NYLion

Fine by me, pay that man his money. He, Sewell and St. Brown are their true building blocks.

Also, the Niners and Ravens lost to teams that most people didn't have in the playoffs. Lots of weird things happen early in the season. Not worried about the Lions in the least, I had a feeling that there might be some rustiness early on with them not having played one snap in preseason (not a fan of that btw). This team will be humming in the second half of the season, I have little doubt about that, but there might be some rough patches until then.

I'm sure it's been talked about plenty, as I haven't read through the thread, but Hutch going back to late last season when he was transforming from very good edge to absolute beast is hitting a level that the league might not be ready for. Tampa's line is actually pretty darn good and he ragdolled them, lots of other pressures as well as per normal with him. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Alim has yet to show up this season. I wonder if he's fully in shape or if the thought of the new contract in a contract year is weighing on his mind a bit. It could be just a matter of the season really being young and him needing to gain his footing (he started slow last season too) but it is noteworthy.

I didn't read the thread, I just assumed that TP was trashing Ben the whole time haha. The 6-11 comment is obviously idiotic.

I'm on Team TP today. Ben Johnson was absolute poop and Goff but that's obvious. Whatever. 1-1, not the end of the world but there's a lot of stuff to clean up and I'll say for the millionth time that they miss Josh Reynolds or somebody to fill that role. They have zero big bodied receivers that can make a 50/50 catch, it's a problem on 3rd downs and in the Red Zone in particular.

I think they missed Josh Reynolds. When the middle of the field is covered like it was last night, Reynolds was a guy that was a threat to make the tough catches when the top guys weren't open and I thought it was a missing element on 3rd down passing situations last night. Hopefully Tim Patrick can get up to speed and somewhat fill that void because Tom Kennedy sure as hell ain't the answer.

The Giants were the worst of all. I was watching the early games with some Giants fans and they were losing their ****. That was an all time clunker in a home opener against a mediocre opponent, the only other game Darnold had like that in his career was against Patricia just to put in context how awful the Giants were.

The Lions beat a very good team (albeit without Nucua for most of it) without getting much of anything from St. Brown and LaPorta. Yeah there's a lot to clean up but winning without much from those two was impressive in itself. I thought they got plenty of pressure, Hutch, Davenport and Levi especially early were creating lots of pressure, but Stafford got the ball out very quickly on those short throws and he made some unreal throws with guys in his face. The biggest issue is that the secondary severely lacks experience and will need time to gel with a completely new CB group but we sort of knew that going in. I thought the defensive line outside of McNeil who was surprisingly quiet was very good.

He's a big talent, health has always been the biggest thing holding him back. If healthy, he's a game changer for the defense.

Montgomery might be the most underrated player in the league, what a beast. I know the O-Line deserves credit but he was driving through guys on the regular and has great vision to find the holes. Great player

Defense was very good in that half. If Davenport stays healthy, big IF, but if he does he's a game changer opposite of Hutch.

The defensive line looks ferocious. Stafford just happened to get the ball out very quickly so they only got home once.

This is the type of game where they need all pass rushers on board so unless he's injured I don't get why he's scratched.

All the physical tools but it seems like he just doesn't want it enough. I've seen him bail on routes enough times to know that he's not what the Lions need. I think the only reason he was signed and kept this long into TC is because of his physical tools and the ever present need the Lions have for an X receiver. Guy was given every opportunity and dropped the ball time after time, so to speak.

There's no way in hedoublehockeysticks that Hooker gets waived and he would immediately get picked up. Can you imagine losing Hooker for nothing because Sudafed or Fromm HAD TO be on the roster? My Lord

I think the D-line looks strong assuming Reader is healthy which, who knows. It seems like Levi is ready to be at least a rotational guy, Martin has looked pretty good in preseason, Wingo looks promising, Alim is a stud. There's some maybes in there but it's a much stronger unit than it was a year ago. The biggest issue is WR3 and not necessarily because of their current configuration but there's zero depth so if one of Amon-Ra or Jamo gets hurt, it's big trouble. I love like 99% of Holmes work but I think he failed to sufficiently address the WR issue, he thought DPJ could fill the Reynolds role but that appears to be a bust. The secondary might take a while to come together as well. They're stacked with talent but short on experience, could take a while for them to gel.

Of course they have to make the playoffs first but the goals are way higher than simply just making the playoffs.

