wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Jan 3, 2016 14:16:19 GMT -5
Whitehead is good.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Jan 1, 2016 16:41:10 GMT -5
Not bad for year 1.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Dec 23, 2015 0:18:02 GMT -5
Who is this team's core? like the guys that we know have talent and should stay? My opinion D: Ansah Levy Slay Reid Diggs Quin O: Tate AA CJ depending on contract situation Stafford ( i'll put him here because there isnt a better current option and he is good enough for now) I dont know what to say about the oline.. they basically need some sort of overhaul.. too soon on tomlinson, Warford is probably good.. not sure about swanson, but reiff and the other tackle (Ola for now) need to go. there are a couple of other ok pieces that could stay or be upgraded.. Quddus, whitehead, jones, taylor, etc.. I really like Tahir Whitehead. He played well when Tulloch went down last season and the defense got instantly better when he started playing halfway through the season ahead of Travis Lewis and Josh Bynes.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Nov 25, 2015 14:36:56 GMT -5
If your definitition of bust includes lacking motivation, then sure, Fairely is a bust. 75% of first round picks must be busts then in your mind.
To me, a bust means you simply can't play. Ebron is a bust. Fat Jamarcus was a bust. I don't consider Jahvid Best to be a bust, but I know others do... The few times he was healthy, he showed he could play. Sure, logically, taking a concussion-prone RB with a first round pick was one hell of a mistake by the organization. No debate there. But as a player, he showed that he could play.
Back to Fairley, I wasn't saying the Lions should have extended him or given him a new contract. But I would have liked to seen his option for THIS SEASON be picked up. It's not like you went out and signed anyone with his money anyway.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Nov 25, 2015 9:03:30 GMT -5
A bust is strong language. Inconsistent and injured? Sure.
Regardless, even for one year, putting Fairley's pass rush ability next to Ngata's run defense would be better than anything they currently have at DT.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Nov 24, 2015 20:47:02 GMT -5
Except for Nick Fairley's option. Oops.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Nov 20, 2015 23:02:24 GMT -5
Tigers bring Cameron Maybin back in exchange for Ian Krol and a prospect. I assume he's taking Rajai's spot in the Gose platoon?
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Nov 15, 2015 15:33:00 GMT -5
Defense isn't nearly as good as it was a month ago when they were a great defense. They're obviously playing better QBs and offenses now, but they've also lost Ojemudia, Glasgow, Thomas since then.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Nov 12, 2015 7:57:34 GMT -5
The Wings are close to signing Abby to a 7(!) year extension at 4M per season. Have they learned nothing from the Franzen contract?
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Nov 9, 2015 9:45:33 GMT -5
I'd like to see them pick someone from an organization that has turned it around in the last 10 years: the Seahawks, Bengals, Panthers, etc. Sometimes I think when a new GM goes from a place where they've been good for so long (Steelers, Packers, Patriots, Ravens) and they encounter dysfunction for the first time with a historically bad franchise, they aren't prepared to deal it.
And knowing the Lions and the Fords, they'll probably bring in the Polian family and keep Caldwell as coach.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Nov 7, 2015 17:10:44 GMT -5
Rutgers is basically selling out against the run every play. That's why Rudock has almost 250 yds in the first half.
I'm more concerned about the run D.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Nov 4, 2015 15:32:39 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm not thrilled with Walker's highlights either, but what do I know?
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Nov 2, 2015 13:14:55 GMT -5
That makes the most sense. Harbaugh's doing the kid a favor.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Oct 27, 2015 10:13:22 GMT -5
Mayhew letting Caldwell take his presser THEN firing the coordinators THEN forcing Caldwell back out there was delightful. Shades of Hoke and Brandon after concussion-gate. I think it came from above Mayhew. Looks too much like they don't know what the duck they're doing. They had a day to decide to fire anyone. I can't see Martha demanding the heads of the Offensive Coordinator and two assistants that afternoon. If the Fords do make a move, it will be for a bigger fish (Caldwell and/or Mayhew). Someone mentioned that the two assistants that were fired were both holdovers from the Schwartz era... The whole thing reeks of a power struggle between Caldwell and Mayhew. My theory is that Mayhew demanded Lombardi's head and Caldwell wasn't too pleased, and so he fired the two coaches that Mayhew forced on him.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Oct 26, 2015 22:20:01 GMT -5
Mayhew letting Caldwell take his presser THEN firing the coordinators THEN forcing Caldwell back out there was delightful. Shades of Hoke and Brandon after concussion-gate.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Oct 26, 2015 12:56:24 GMT -5
The Lions are in the same position Michigan was in last year... Things need to get worse before they can ultimately get better.
