Optimigo Band Reunion….

[Mainevent]

This is maybe why you don’t spend the #12 pick in the draft on a situational running back.

And I know I was a big proponent of being good with whatever call Holmes and Campbell made on Jalen Carter, but it’s hard to look at that defense and look at what Carter is going and not start having second thoughts.

[froot loops]

That might be right, they need Gibbs to produce.

[Cody_Russell]

I’m wondering if Gibbs and LaPorta (2023 draft package deal) were the two best players for the Lions yesterday…. Hard to judge their true impact in a 38-6 defeat.

Yes, it’s fair to have high expectations for the two #12 overall picks. They’ve each had one moment this season that has helped two Lions wins.
- Gibbs awesome possession vs Falcons to clinch game.
- Williams TD vs Bucs to provide cushion.
Outside of that, minimal impact when it comes to winning. More concerned about Williams because he’s had more ugly moments in his career. It’s time for him to clean things up soon.

Obviously happy about the Lions regime, but yes… more impact from Williams and Gibbs should be expected given the resources spent to acquire them. More so Williams at this time.

[Mainevent]

Lions also have 2 3rd rounders from this year that aren't playing. Hooker is obviously an investment in the future at QB, but they traded 3 picks for Martin and he's inactive every game. You can scoff at the picks they gave up, but that's where you build depth is in those middle rounds and the Lions traded those picks for developmental player that isn't helping them right now.

[froot loops]

The Martin thing has always been weird. For the most part the defensive tackle rotation has been good to the point where they already have one other DT as a healthy scratch nearly every game. They shit the bed yesterday. When you can find guys like Buggs and Jones for cheap, it doesn't seem like a great investment for Martin.

They need to get to a point where they have depth but they can trade some of these platoon resources into mainstays. But a lot of this would have looked better if they had Gardner-Johnson and Mosely. The defensive line was putrid yesterday but they did get some pressure that might have gotten home if there was decent coverage. Guys were running wide open in the middle and on the sidelines.

[chemiclord]

You can look at the conditions leading up to that game and decide, "It was a perfect storm of shit for the Lions and that sort of game happens." Defensively, when you're starting Will Harris as your CB2, chances are that means you're going to have someone wide open every play regardless of what scheme you're running. That's just what it is; Will Harris is fine as someone who can spell anyone on the defensive backfield, he's less fine as an every down player. That was the state of the secondary yesterday. Couple that inability to cover with an inability to finish plays on the D-Line, and... yeah, that's a recipe for 38 points surrendered.

Offensively, the game conditions were going to be a problem. Goff really doesn't have the sort of arm that's going to be able to cut through that sort of wind, and without Montgomery, they were lacking the sort of power running game that was going to be able to handle that. Gibbs did pretty well, honestly, but he's not that sort of "three yards and a cloud of dust back" that they needed right then at that time. Yeah... that's a recipe for your offense not scoring a lot of points.

So sure... you can argue that it's just "one of those games that happens sometimes, burn the tape and move on." And hey, that's a reasonable conclusion to reach.

But at the same time, it's also fair to raise a hand and ask, "So... uhh... why weren't the Lions prepared for this sort of game? Chances are unless you're going to be the #1 seed in the conference, you're going to wind up playing a playoff game in inclement conditions, and probably worse than this. And why the hell does dual-threat QBs continue to clown this defense regardless of the time and place? Chances are extremely high you're going to run into Geno Smith or Jalen Hurts at some point in the playoffs. Shrugging this game off and burning the tape isn't an acceptable answer."

I think it's also reasonable to say, "While the conditions did the Lions no favors, it's not unreasonable to expect them to be better prepared and have a better strategy than whatever the hell they brought into this game. Losing that badly and looking that lost while doing so is simply unacceptable, no matter how windy it is outside and how many people are scratched."

I'm still oscillating between those two takes, and am probably going to continue to do so until next Monday.

[whatever_gong82]

The Martin thing has always been weird. For the most part the defensive tackle rotation has been good to the point where they already have one other DT as a healthy scratch nearly every game. They shit the bed yesterday. When you can find guys like Buggs and Jones for cheap, it doesn't seem like a great investment for Martin.

