Jimbo Posted January 15 Posted January 15 7 hours ago, lordstanley said: Funny, in a few short years Holmes and Campbell have totally wiped thoughts of Same Old Lions out of my mind. It’s almost like a different franchise. Even after losing the 24-7 halftime lead to SF, I felt that was a huge missed opportunity but never felt the loss was because the Lions were cursed or destined never to win or it’s the latest in the long line of crazy losses. It just seemed like the moment getting a bit too big for the Lions and losing to a slightly more talented team on the road. Similarly, if the Lions lose to Washington it will feel like a stand-alone fluke and horrible loss, nothing to do with history. If they lose in the NFC Championship game, it will be frustrating but not SOL. I don’t expect them to lose even while knowing they very well might. In contrast, I don’t think Red Sox or Cubs fans really put thoughts of a final crazy twist out of their mind until the final out. I am on the same page as you. I always try to be calm after every bad situation. I have to admit, losing Hutch was like a gut punch because at the time they were destroying the Cowboys (this was early on so we didn't know how bad the Cowboys were). Even though I had positive thoughts. The lowest was definitely what happened in the Bills game and it wasn't getting killed in the first half. It was the injuries in that game that really made me think that maybe this wasn't our year. Although since that game they have proven me wrong and have shown how deep this team is. If we lose in these playoffs, I am not going to say SOL because it just simply isn't. The future of this franchise is bright as long as we have Holmes. I seriously think he might be one of the best GM's in NFL history already. I just have never seen someone make decisions that have worked out at a high percentage like him. There has been more success although I am not sure there has been a GM that has hit out of the park on his first season and has maintained it every year. The NFL is probably the hardest sport to evaluate talent at a high percentage because of the mass quantities of individuals you have to evaluate. I also think the previous Lions teams broke me and made me not let them ruin my day. Last years loss in the NFC Championship tested that although I remember just thinking in my head........THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT. Quote
holygoat Posted January 15 Posted January 15 16 hours ago, Sports_Freak said: I just hope he doesn't hurt it further. From what I've heard, the 1st two doctors he saw told him he needed surgery but a third doctor said he could rehab it instead. So....if you don't like a 2nd opinion, get a 3rd...lol I heard the first two doctors had different opinions, and the third was the tie breaker. 1 Quote
Jason_R Posted January 15 Posted January 15 2 hours ago, Jimbo said: The NFL is probably the hardest sport to evaluate talent at a high percentage because of the mass quantities of individuals you have to evaluate. Yes, and the massive differences in skill set and body type across different positions, and the different philosophies about how these different positions fit together in an offensive or defensive scheme. Holmes and Campbell are in lock step on these things in a way that few other GM/HC combos are or ever have been. Quote
NYLion Posted January 15 Posted January 15 23 hours ago, MichiganCardinal said: Seeing Minnesota's performance last night tells me that the nine-point performance against the Lions was likely more an indictment on Darnold than a sign that the Lions defense has markedly improved from its performance against the Bills and 49ers. Daniels is likely going to have his, but the Lions offense will have theirs. If the Lions offense doesn't fall flat on its face, Washington's only real path to victory is going to be to just outpace the Lions, similar to what the Bills did. Which isn't an easy task when you still have Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph manning the deep ball, and when even the second string run defense is top five in the league. Daniels is going to make a lot of plays against the Lions defense, it's going to get shredded at times, but the key is to stiffen up in the red zone like they did against the Vikings because the Commanders will probably get ample red zone opportunities. I don't see how they stop the Lions offense though, they're weak against the run might be without Payne and Monty is back so it might be a matter of just playing keep away from Daniels by controlling the clock with the running game. I hope Ben doesn't cute (yes, hope against all hope) and just plays smashmouth football. Quote
MichiganCardinal Posted January 15 Author Posted January 15 5 minutes ago, NYLion said: Daniels is going to make a lot of plays against the Lions defense, it's going to get shredded at times, but the key is to stiffen up in the red zone like they did against the Vikings because the Commanders will probably get ample red zone opportunities. I don't see how they stop the Lions offense though, they're weak against the run might be without Payne and Monty is back so it might be a matter of just playing keep away from Daniels by controlling the clock with the running game. I hope Ben doesn't cute (yes, hope against all hope) and just plays smashmouth football. I agree completely. The Red Zone plays to the Lions strength, allowing Branch and Joseph to be more involved on a shorter field. If you can hold the Commanders to 3 instead of 7 two or three times, you are setting your offense up extremely well to put the game on ice in the 3rd quarter. On offense, just pound the rock. Control time of possession, keep the defense off the field. Aim for a 2:1 ratio. If they get desperate and drop 7 or 8 into the box, don’t be afraid to take the top off with Jamo. But a simple offense should be enough to put up 35+. Save the flash for Philly or LA. Quote
