Mr.TaterSalad

It's too bad Denny Green passed away. But the Texans and idiotic owner Bob McNair are certainly who we thought they were.

Andre Ware, Tavaris Jackson, Tyrod Taylor, Akili Smith, Daunte Culppeper, Mike McMahon. Willis seems like an athletic guy who happens to be a QB, not the other way around like a Russell Wilson or Kyler Murray who are first rate QBs who happen to be athletic and can extend plays as well. Yes, Willis has a cannon of an arm and can throw on the run. But if those throws are missing their mark and he's not going through the progressions and picking out the correct read, that's a problem. Sure, Josh Allen was turned into a stud by Daboll, Dorsey, and whoever else in Buffalo. But for every Josh Allen there are dozens more athletic QBs with big arms who amount to nothing.

I just can't bring myself to get back on board the Willis hype train as I was at the beginning of the season given the subpar season he had, the obvious accuracy and decision making issues he displays and given whose available next year. Maybe Stroud and Bryce Young flame out next year as prospects ala a Spencer Rattler, but right now, it seems both have higher upsides than anyone in this years QB class.

The UK, to the best of my knowledge, does not have the right wing media ecosphere that we have ready and able to defend a party animal like Boris Johnson in the way that ours defends Trump. I'm sure they have individual right wing commentators and influencers over there in the form of talk show hosts, opinion columnists, radio/podcast hosts, etc. But have they dealt with 25 years of Fox News and the likes of Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Bill O'Reilly, poisoning their airwaves and spreading misinformation and lies? Other than maybe SkyNews, which Murdoch owns I believe, is there an equivalent network that has the scope and reach that Fox News does? The same thing for a guy like Rush Limbaugh. Do they have a Limbaugh, Dan Bongino, Mark Levin, Steve Bannon, Glenn Beck, Alex Jones who have the reach these guys have had? Is there someone with the popularity of any of these hosts in the UK? What about Brietbart and its popularity? I suspect there is not. I also suspect the Tories aren't going around protesting education and teach methods in the UK. Nor are they trying to ban books and restrict teaching of history and critical thinking the way the right has done for decades in this country. Also, have their students been victimized by the "teach to the standardized test" one size fits all approach that American students have over the last 40 years? The standardized testing industry has poisoned both Democrat and Republican lawmakers and lead towards some really bad public policy making education wise in the US.

I didn't know I wanted this until I saw him in Billions, but I want Eric Bogosion to play Anthony Bourdain in a biopic. First off, Bourdain himself lead a life that was incredibly interesting and would be conducive to making an entertaining biopic. Second off, Bogosian both looks just like and sounds just like Bourdain.

Do you listen to country music too? Yes! Who do you listen to, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban? No, I listen to this; Margo Price killing it with a live cut of her song Stone Me.

As Buddha laid out, Nagy was a disaster as a play caller in Chicago. The Bears ranked in the bottom 20 in scoring, TDs, yards for much of Nagy's tenure there. Sure, he called some plays in KC with Andy Reid at his side. But you have to wonder who was designing those and the concepts in the playbook as a whole. Was it Reid and then him feeding it to Nagy? I don't see the appeal of Nagy at this point. He has to prove himself again and I don't want to be the team that gives him the spot to do that.

Ypsilanti's own Adam Gase.

That kid is right, he's way off base about that. I LOL'ed loudly when that kid said that.

Do you think if they had it would have changes Quinn's mind about hiring his buddy or that Martha would have stepped in and said we aren't hiring him?

Then why do Patriot Assistants routinely get hired? It should be noted, Flores was one of Belichick's Assistant Coaches.

Matt Patricia was accused, but never prosecuted, of sexual assault and he still got hired. I'm not saying it excuses Bienemy's past behavior at Colorado or means he should get hired. I do feel that Patricia more or less skated through those allegations after one cycle of news stories about it in the media.

By February of last year I was exited about both Justin Fields and Trey Lance and had them on my list of players, along with Sewell and Chase, that I wanted the Lions to consider. I'm glad we have Goff and also glad that went with Sewell last year. We have the chance to build up a team around a prospective rookie QB first, instead of dropping them straight into a dumpster fire of a roster. That said, I think a lot of Lions fans and some in the media were all on the Fields and Lance bandwagons at this point last year.

Some snow storm we got here in SE Michigan. Local news outlets and the NWS were predicting a snowpocalypse of 10-14 inches of snow and we ended up with 4-5 inches of snow mostly.

