Week Thirteen: Detroit Lions (8-3) @ New Orleans Saints (5-6)

[buddha]

21 minutes ago, 1984Echoes said:

Which goes back to the health of the O-Line, IMO.

We need a healthy Jonah Jackson.

Imperative... IMO.

one guard on the oline shouldnt make that much of a difference.  tackle?  maybe.  but not guard.

[MIguy]

1 hour ago, MichiganCardinal said:

I don’t like that argument for saying the Lions aren’t good. They’re 1-2 against teams with a winning record, and they’ll be 1-1 if the Seahawks lose to the Cowboys on Thursday. You can’t lose games you don’t play. I think it’s more important that they’re 7-1 against teams with a losing record. They win games they should win. Speaking of the Cowboys, they’re 0-2 against teams with a winning record. Does that mean if they lose to the Seahawks they’ll finish 8-9?

If you want to say the Lions are not one of the top 3-5 teams in the NFL, I’ll agree with you. Because that’s the only group that consistently beats teams with winning records. But I think it’s silly to say that means they’ll finish 8-9 if they don’t beat the Saints.

I only said it was possible, not that it was going to happen.  I think they would still find a way to win one, most likely the final game against the Vikings.  The Lions are in some serious trouble if they lose this weekend, I stand by that comment. 

[Jason_R]

1 hour ago, buddha said:

one guard on the oline shouldnt make that much of a difference.  tackle?  maybe.  but not guard.

It shouldn’t but it has. Not scientific but I calculated in another post that the team has scored 4 ppg more with Jackson in than with a backup. And Goff’s ugliest games have come with Jackson on the sideline. There is a huge drop off from a pro bowl player and a rookie from a program that has sent just three players to the NFL in the last decade. 

[djhutch]

4 hours ago, buddha said:

i dont think the packers are "up and coming", i think goff played badly and the defense cant get any pressure.  turn the ball over and lose.

 

I don't think enough has been made of the Lions OL in that Thanksgiving game.  As good as we think they are, or should be, or could be - they provided little to no resistance.  Goff was under constant pressure.

[MichiganCardinal]

 

[RandyMarsh]

Birkett says that Hendon Hooker is supposed to start practicing this week. That's the first news I heard of him in awhile. 

[RandyMarsh]

5 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said:

 

When it rains it pours. Is Darius Leonard still available? 

[number20]

Lions favored. Again.

I liked this team better when they played with a chip on their shoulder, felt disrespected, and were picked to lose. Seems like the greater the media attention and higher the ranking, the worse they play

[gehringer_2]

Regression to the mean. They had a bad D last year and only improved it marginally - they are a good team but never were as good as people were able to start hoping based on the 1st half record.

[number20]

I think last year’s team down the stretch was a better Lions team than this one

[1984Echoes]

7 hours ago, buddha said:

one guard on the oline shouldnt make that much of a difference.  tackle?  maybe.  but not guard.

Shouldn't.

But it appears that it does make a difference.

[1984Echoes]

1 hour ago, gehringer_2 said:

Regression to the mean. They had a bad D last year and only improved it marginally - they are a good team but never were as good as people were able to start hoping based on the 1st half record.

They are what their record says they are.

A quality playoff team. A very good team. Above average, above the mean.

But after the Ravens game, I asked the question: What will it take to get us to the Elite Teams level...?

Because we're not an elite team. We're a very good team with a very good record that is a playoff-level team. 

It's not as if they can't be beat. They can. Obviously.

But I'm looking forward to them getting so far above the mean and into the upper echelon, that that kind of talk becomes moot point. No more regression to the mean talk for me. I'm not interested.

They need a few more playmakers to get there, all on defense. Here's to hoping Holmes is able to find those guys...

[Motor City Sonics]

To me this is the referendum game.    Derek Carr is getting destroyed on the field and off - can't let him own us. 

[Tigeraholic1]

 

[Hongbit]

 

[RandyMarsh]

Raiders released Marcus Peters, does he have anything left in the tank? If so definitely feels like we should take a look at him.

[MichiganCardinal]

17 minutes ago, Hongbit said:

 

I think he’s been reading the message board.

[number20]

20 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said:

Raiders released Marcus Peters, does he have anything left in the tank? If so definitely feels like we should take a look at him.

He'd certainly be a massive upgrade over Charles Harris. And he can cover better than Jacobs. The word on him is he can't tackle worth a sh** though

[TP_Fan]

9 hours ago, Tigeraholic1 said:

 

Same with the packers too.  Packers can also get to 11 wins.  Looking at their schedule, I see GB losing this week to KC to go to 5-7 and then winning their last 5 to finish 10-7. 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

19 hours ago, RandyMarsh said:

When it rains it pours. Is Darius Leonard still available? 

How about Jack Campbell, is he available. We used a first round pick on him so it is time for Campbell to step up and make contributions to this defense.. 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

10 hours ago, RandyMarsh said:

Raiders released Marcus Peters, does he have anything left in the tank? If so definitely feels like we should take a look at him.

We like our team. If we didn't add anyone at the trade deadline, no reason to add someone now. We have the smartest guys in the room who are confident that we like our team.

[Motown Bombers]

7 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

We like our team. If we didn't add anyone at the trade deadline, no reason to add someone now. We have the smartest guys in the room who are confident that we like our team.

Ken Holland won multiple championships. I'll take multiple Super Bowls. 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

5 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

Ken Holland won multiple championships. I'll take multiple Super Bowls. 

Sure, but we're not trending in that direction right now and we could have used an upgrade in our secondary or defensive front but passed on doing so because we like what we have here apparently. I use the we like our team moniker because that's often what Holland did in the latter years of his tenure in Detroit and it feels like that's what we did at the trade deadline.

[Motown Bombers]

Marcus Peters got cut because he lacked effort, refused to tackle, and got into an altercation with his coach. The Lions aren't going to sign him. 

The Lions are trending in that direction. They're a young team whose window is just opening. This is like the 1991 Red Wings, not the 1997 Red Wings. 

[Hongbit]

Campbell Is right about turnovers.  That’s the difference.  

The offensive side is easily solved by the leagues most  up and down OL doing their jobs consistently.  Goff with time doesn’t make mistakes.  Goff under constant pressure is a train wreck.   That is all dependent on this line stepping up and playing to the level they are accustomed.   This team may not win another game if the OL can’t figure it out.  At the same time, they may win them all if the guys up front can get the dominance back.  

On defense,  they can’t sit around and wait for the other team to make a mistake.   They have to put them under pressure and force the issue.   They need to do a much better job of making the opposing offense uncomfortable and forcing them to work faster.  

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Hongbit