With that being said, it's a shame Jed York doesn't own the Baltimore Ravens... I don't think Ozzie Newsome is dumb enough to let John Harbaugh go after one bad year.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Oct 20, 2015 21:35:21 GMT -5
O'Korn threw almost 30 TDs as a freshman and Rudock hasn't broke 20? Was the freshman of the year in his conference? Two full offseasons with Harbaugh?
Whatever. If O'Korn doesn't pan out, then give Zach Gentry a shot. If Gentry blows, roll with Brandon Peters. If Peters can't play right away, run power O with Viramontes... And that's not even mentioning the Hoke QBs (Morris, Speight, or Malzone).
Michigan will find someone who can play QB sooner rather than later.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Oct 14, 2015 10:48:02 GMT -5
Hard not to get excited about them.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Oct 5, 2015 10:10:59 GMT -5
Larkin makes the opening night roster.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Oct 1, 2015 15:54:05 GMT -5
We are almost a week away from the first drop of the puck. For those of you that haven't been paying attention to the preseason, Blashill has unleashed the Wings' top prospects (Larkin, Athanasiou, Mantha, and Lil' Bertuzzi), and they have (for the most part) terrorized the rest of the league. In only four games, Athanasiou has 5 points (3G 2A), Larkin has 4 points (3G 1A), and Mantha has 4 Points (2G 2A). And that's not including Teemu Pulkkinen, who has 5 points in 2 games (3G 2A). The only problem is that the roster is considerably stocked with veterans blocking the kids from getting serious looks at the roster... That concern is lessened at the moment with players like Datsyuk, Helm, Franzen, and Cleary ( ) out with injuries, but as they come back, things will get very interesting. If the Wings get off to a slow start, do you take your chances and roll with the kids? Here are some dumb (and hopeful) predictions I made for this upcoming year: - Tomas Tatar scores over 30 goals.
- Gustav Nyquist fails to score 20 goals.
- The Wings have a defenseman score 10 goals for the first time since Nick Lidstrom retired.
- Both Brendan Smith and Jakob Kindl have career years now that they are far away from Mike Babcock's doghouse.
- Kronwall is demoted by the end of the season to the 3rd pairing minutes.
- Jonathan Ericsson is traded away for a draft pick.
- Teemu Pulkinnen scores 20 goals, but is a minus player everywhere else on the ice.
- Tomas Jurco makes a Sheahan-type leap forward and spends the majority of the year playing on the top 2 lines.
- Darren Helm plays less than 20 games for the Red Wings this year.
- The Howard/Mrazek goaltending timeshare works well, but Holland turns down a huge deadline trade for Howard and yet Blashill names Mrazek the #1 goalie anyway.
- Abdelkader comes back down to earth in terms of stats, but is still a good player and Glendening helps recover some of the lost production.
- Athanasiou and Larkin make their NHL debuts this season, Mantha does not.
- Johan Franzen plays his last game as a member of the Detroit Red Wings.
- The Wings are top 10 in team offense, but bottom 10 in team defense.
- Dan Cleary does not play this season.