Amazing to think 7 ***** recruits wasted their time on Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M just so they could have the privilege of going 8-4.

Trump eliminated ISIS but Biden snuck a bunch of ISIS people in the caravan from Mexico.

I used to be one of those "defense wins championships" fans but the modern era of football, especially the last decade, has proven that theory totally wrong. I spent the better part of five years ragging on Matt Stafford and living under the belief that he couldn't get it done when it mattered most, ie the playoffs. The way the league has gone and how Matt Stafford stepped up during these playoffs proved me wrong. 3 of the 4 teams (Bengals, Chiefs, Rams) in the AFC/NFC Championship games were lead by elite or very good QBs and QBs who have some mobility. Those same 3 teams have a series of electric playmakers on offense. Including Buffalo and Arizona in the mix, those two teams while bounced before the Championship game, have top-tier QBs and playmakers leading their offenses as well. Knowing all of this I want the Lions to join the club of having a great/elite QB and 2-3 explosive weapons on offense. We need playmakers who can create space and separation. Guys who make turn busted plays into big plays and extend drives. Guys who are YAC monsters when it comes to pass catching, whether in the backfield, at the line of scrimmage, or midfield. Those are the things that the Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Tyreek Hill, Stefan Diggs, Jamar Chase, Tee Higgins, Travis Kelce can all do. We don't have a big time QB who can play make and extend drives. We don't have an offensive weapon at, let alone multiple, who can do that. I think St. Brown is a very promising rookie and with the right play calling, Swift could be another solid weapon too for pass catching. I think the next two offseasons present us with a chance to completely transform our offensive skillset and make us one of the dynamic offenses in the NFL. I think Holmes over the next two drafts, not even counting free agency, has a real opportunity to remake this offensive roster and give us the playmakers we need to compete with the big boys. Sure, anyone of the players we pick could bust out. Any QB we pick, this year or next, could be a total bust. That said, if we went into the 2024 season with an offensive arsenal that looked like this, and assuming we can draft and develop these players, I'd be much more exciting burning most of our top picks in rounds 1 through 3 on offense versus balancing our offense/defense evenly in the draft or even going straight defense like Carolina did a few years back. If we have to move up to get Stroud our Young in the 2023 draft I'd do it. I would trade future draft capital to do it. QB: CJ Stroud/Bryce Young (drafted in 2023) RB #1: D'Andre Swift, RB #2: Jamaal Williams WR #1: Treylon Burks/Drake London (drafted in 2022), WR #2: Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR #3: John Metchie III/Justyn Ross/George Pickens (drafted in 2022) TE #1: TJ Hockenson Then you add in any potential free agent signings like an Allen Robinson or DJ Chark or whomever, that's a really solid foundation to become one of those elite offensive units and make noise in the playoffs.

I'd rather have Sewell plus Hutch/Thibs and Burks/London, plus Stroud/Young over a 3 year period.

I think if Judge Carl Marlinga runs for the Dems he will be a great candidate for Congress and can beat James.

I don't think redistricting reform in Michigan has been a fiasco. It took several months and many meetings to get reasonable, equitable maps that balanced partisan, geographic, and racial fairness, but the committee got there. These new maps are likely to hold up in court too.

Senior Bowl Practice Notes Pride of Detroit: Kenny Pickett compared to Joe Burrow

Yep, before you offer the job to Gattis, Hart, or anyone else Fickell should be the first call. If he says no, it isn't like Gattis is going anywhere for the time being. I get that people bring up the Ohio State ties as the obvious reason he says no. Both Bo and Gary Moeller were Ohio State guys before coaching at Michigan though. A call and a generous offer to make Fickell a top 5 paid coach in the NCAA should be made before moving onto other coaches.

I am not normally a Post Malone fan. I am normally a big Sturgill Simpson fan. Post signing Sturgill's "You Can Have The Crown" was killer. If Post Malone released an outlaw-style country album ala Sturgill I bet it'd be good.

I was all about taking a serious look at Malik Willis at the beginning and middle of the college football season. I still like the idea of what he could become under the right circumstances and assuming he has the tools and maturity to develop his full potential. But with two discernibly better QBs in CJ Stroud and Bryce Young available next year, I want to hold off at this point and wait for one of them if replacing Goff is in the plans for Brad Holmes and company.