They need to get to a point where they have depth but they can trade some of these platoon resources into mainstays. But a lot of this would have looked better if they had Gardner-Johnson and Mosely. The defensive line was putrid yesterday but they did get some pressure that might have gotten home if there was decent coverage. Guys were running wide open in the middle and on the sidelines.

And this is where Brad Holmes is going to have to truly earn his money.

We desperately need quality interior linemen so that teams can't afford to hold Hutch and get away with it, to say nothing of simply double teaming him. If Jalen Carter pans out in Philadelphia, that is a major miss from Mr. Holmes, when we seriously needed another defensive person to bookend with Hutch and passed on him instead, due to the character flags shown while Carter was at Georgia.

Probably for Cater's personal growth he landed in Philly, where there are some former Georgia players to help him grow, mature and stay on point, something that this Lions team simply doesn't have at the moment.

[LightninBoy]

So sure... you can argue that it's just "one of those games that happens sometimes, burn the tape and move on." And hey, that's a reasonable conclusion to reach.

This probably wasn't directed at me. However, I raised a lot of the "shit happens" points and used the term "perfect storm" in the GBU thread so I feel compelled to respond.

I am by no means advocating for "burn the tape and move on". If anything, I hope this shakes the FO a bit to make them understand they are still missing some pieces. 3 out of 4 of their big free agent acquisitions are on IR and/or missing major time. That's tough to recover from, particularly when their backups are now going down. So if Holmes is truly in "win now" mode, they need to make some moves.

[ghandi]

Lions also have 2 3rd rounders from this year that aren't playing. Hooker is obviously an investment in the future at QB, but they traded 3 picks for Martin and he's inactive every game. You can scoff at the picks they gave up, but that's where you build depth is in those middle rounds and the Lions traded those picks for developmental player that isn't helping them right now.

Puka Nacua was taken 177th....any 3 of the picks the Lions traded for Martin could have been used on him.....Not saying they would have, but Martin wasnt even projected to go until the 5th round.....IT kinda felt like "Hey we havent addressed a big DT yet, we better grab the biggest guy we can find before its too late"......

[ghandi]

"3 out of 4 of their big free agent acquisitions are on IR and/or missing major time."

and this is why its hard for me to get on the Hey we need to mortgage the farm for Patrick Surtain (or some other).....Its a leage of attrition....Every team loses alot of players...Its just the nature of the game....Thats why you need to draft alot of depth....I didnt like giving up 3 picks for Brodrick Martin...he isnt even good enough to beat out Buggs or Benito Jones.

[Mainevent]

You need elite players - investing in a guy like Surtain or Danielle Hunter would make sense, as those types of impact players are worth it. The reason the Eagles and 49ers are so tough is they have studs all over the place, some of which came from making aggressive deals either through trade or FA.

[Cody_Russell]

"3 out of 4 of their big free agent acquisitions are on IR and/or missing major time."

and this is why its hard for me to get on the Hey we need to mortgage the farm for Patrick Surtain (or some other).....Its a leage of attrition....Every team loses alot of players...Its just the nature of the game....Thats why you need to draft alot of depth....I didnt like giving up 3 picks for Brodrick Martin...he isnt even good enough to beat out Buggs or Benito Jones.

Sutton, CJGJ, Moseley, and Montgomery? Yup, unfortunate for the Lions. Sutton has been a good signing. While he struggled with everyone yesterday, at least he’s mostly a competent starting CB.

Keeping Swift and Okudah might have helped soften the blow of the Moseley and Montgomery injuries too. I find it comical that the Lions are having bad injury luck at RB and Swift has magically remained perfectly healthy for the first time in his career. Like of course that happens.

[wcfwtf]

Conspiracy incoming. I wonder if there was a strained relationship between Swift and Deuce.
like you want me to run this way, uh my hammy is sore.

[froot loops]

I've thought maybe it was something different like Deuce maybe sucked as a coach and Swift didn't like the portrayal on Hard Knocks at all.