Feel free to chime in with your own thoughts or predictions.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Oct 1, 2015 14:56:38 GMT -5
Stafford isn't going anywhere. He will play out the life of his contract. I just pray they groom someone to replace him in the meantime. I do agree that he is mediocre at best. I remember someone saying this last year and to me it's a perfect fit when describing Stafford: "He's good enough to win a Superbowl but not good enough to win you a Superbowl". He's not going to lead a bad team like A-Rod, Brees, Brady, Etc. to a Super Bowl but could he win one with a really good TEAM? I think so. Either way they are stuck with him because Elite QB's are very few and far between in these drafts. This is spot on. I have been saying the same thing. Even though it wouldn't happen, I would love for them to draft Goff and let him sit for 1 year, then trade Stafford in his last year. Goff is the only QB coming out this year that I think has some real potential... that said, he's currently expected to be a top 5 pick and I don't think the Lions final record will be bad enough (not that they would have the stones to do it if he were there). The last thing I'll say about Stafford is that if someone were to make the argument that his best years will be from ages 30-34, I could see it. I wrote Tony Romo off 3 years ago, and last year he made the jump to being a bonafide Top 10 QB... And Tony Romo circa 3-4 years ago is about where I consider Stafford to be right about now at 27. I don't think anyone looks at the Cowboys and believes that they win a Super Bowl because of Tony Romo, but they can still be a very good team with him. How likely is it that scenario? At the moment, not very, because he blows right now. But I don't think its outside the realm of possibility that he could be one of those QBs that is just simply a better QB as a veteran than he ever was as a young player in his prime, despite losing some of his physical tools. Great. Now I feel dirty for saying all these things about a QB that I don't really care for at all.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Oct 1, 2015 9:38:13 GMT -5
As a coach, your first priority should be putting your players in the best possible position to succeed. I don't think Stafford has ever had that, but how many NFL quarterbacks have? The flip side to that is that Stafford has never done anything to help remedy the situation... He doesn't take care of the football, he makes poor decisions, and is maddeningly inaccurate at times.
I have zero faith in Stafford or this coaching staff or the front office. Clean house. But if I had to get rid of only one, I would choose Caldwell & Lombardi because I would have more faith in a coach who chooses to use Stafford correctly than allowing a coaching tandem that in their entire career has inherited Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Joe Flacco to successfully go out and find another QB. I also don't think there's going to be a worthwhile QB available on the market or in the draft for a while. Sorry, but I don't think Connor Cook, Cardale Jones, or Christian Hackenberg are going to be elite NFL QBs and I'd rather have Stafford than anything off the scrap pile heap of free agent QBs.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Sept 30, 2015 21:44:23 GMT -5
I hate Staffdong as much as the next guy, but you can't tell me that it wouldn't be fun to watch him in a wide-open offense like the Fouts-era Chargers or some no-huddle offense that throws the ball 60-70 times a game. It's such a Lions thing to do to have a gunslinger for a QB and they try to turn him into Brad fucking Johnson... Hell, even Gary Kubiak is letting Peyton Manning take 75% of his snaps out the shotgun because that's the only way he's still a functional quarterback. Yet, Caldwell and Lombardi are still rolling Stafford around on his little training wheels running double tight end sets and little finesse screens and draws, asking him to do the one thing he's terrible at: to not make mistakes.
Well, fuck balance and who cares if we turn the ball over. Let's spread teams out; 4 wide, shotgun every play... Make teams defend the whole field. And even if we have to check it down to Abdullah, Riddick, or Ebron for 4 yards every down, fine. Let Staffdong throw it 65 times a game for 475 yds, 4 TDs and 3 INTs every game until his rotator cuff explodes. We might not win any more games, but at least it will be entertaining.
Someone told me yesterday that Stafford has only attempted 4 passes of longer than 20 yards this season... I don't know if that stat is true, but after watching those 3 games, it certainly feels true.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Sept 30, 2015 12:27:23 GMT -5
Who said Michigan currently is/has been an elite program? The last time anyone other than the slappiest of Michigan fans made that argument was a decade ago.
There's a big difference between having the CAPACITY or POTENTIAL to be an elite program (which I think we can all agree Michigan can be because of the tradition, fanbase, money and now coaching staff) and actually being one. Because the program has been run into the ground repeatedly over the last decade, it's going to take some time to get it running again.
Of course, it's only eruff, but anyone who says Michigan shouldn't be happy with 8-9 wins this year on principle alone isn't a realist.
|
|
wacko
All-Andre Drummond
Post Hall of Fame Inductee
Posts: 172
|
Post by wacko on Sept 4, 2015 14:25:03 GMT -5
Yeah, this year's QB/OL play will be the last-parting gift from Hoke/Borges. Thanks guys... you really knew how to pick them.
Players that surprised me last night: Darboh Deveon Smith Chris Wormley Willie Henry The new punter/special teams coordinator
Players that disappointed: Rudock Joe Bolden Ty Isaac (dude runs upright)
|
|