OT: MIchigan Sports Thread: UM wins Natty Championship
- Thread starter Winger98
- Start date
Bondurant
Registered User
The Lions probably can bite kneecaps all they want but will still finish at the bottom of the league. I honestly believe that Goff can be better than last year and his OL will be a big help. But the WR group is really bad and the defense as a whole offers lots of question marks.
It certainly is too early to tell, but the QB depth in the next draft seems sketchy to me. The Texans should have a very firm grip onto #1 overall, so the Lions may just pick after the true jewels are already taken like last year.
Gruß,
BSHH
WesNichols14
Registered User
I was talking to family yesterday, and they were holding firm that the Lions were an 9-8 team..... I can't help but look at the roster and think this is a tank/development year.
Receiver is the easiest group to get at least one really good guy, and they seemingly avoided it, instead focusing on reclamation projects. Not only that but its going to take most of the season to allow Sewell to develop into a RT.
Receiver is the easiest group to get at least one really good guy, and they seemingly avoided it, instead focusing on reclamation projects. Not only that but its going to take most of the season to allow Sewell to develop into a RT.
cjm502
Holy Jumpin!
I honestly don't care where the Lions place this season as long as DC instills a culture that outworks the other team every game win or lose, and the players reportedly love playing for him too.
izlez
Carter Mazur Fan Club
- Feb 28, 2012
- 5,073
- 4,075
This Lions team has virtually no talent on the roster. How many players are top-5 at their position? Even when breaking it down to "#2 corner back", "slot receiver", "Right tackle"?
Optimistically, if players progress like we hope... maybe 2? If we're lucky? Even if the coaching staff turns out to be good, this season is going to be rough.
Optimistically, if players progress like we hope... maybe 2? If we're lucky? Even if the coaching staff turns out to be good, this season is going to be rough.
Ricelund
̶W̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶t̶e̶a̶m̶
So who are we hoping the Tigers sign this winter? There are some huge names out there:
- Verlander
- Greinke
- Scherzer
- Kershaw
- Bryant
- Stroman
- Gausman
- Semien
- Freeman
- Story
- Seager
- Correa
- Baez
Filling the hole at shortstop is obviously their biggest need, so I'm hoping for one of Story, Seager, Correa, or Semien. I think it will likely be Correa or Semien. I would be thrilled with either. I'd also love to see JV back in Detroit, of course.
- Verlander
- Greinke
- Scherzer
- Kershaw
- Bryant
- Stroman
- Gausman
- Semien
- Freeman
- Story
- Seager
- Correa
- Baez
Filling the hole at shortstop is obviously their biggest need, so I'm hoping for one of Story, Seager, Correa, or Semien. I think it will likely be Correa or Semien. I would be thrilled with either. I'd also love to see JV back in Detroit, of course.
Lil Sebastian Cossa
Opinions are share are my own personal opinions.
- Jul 6, 2012
- 11,436
- 7,448
Let's sign Clayton Kershaw. Then we can hear about him and former Lions QB Matt Stafford went to the same high school. I don't know if you knew that.
I want to stress to all my Lions friends that I really, desperately need you guys to replace the Vikings as a relevant team in the division.
Not this year, but soon. This is definitely a rebuild and culture change year for the Lions. New coach is fun as hell, I'm rooting for him (I really hated Patricia from day 1 for you guys), hopefully his X and Os are all well. Thanks, fam.
Not this year, but soon. This is definitely a rebuild and culture change year for the Lions. New coach is fun as hell, I'm rooting for him (I really hated Patricia from day 1 for you guys), hopefully his X and Os are all well. Thanks, fam.
If we don't sign a SS I'm really curious how the Tigers gloss over it. It's a glaring hole, there are several big names possibly available to fill it. Oh, and one of them was a star player for our current manager. Missing out really only comes down to two things. Either players really don't like Detroit for some reason and are avoiding us or we weren't willing to spend for it.
538 breakdown of the season and all the QBs:
2021 NFL Predictions
Goff's Elo value essentially the same as Stafford, which I found interesting.
2021 NFL Predictions
Goff's Elo value essentially the same as Stafford, which I found interesting.
FireBird71
Registered User
- Aug 6, 2015
- 3,120
- 1,220
All I want is Goff to be decent…want the Lions to use those First Rounders on Defense and Receivers
FireBird71
Registered User
- Aug 6, 2015
- 3,120
- 1,220
jaster
I am become woke, destroyer of ignorance.
- Jun 8, 2007
- 13,961
- 9,787
Frk It
Mo Seider Less Problems
- Jul 27, 2010
- 36,897
- 15,817
P Jack Fox was an All-Star last year and rightfully so. Then you have TE Hockenson and C Ragnow, who are somewhere in top 5-territory; perhaps even RB Swift, if he continues to improve.
However, I think the Lions' problem is less the lack of very good players, but rather having several positions groups with only marginal talent: The WR corps figures to be at the bottom of the league. Even if Okudah rebounds thoroughly, the DBs as a whole should be a real weakness as well. The LBs aren't impressive either and Goff is at least a question mark.
The method may be very flawed, but a comparison to last year's team seems interesting to me: If Goff were as good as Stafford, it would be a surprise. Is there any WR as good as Golladay, Jones or Amendola? Weren't Harmon and Coleman the best DBs last year? The Texans certainly were worse last year and became even more terrible, but this is the only team with a similarly downward direction.
