2023 NFL Draft As-It-Happens

[Jason_R]

If the Lions do not win the North it will be a failed season.

Let’s hope the NFC East and West are bloodbaths. 

[buddha]

lions will be the favorites, but i think the packers will be better than people think.

[Mr.TaterSalad]

6 hours ago, buddha said:

hello kool aid my old friend,

i've come to smoke with you again...

Because a touchdown went right through Swift's hands. Said Tate was stopped short and did not give a damn. And the flag that was picked up by the refs in the Dallas game . . . still remains. Within the same old Lions.

Edited May 2, 2023 by Mr.TaterSalad

[TP_Fan]

3 hours ago, buddha said:

lions will be the favorites, but i think the packers will be better than people think.

Packers are gonna stink. 

[RandyMarsh]

Buddha isn't going to like hearing this but I actually think the Bears are going to be better than people think.... atleast record wise. Not only cause of the improvements they made but much like the Lions in 2021 I think they were better than their record.

They were terrible in close games going 1-7 in games decided by 1 score or less which over time tend to equal themselves and if they do this year and go say 5-3 in such situations their record will look alot better. 

Plus I'm just a stubborn Fields believer, I still feel he has the capability to be a decent passer in this league and if he can just get to decent with his running ability that can make him a pretty good qb.

Of course I still have the Lions as the favorites but it wouldn't shock me if the Bears ended up finishing 2nd.

[buddha]

30 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said:

Buddha isn't going to like hearing this but I actually think the Bears are going to be better than people think.... atleast record wise. Not only cause of the improvements they made but much like the Lions in 2021 I think they were better than their record.

They were terrible in close games going 1-7 in games decided by 1 score or less which over time tend to equal themselves and if they do this year and go say 5-3 in such situations their record will look alot better. 

Plus I'm just a stubborn Fields believer, I still feel he has the capability to be a decent passer in this league and if he can just get to decent with his running ability that can make him a pretty good qb.

Of course I still have the Lions as the favorites but it wouldn't shock me if the Bears ended up finishing 2nd.

bears should win 6-7 games.

[RandyMarsh]

7 minutes ago, buddha said:

bears should win 6-7 games.

Yeah Id say they're about a 7 win team but I could see them being like us last year and winning 9 if alot of things go right. Of course I guess you could say that about just about any NFL team. 

[RandyMarsh]

As far as the Packers go, they're a pretty tough read in my eyes cause you don't know what to expect from Love. 

People talk about the loss of Rodgers and just assume they are going to take a major step back but you have to keep in mind that the Rodgers they got last year wasn't the MVP Rodgers, he was basically a middle of the pack qb so Love doesn't have to be great for them to not take a step back from the qb play of last season where they won 9 games. 

[MichiganCardinal]

Bears could win anywhere between 3 and 9 games depending on whether Fields is the real deal. Methinks he is not.

[buddha]

1 hour ago, RandyMarsh said:

Yeah Id say they're about a 7 win team but I could see them being like us last year and winning 9 if alot of things go right. Of course I guess you could say that about just about any NFL team. 

they still havent done a ton to fix their main issues on the defensive line and their oline is still subpar.  remember that sewell was ok as a rookie, but made a ton of mistakes.  bears will be starting a rookie at one tackle and a 5th round pick at the other (last seen being bullrushed into justin fields' legs by james houston).  they signed a guard but still have oft injured failed tackle prospect tevin jenkins at the other and failed free agent lucas patrick at center.  their oline is still subpar.  

at dline they have....no one but some mid round draft picks.  they signed some off ball linebackers to massive contracts which should be an upgrade over the udfa's they were running out there last year.  the secondary has some names of players who were decent (johnson), were once good until they got paid (eddie jackson), and two rookies last seen failing to even try to tackle d'andre swift (brisker and gordon).

the rise of the bears is greatly exaggerated, imo.  the houston texas took kc and dallas to overtime in the last few weeks of the season.  everyone plays close games in the nfl.  the fact that the bears did too doesnt mean much to me.

their season comes down to fields.  is he lamar jackson 2019 or just a more athletic mitch trubisky?

[Motown Bombers]

I wasn't the most impressed with the Bears offseason. I thought they could have better used their cap instead of going all out for linebackers. 

[NYLion]

I'm as bullish on this regime as anybody but I think there's too many assumptions that the Lions are all of a sudden going to take off to being an NFC power and not look back. I wouldn't lock that in or even lock in them taking the division yet as I feel that Minnesota is being underrated, their offense is still going to be a handful to deal with.

