NYLion

Nice easy win going into the 2 game gauntlet. The Lions are playing at peak level now, they really could have beaten Minnesota by more if not for some unlucky breaks. It's going to be a war against Green Bay but the Lions are ready for it, would be nice if Holmes added that pass rusher this week to go after Love.

Good news that the suspension is kicking in right away. One of the game missed being the Titans and getting him back for Houston is a break for the Lions, relatively speaking.

For a quarter then disappeared in the 4th. An all too common theme with him and the Pistons, getting killed in the 4th.

The vets, Harris and Beasley, really showed out. Cade looks slow and disengaged, would like to see him attack more.

It's not really doom and gloom. I said in the previous post that I didn't expect big changes this offseason but the reality is that it's the same young core group surrounded by cast-off vets just like previous years. At least Monty isn't here anymore so that's something to get excited about.

They need to do better than 22-24. I know that's a decent improvement over last year but if they win under 25 that means this core ain't it and it's time blow it up. Maybe it's ambitious but if any of these players are worth a damn, Cade in particular, I expect 30+.

I was kind of going back and forth on the Crosby idea, this all assuming that he's even remotely available, and now I'm all in as long as it's just two 1sts+minor stuff. I originally thought that he had just 1 more year left on his contract so 2 playoff runs essentially but now I see that he has 2 years left so 3 playoff runs with him and 2 with he and Hutch, plus his contract expires right when Hutch's new one kicks in so it's a perfect financial fit. I actually think Holmes would be interested for this very reason but also because he's the perfect culture fit. I'm skeptical that he's available at all but if he is I can see it being more palatable now. Holmes is not the type to go big game hunting but if there is the type of player, and contract, that he would do it for it's Crosby. It's probably like a 1% chance of happening but I'd put it at non-zero whereas I was at zero before learning the contract details.

The Revenge Tour after extinguishing Seattle and Dallas continues. I know some are worried about this being a trap game but I don't think the coaches, or players, will allow that to get the best of them. It might be a little close for a time because it's the NFL and every team plays tough (outside of Carolina) but this should be a fairly comfortable 2+ score victory.

It is pretty much the same team. Same core, washed vets, another drafted kid that can't shoot. Wash, rinse, repeat. It's fine, I really didn't expect big changes this offseason as the young assets don't have much value and there's point in selling low, but it's a roster built to suck again unless the young guys take a big leap forward. Again, wash rinse repeat pretty much.

The coverage was phenomenal yesterday. Even on that one big play, the TD, Amik was right on JJ and it was a push off by JJ tbh. Especially considering that the pass rush wasn't getting home for a good chunk of the game, 4 sacks notwithstanding, I thought the coverage was especially good.

The Lions have the best, or at least the most balanced, offense in the league. The amount of playmakers are endless, they have an elite QB (yes Goff is elite) and arguably the best offensive line in the league.

I think a 45 yard or under FG is pretty much automatic for any NFL kicker. It's probably more risky to go for a TD and risk an incomplete pass leaving too much time on the clock. Three runs, not one run and two kneel downs, would have been the right call IMO.

A few but run plays are almost always more than a few seconds especially with how hard the Lions RBs are to bring down. The second kneel was instant, I didn't understand why they didn't have Goff burn a few seconds there too. You have Justin Jefferson and a kicker with a huge leg over there, 15 seconds was too much to leave to chance IMO.

I critiqued him at the time too not necessarily because they put the trust in Bates but also because they left the Vikings some time. If they ran it twice, that's probably 5-6 seconds minimum that you bleed off the clock and there's always the chance of breaking one. I didn't like that clock management at all tbh.

No kidding. Coach is awesome obviously but his ambition gets the best of him at times, that gave the Vikings a lot of unnecessary momentum to start. Regardless, big win so it's just crying over spilled milk at this point complaining about coaches decisions and you never want to go full TP.

The Lions just about gave that one away but they just have that special clutch DNA. Goff was phenomenal, that throw to Ra at the end was absolute money. Need a quality pass rusher with Stroud and Love on the horizon, the Lions likely win this by two scores with Hutch.

This seems likely to me. I like Za'Darius, he's the type of edge the Lions love with his size, versatility and ability against the run plus he's apparently a high character guy but I'm not sure how much pass rushing ability he has left. Still a solid player though and should be had for cheap but I'm sure this won't appease the fanbase that want a gamewrecker, the type of player that is unrealistic tbh.

All this talk of Crosby yet zero talk that the Raiders are even remotely interested in trading him. None of this matters if he's not on the trade market. Maybe Crosby demands a trade like Adams did but until then this is pure fantasy. Even the same with Hendrickson where there's zero talk of the Bengals being interested in trading him although I do believe he requested a trade in the offseason so maybe slightly realistic?

They likely couldn't even get Crosby and a 2025 1st and 2026 2nd and by likely I mean no chance. JJ Watt would be awesome, he was still really good his final year, but he seems to really like the family life so I'd put the chances of him coming back right down there with the Lions chances to land Crosby.

Crosby wasn't happening anyway. I expected something like 4 years $100m for Alim so this is pretty much in line with what I expected, he's getting better every year and with guys like Wikins getting 4 years $110m in a lower cap world this will be a bargain as Alim breaks out and the DT market explodes with the rising cap.

This is arguably dumber than any deal Weaver did outside of the Bruce Brown one. At least Weaver got 2nds and didn't have to give back a useful player for his version of THJ in Joe Harris.

I doubt Holmes is interested at all tbh. Reddick doesn't fit the prototype the Lions like on edge and he's not giving Reddick the multi-year contract he desires, plus he's a turd.

The Mack trade seems like the most realistic cost and that didn't really work out too well for the Chargers although they weren't nearly as good as the Lions are. In any event, I don't think it's even worth talking about Crosby anymore because it's so unrealistic. I even think Hendrickson is completely unrealistic and Reddick simply because of culture/scheme fit. As I've said earlier, I'd put my money on somebody like Za'Darius Smith or Cam Jordan being brought in, I'd prefer Smith or those two options seems like he has some gas left in the tank.

The problem with Landry is that he's a SAM, he doesn't really fit the conventional DE role that Hutch and Davenport for that matter played and the Lions love their DEs to be versatile against run and pass whereas Landry is more of a pure pass rusher.

Za'Darius Smith or Cam Jordan is my guess. I see Brad looking at buy low options, vets that can not only set the edge but also create some pass rush. It won't be a big name IMO. No way is he trading multiple 1sts for Crosby and nor do I think Crosby is even on the trade market.