Gruß,
BSHH
Swift will never be a top-5 RB. I'll be shocked if he gets to top-10. I don't see him staying healthy. I very much hope that he proves me wrong. Everything else is spot on, the Lions suck everywhere except with Hockenson and parts of our O-Line and our...punter.
Swift is certainly talented enough to be a top 5 RB in the league. And I have hope that he may get used like one, health permitting.
Dan Campbell comes from the Saints organization that has utilized Kamara as one of the most fully integrated running backs in all areas of the offense for a number of years now. Screen game, check downs, down field routes, and run game.
Jared Goff comes from the Rams organization that utilized Gurley as the most heavily used running back in football and ran him until his body gave out. Goff is a notorious game manager QB and has an insanely low intended air yards mark. Last year he was the third lowest among starting QBs, he sticks around the line of scrimmage when in doubt. He's also losing some really good WRs from LAR and replacing them with nothing, so his short targets have to go somewhere.
Anthony Lynn's offense with the Chargers has utilized the RBs in the passing game a TON over the years. Tied for 4th in RB targets in 2018, 1st in 2019, 2nd in 2020. (Saints were 3rd, T-3rd, and 3rd in the same time frame)
Everything about the situation appears to be pointing towards a big RB usage for Detroit between the stuff above, the lack of WRs, and the investment in the line. If Swift can stay healthy, I think he gets close.
izlez
Carter Mazur Fan Club
- Feb 28, 2012
- 5,073
- 4,075
Call me crazy, but I think Kamara and Gurley were successful, with offenses designed around them, because the actually were top-5 RB's in the league. Swift ain't those guys.
I do think there's a small possibility that with the lack of talent on the offense, usage gets funneled to Swift, and maybe he is a top 5 fantasy RB. I really really doubt that, but it's possible. But that doesn't necessarily make him one of the best 5 RB's in the league
Oh, and I did forget about Jack Fox in my assessment of the roster. Fox is GOAT
Swift as a top 5 RB?
McCaffrey
Cook
Henry
Kamara
Chubb
Tall order. That doesn't even include Zeke, Barkley, Jacobs, Taylor, and Aaron Jones.
Some of these guys will fade, RBs burn out fast, but there's always some new guy banging at the door. Maybe that's Swift but he's got half a dozen guys just like him, such as Edwards-Helaire.
McCaffrey
Cook
Henry
Kamara
Chubb
Tall order. That doesn't even include Zeke, Barkley, Jacobs, Taylor, and Aaron Jones.
Some of these guys will fade, RBs burn out fast, but there's always some new guy banging at the door. Maybe that's Swift but he's got half a dozen guys just like him, such as Edwards-Helaire.
jkutswings
hot piss hockey
- Jul 10, 2014
- 11,579
- 9,628
Yeah, I think others have noted it, but Swift is more "top 5 volume" than "top 5 talent".
Still great potential for a fantasy team, but not for an All Pro nomination.
Don't sleep on Jamaal Williams stealing all kinds of fantasy points. He's a knee cap biting kinda running back and I think he'll see solid usage.
jkutswings
hot piss hockey
- Jul 10, 2014
- 11,579
- 9,628
Yeah, but the Lions need to stink one more year while the new front office settles in and they hopefully draft a good QB.
I'm rolling with CMC and Kamara on the two (fantasy) teams I care about this year.
I guess I would ask you how you think Kamara arrived at this point? He was drafted in the third round and went on to average 6.1 YPC (career high), catch 81 passes (2 off his career high set last year) and score 13 total touchdowns. His success was not remotely tied to the system built around him, nor was he a top-5 RB before he ever played a game in the NFL. The system gave him a chance to shine as a rookie by using his skillset.
The one thing Swift has not had is the opportunity to let his talent shine. He has run behind a worse offensive line, with a QB that has never heard of a check down, for a coach that would rather let Peterson ram his head into a brick wall repeatedly. I think this year will be our first look at what Swift is actually capable of, and a big part of that is the team and system installed around him will actually play to his strengths. He might not enter the upper echelon, but this would be the year for him to breakout if he is going to do so.
And the top-5 RB thing is very difficult to really nail down; are we talking about talent? Productivity? Fantasy value? I think that Swift has as good of instincts as a running back as many of these guys, and certainly more versatility than a number of them. Swift presents more receiving potential than Henry, Chubb, Jacobs, Taylor, probably Cook. This is outside the designed screens, and more like the true pass catchers (Kamara, CMC, Barkley, Ekeler, Edwards-Helaire).
Again, it depends a lot on the fit for the production to follow. Look how stifled Barkley looked in the transition from Manning to Jones. Manning was one of the highest checkdown users in the NFL (especially on 3rd down) and Jones has been one of the lowest checkdown users in the league. Coincidentally, Saquon dropped from 7.6 targets per game down to 5.6 targets per game from 2018 to 2019. How CMC's best season came when he was treated as the only offensive option for his team (and Henry falls into this category as well). How Cook has become as effective as he is playing for a team whose identity has revolved around the run game for quite a while. There are few players that I believe have a talent level that transcends the situation they were drafted or signed into.
The top-5 is truly irrelevant to debate in absolute terms, and really only applies to fantasy. That being said, I see no reason Swift couldn't be in the upper echelon of RBs with the way this team MIGHT be designed to play offensively, assuming he stays healthy.
