would be admitting failure on Lance. Also the team responds to him and performed well with him. What do your players think if you dump a QB who has won games for a kid who hasn't proven himself in practice, just so the GM and Coach can validate their bad decision?

Our old MTS poster Michael Schottey has a really good piece with interviews from executives about the draft. https://www.the33rdteam.com/former-nfl-decision-makers-on-the-final-hours-before-the-nfl-draft/ Key items: Tom Lewand reports that the Lions kicked JaMarcus Russell out of their building on his pre-draft visit for being disinterested and disrespectful. In retrospect, not a surprise. Then Millen picked up the phone and dialed Al Davis to tell him not to pick Russell #1 because he would ruin the franchise. Lewand was stunned and afraid the Raiders would then pick Calvin. Oh Matt Millen….

I agree. And I suspect the apparent miss on Lance was related to Malik Willis’s slide this year.

No it is not a good sign if Lance isn’t ready to go. But if Lynch and Shanahan kick Jimmy G to the curb knowing Lance is not ready, they would be putting themselves on the hot seat.

I would still be surprised if SF deals Jimmy G. They were a dropped interception away from going to the Super Bowl with him, and there is too much smoke about Lance not being ready. I could see them bringing in Lance like Taysom Hill to give the offense a bit more juice and see if he can win trust and the job during the season. I do agree that the Jets will likely be better than advertised.