The roster looks as good, on paper, as it's looked in years maybe decades (that's how sad their history is) but there's something to be said for learning to deal with expectations when you're no longer the hunter and are now the hunted. I'm not saying that they'll crumble under the weight of expectations but this team has some proving to do that they can handle the pressure. The 8-2 finish was great but it was largely done with a "nothing to lose" mindset, it's going to be a whole different pressure next season now that Holmes put the pieces in place and expectations from everybody really are going to be through the roof.

Edited May 2, 2023 by NYLion

[Motown Bombers]

Minnesota had a negative point differential. They were more of an 8 win team. They were 11-0 in one score games. They only led the Lions for 45 seconds last year. They are up against the cap and didn't really address their defense in the offseason. The Lions were a better team than Minnesota at the end of last year. I wouldn't say they were playing with nothing to lose. They were in the playoff race until 30 minutes before the final game. 

[NYLion]

The Vikings will still be a threat because they have an offense that can score with the best of them, basically replaced Theilen with Addison and we'll see what happens with Cook.

I'm not going to assume anything when it comes to the Lions. It looks promising but the reality is that they haven't proven enough yet to be crowned as NFC North champ yet, nevermind being a threat to the Eagles, Niners and Cowboys. They have that potential but they're all potential right now and, as I said previously, they'll have a target on their back which will come with a different level of expectation/pressure.

The Lions weren't even .500 until very late in the season. Playoffs weren't really realistic until roughly the Jets game so there was a lot of playing with house money until the end of the season.

Edited May 2, 2023 by NYLion

[Motown Bombers]

Minnesota lost to a flawed Giants team at home in the playoffs. We all knew they were frauds and they proved it in the playoffs. Minnesota got blown out by almost any good team they played. They were down 33-0 to the Colts. The Packers could be more of a threat than Minnesota. 

[NYLion]

Again, I'm not saying they're as good as their record indicated but if you're thinking that the Lions are going to just dominate the division and that the Vikings are an afterthought then we'll just agree to disagree.

[Motown Bombers]

I'm saying the Lions are going to win the division and the Vikings won't. I'm not sure then, what point you are trying to make. They were not as good as their record was and got exposed in the playoffs and then with their cap did nothing to improve the team. 

[MichiganCardinal]

I think it's ok to be cautiously optimistic while also acknowledging that on paper there are very few excuses out there for the Lions to not succeed this season.

[RandyMarsh]

Love that quote at the end of the tweet. 

 

[Motown Bombers]

I'm talking about Minnesota. The Vikings defense was as bad as the Lions and they did nothing to fix it in the offseason and could even be losing one of their top pass rushers. They were an unsustainable 11-0 in one score games. They are not a 13 win team. 

[NYLion]

10 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

I'm saying the Lions are going to win the division and the Vikings won't. I'm not sure then, what point you are trying to make. They were not as good as their record was and got exposed in the playoffs and then with their cap did nothing to improve the team. 

My point is crystal clear. The Vikings are still a threat to the Lions to win the division IMO while you're acting like it's a foregone conclusion that the Lions got this, I never once said the Vikings are as good as their record last year yet you keep going back to that well. I'm not ready to crown the Lions yet, I'll call it "cautious optimism". 

Edited May 2, 2023 by NYLion

[RatkoVarda]

3 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said:

Love that quote at the end of the tweet. 

Brad really makes his case eloquently. I think that it takes very little time to see if a guy can get it done in the NFL, either through immediate production or flashes of production, so either his guys can perform at a X round level, or they can't.

[Motown Bombers]

5 minutes ago, NYLion said:

My point is crystal clear. The Vikings are still a threat to the Lions to win the division IMO while you're acting like it's a foregone conclusion that the Lions got this, I never once said the Vikings are as good as their record last year yet you keep going back to that well. I'm not ready to crown the Lions yet, I'll call it "cautious optimism". 

But you keep saying the Vikings are a threat so I'm going back to that well because they are not a threat. If they went 8-9 last year like their played indicated, you wouldn't be saying they are a threat this year. 

[buddha]

52 minutes ago, NYLion said:

The Vikings will still be a threat because they have an offense that can score with the best of them, basically replaced Theilen with Addison and we'll see what happens with Cook.

I'm not going to assume anything when it comes to the Lions. It looks promising but the reality is that they haven't proven enough yet to be crowned as NFC North champ yet, nevermind being a threat to the Eagles, Niners and Cowboys. They have that potential but they're all potential right now and, as I said previously, they'll have a target on their back which will come with a different level of expectation/pressure.

The Lions weren't even .500 until very late in the season. Playoffs weren't really realistic until roughly the Jets game so there was a lot of playing with house money until the end of the season.

dont forget seattle.

the lions havent made the seahawks punt in two years, much less beat them.

[Motown Bombers]

Wait, when did Seattle get moved to the NFC North?