All Brad Holmes drafts have yielded high returns, it's kind of crazy at this point. Yes, he had that extra 1st 2 of the years but still... 2021 - Sewell, Onwuzurike, McNeil, Melifonwu, St. Brown, Barnes, Jefferson. That's two All Pro guys (1st team All Pro level), a budding high end starter in McNeil, a budding starter in Iffy with loads of potential, a solid rotation guy with borderline starter ability in Barnes, even Jefferson is still hanging around 2022 - Hutchinson, Jamo, Paschal, Joseph, Mitchell, Rodriguez, Houston. That's an All Pro guy (soon to be 1st All Pro I'd think), a budding starter with room for much more in Jamo tbd but arrows are pointing up, decent rotational guy in Paschal (needs to stay healthy), decent starter in Joseph (I think he's a bit overrated but he's an NFL starter), decent rotational guy in Rodrigo and a guy who had 9 sacks in 8 games in his rookie season which is already a massive success for a 6th rounder. Not as good as the 2021 and 2023 drafts (heavily dependent on Jamo) but still a solid draft for most GMs. 2023 - Gibbs, Campbell, LaPorta, Branch, Hooker, Martin, Sorsdal, Green. That's 2 All Pro level guys in Gibbs and LaPorta, a developing starter in Campbell, a guy tracking to be a high end starter in Branch but still early days and the others it's just too early to know, Green seems to be doing pretty well in camp so that's solid for a 7th. This guy is just killing these drafts and these are players that aren't just doing well on a bad team, they're the driving force behind one of the biggest turnarounds in sports history.

Keep in mind that it's an extension so when it kicks in it'll be a lesser percentage of the cap relative to what it would be now. I think it's fair market value for an above average tackle who has some good years left seemingly. They now have arguably the best trio of O-linemen locked up for the next 2 years minimum so....nice piece of work by Holmes. Now we'll what happens with Alim. Personally, I see him on the cusp of breaking out (he's getting better every year) so the sooner the better.

It's a lazy comparison because it's not a valid comparison and Pistons fans due to PTSD or whatever point to a failed prospect of a previous regime and compare the new guy they don't like to him simply because it was a former Piston who failed to make it. I've been guilty of it as well with the Drummond and Duren comparison even though they aren't all that alike. The reason why I made the Ivey comparison in terms of Holland driving the ball is because he gets to dead spots on the floor too often where he either forces up a bad shot or makes a bad pass, it's something he needs to work on to control his chaos more similar to Ivey. Ivey is more of a playmaker no doubt but I'm just saying it's not like Holland never looks to pass, he made some nice ones in the final SL game when he ran more like a point forward. I think we just need to let this play out. He's really young and he's raw so there's a lot he needs to work on but there's also a bundle of talent to work with so I wouldn't be writing his obituary as a player yet.

It's a lazy comparison and you went hyperbolic on some of those points. Not explosive at all? Have to disagree with that one. I saw him make some nice passes as well even though it won't be a strength of his clearly. I'm not even the biggest fan of the pick mainly because he's another non-shooter but he does a lot of other things well where you can see flashes of a good player at least based on what I've seen on SL. My biggest issue with Holland is that Ivey-esque tunnel vision when he's driving to the rim but I did see some adjustments by him in that last game so it makes me think that he at least has the capability to play more under control. He's very young, he's raw, it's too soon to make declarations about what type of player he is.

I don't see Stanley Johnson at all with Ron Holland, it's a lazy comparison tbh. He looks like a bigger, less speedy Ivey offensively with the way he attacks. Stanley didn't have near the athleticism that Holland has. Anyway, it was nice to see him have a good game yesterday. You could see flashes of a potentially good player, he just needs to learn to play more under control which is something that Ivey, to go back to that comp, hasn't figured out yet.

Yep, the assets it would cost to get him and the contract they can't afford to give him. Doesn't make sense. Not to mention that where are his touches going to come from? St. Brown, LaPorta, Jamo with the elevated role, Gibbs. There's only so many mouths they can feed. The Lions need a true #3 WR, not a #1 WR.

Holland looks like a bigger Ivey that plays better defense, apparently. Don't want to take much from SL but his highlight package looks similar to what we've seen in SL thus far (although I didn't see his 1st game). The driving the ball recklessly into traffic and ending up turning the ball over or taking a low percentage shot, he's like a slightly bigger less speedy Ivey. He doesn't have the handle or the creativity to handle the ball as much as he does and he doesn't seem to shoot it well enough to be a guy that can finish off of Cade feeds so I'm not sure what his role will be in the NBA based on what I've seen of him. I'm sure he'll be an NBA regular because he has the tools but, as of now, it's hard to pinpoint what his role will be. I will say though that Ausar impressed me way more than Holland right off the bat for whatever that's worth. You can see right away Ausar's IQ shining through and the potential to be an elite defensive stopper. You could see that in SL instantly. If he ever developed an even average or slightly below average NBA three, he's an All Star level player IMO. Holland just looks very generic to me.

Yes, they need to rest Holland to prepare for the gauntlet schedule the Pistons will be facing in August and September.