Motown Bombers Posted January 15 Posted January 15 The Rams copied a lot of what the Lions did. For instance, the Rams normally play man 15% of the time. They were over 30% against Minnesota. Quote
Nate7474 Posted January 15 Posted January 15 6 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said: I agree completely. The Red Zone plays to the Lions strength, allowing Branch and Joseph to be more involved on a shorter field. If you can hold the Commanders to 3 instead of 7 two or three times, you are setting your offense up extremely well to put the game on ice in the 3rd quarter. On offense, just pound the rock. Control time of possession, keep the defense off the field. Aim for a 2:1 ratio. If they get desperate and drop 7 or 8 into the box, don’t be afraid to take the top off with Jamo. But a simple offense should be enough to put up 35+. Save the flash for Philly or LA. It’s funny most of the “experts” are predicting a one score game with the Lions only scoring around 30. We averaged for the year over 33. I look at the matchup against their defense and don’t see the likelihood of them holding us under our average. I am actually predicting somewhere around a 37-27 type of game. Will be close for a while but eventually we get a couple stops in the second half. 1 Quote
RedRamage Posted January 15 Posted January 15 6 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said: The Rams copied a lot of what the Lions did. For instance, the Rams normally play man 15% of the time. They were over 30% against Minnesota. I think it's also worth pointing out that Darnold did better against the Rams than the Lions: ~80 more yards on one fewer attempts and nearly 20% higher completion percentage. The Rams numbers are not really that far out of line for Darnold over the season. His season average (including the playoff loss) is 254 yards per game with a completion percentage of just barely shy of 66%. Now, I'm certainly not trying to say that the Lions defense is stellar now because they dominated the Vikings to end the season. We should NOT read too much into that. But I think Darnold is getting too much of the blame for the Rams game. He ABSOLUTELY deserves a good portion of it. But any time an OL is giving up 9 sacks and the RBs only manage 87 yards combined... there's problems there beyond just poor QB play. Quote
4hzglory Posted January 15 Posted January 15 (edited) 22 minutes ago, RedRamage said: I think it's also worth pointing out that Darnold did better against the Rams than the Lions: ~80 more yards on one fewer attempts and nearly 20% higher completion percentage. The Rams numbers are not really that far out of line for Darnold over the season. His season average (including the playoff loss) is 254 yards per game with a completion percentage of just barely shy of 66%. Now, I'm certainly not trying to say that the Lions defense is stellar now because they dominated the Vikings to end the season. We should NOT read too much into that. But I think Darnold is getting too much of the blame for the Rams game. He ABSOLUTELY deserves a good portion of it. But any time an OL is giving up 9 sacks and the RBs only manage 87 yards combined... there's problems there beyond just poor QB play. As far as the 9 sacks, a fair amount of that is on Darnold and O’Connel. Darnold held on to the ball way too long and O’Connel kept calling slow developing plays even though he saw for 2 weeks Darnold wasn’t processing well. Edited January 15 by 4hzglory Quote
MichiganCardinal Posted January 15 Author Posted January 15 11 minutes ago, Sports_Freak said: 🎶🎶 The curse of Bobby Layne; Take away Jimmy Fallon and the off-beat clapping and it’s a decent tune. 1 Quote
lordstanley Posted January 15 Posted January 15 The Rams taking the risk of resting their starters even though it meant facing the Vikings instead of the Commanders turned out ok. Quote
gehringer_2 Posted January 15 Posted January 15 (edited) 5 minutes ago, lordstanley said: The Rams taking the risk of resting their starters even though it meant facing the Vikings instead of the Commanders turned out ok. Maybe it will turn out better for the Lions as well. Did not want to play the same team twice in 2 weeks even if we did win going away. Edited January 15 by gehringer_2 1 Quote
Motown Bombers Posted January 15 Posted January 15 Zeitler still no practice. Likely going to be Mahogany. Quote
Motor City Sonics Posted January 16 Posted January 16 Do you see the disrespect here? Do you see how small and off-center the Lions person is. USE THIS ! 1 Quote
MichiganCardinal Posted Thursday at 07:42 PM Author Posted Thursday at 07:42 PM On the line Saturday (and potentially Sunday), only four teams have never hosted a Conference Championship game in the Super Bowl era: the Ravens, Texans, Titans, and Lions. If the Texans, Lions, and Ravens win, two of those teams would host a conference championship in the same season. Quote
Motown Bombers Posted Thursday at 07:48 PM Posted Thursday at 07:48 PM 4 minutes ago, MichiganCardinal said: On the line Saturday (and potentially Sunday), only four teams have never hosted a Conference Championship game in the Super Bowl era: the Ravens, Texans, Titans, and Lions. If the Texans, Lions, and Ravens win, two of those teams would host a conference championship in the same season. I’m actually surprised the Ravens haven’t. They’ve been to two Super Bowls. Quote
Tigeraholic1 Posted Friday at 02:03 AM Posted Friday at 02:03 AM Did I miss what uniforms they are wearing Saturday? Quote
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