Jason_R

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.

How did the 49ers get rated below the Lions? Also a little puzzled by the Bengals.

The Panthers seem like a team destined to crater.

If they double last year, that’s six wins. And two ties. 6-9-2 seems like a Lionesque record. That’s my bet.

https://www.nfl.com/news/2022-nfl-draft-class-rankings-chiefs-jets-ravens-shine-brightest Oh Martin, you and your 30th ranked draft haul. His two top picks were stunned they were picked so high. Meanwhile, our top two picks were both surprised they were not picked higher. I'll say it again. Brad Holmes is already the best Lions GM of the Super Bowl era.

There are also a lot of dumb guys! We have had a steady stream of them. Now it appears that maybe we don’t. Maybe some of Holmes’s picks won’t pan out, but he clearly has an understanding of positional value, a commitment to football character, and an aggressive streak. He might already be the best Lions GM ever!

I came to say what MB said. Lots of mocks had the Lions taking Dean at 32 or 34. Mayhew might have done it! I’m glad Holmes did not, and got a cheap substitute late. Also, I’m not sure he’ll have to bulk up. He’ll probably come in mostly on passing downs.

It's almost like Brad Holmes is good at his job! Could it be that for the first time in franchise history we have a capable GM?

It is easy for an offense to get off to a slow start if they have a weak OL, weak RBs, but insist they need to establish the run. And it’s easy to for a team to fall behind and need heroic comebacks if they have a lousy defense. I’m sure Stat Padford would like to have started padding his stats in the first quarter.

This is why you build a solid team before going all in for a QB. Also, I have a hard time believing that the Lions will pick second again. Say what you will about Walter Football, but I think he’s closer to what will occur in putting Detroit 5 behind Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, and Jacksonville. Also, Carolina’s QB situation is a disaster. The Giants are a coin toss with Daniel Jones and a new staff. Who is going to throw passes for Seattle? Washington is a three-headed monster but Ron Rivera will keep them from total meltdown. I could see one or more of these teams dropping below Detroit, who I figure will pick in the 5-8 range.