This week is the test. So far we have a solid home win against a pretty bad team, and a road win where the defense came through against a bad offense.

If we want to be division/playoff contenders, you've gotta win home games against other good teams.

To win the division we just need to beat gb/chi/minn at home. Do that and we are division champs


Expect a loss this week, but hope it's close

Hi guys,

I really like the way the Lions 'D' is playing. Tough and hard hitting. That Agnew guy is exciting. Lang has made a difference. From a fan of good football perspective, Monday's game was fun to watch. Lions playing well. GL this week. Falcons are beatable.

Omg other peoples said something nice about the lions. We have arrived.

Week 1: 2 point home dogs
Week 2: 3 point road dogs
Week 3: 3 point home dogs

You've won 2 straight 45% chances (good runhot but nothing crazy). Week 3 is essentially a redux of the first two weeks.

If you win all the games you'll be favored in going forward you'll playoff. No need to make this more of a statement game than the first two equally difficult games.

They are not the same team that was 2 point home dogs against the Cardinals. If the season opener was against Atlanta, they are probably 6 or 7 point home dogs. This is not just run good. they are clearly a much better team tham most people thought in the preseason. The fact that they are only small dogs to the reigning NFC champs shows how far they have come in the last 2 games.

Right, looking at early season NFL lines is a pretty worthless metric. The books' incentives are to get close to equal amounts of money on both sides of a line. As we gain information, we see what teams are going to do well, and which ones are going to struggle.

If you set the lines right now with 2 full games of information, the Lions are probably 4-5 point favorites against the Cardinals at home, and PK to -1 @ NYG.

Likewise, in a hypothetical Bengals @ Chiefs week 1 matchup, the Chiefs would have probably been 3-3.5 point favorites. If they played tomorrow, the Chiefs are probably favored by 10.

It seems rash to make "clear" determinations after a two game sample.

In fact, Detroit did not move at all on the market after the NYG game (0.1 GPF 5 days ago; same today)

still going 12-4 division is a dumpster fire and the Lions are solid in all 3 phases

I know we're still in LOL sample size territory at this point in the season, but Football Outsiders has the Lions at #3 in Super Bowl equity at this point.

Yeah, it's been two bad teams, but everything about this defense is different than last year. Their pass rush and short coverage have vastly improved. I'm a true believer in Quinn's system. He's building a team, not just acquiring talent. The team has always had talent at key positions, but there were just too many holes to make the right use of it, and were always exploitable by better teams. In 2 seasons he's revamped the O-Line, LBs, and plugged holes on the D-Line, while adding depth at WR, and secondary. RB is the only major position left unaddressed, as I still somewhat question if any of the 5 RB's on the team are really the answer.

So yeah, I don't buy that week 3 is a redux of the first 2 weeks. One thing we've watched this Lions team do over the years is crush weaker opponents but then falter against better competition. As far as I can tell ARI and NYG are pretty weak teams, so we've seen this before. Week 3 really is a litmus test to see how they stack up. For the last 6 or so years they've been a .500 team that get walloped against good teams during the season or when they sneak into the playoffs as a wildcard. While this game is likely to be a loss, as long as they can prove they can hang with the big boys like ATL, then there should be no doubt they are a top 10 team with serious playoff equity. If it's a typical SOL loss against an elite team? Well, I guess it's back to hoping they luckbox into the playoffs and maybe pull an NYG. But I don't see it. This is the first time I've really felt that they are a serious contender fit to be compared to the top teams in the NFL.

Looks like Davis isnt going to play this Sunday. Huge loss esp vs the falcons. Davis has been the defenses QB. He would of been huge vs the falcons rb tandem.

Really hope this isnt something that keeps coming up with him. Barring injury this kid is going to a good player ITL for a long time.

The mvp odds have Stafford currently tied with Rodgers and Brady at +500 on bovada. Next guy is Carr at +900.

Go lions

Those are horrendous odds.

5Dimes currently has the Lions at +475 to win the NFC North, which is a fantastic price.

Was surprised to see Tomlinson on the 49ers. I see we managed to turn a 1st rounder into a 5th rounder in 2 seasons. Shazaam!

Considering how awful Tomlinson was tonight getting a fifth rounder is a major win.

Yeah, it was another decent move by Quinn to unload a player they no longer have any use for and get something in return. His days were numbered by mid season last year when a rookie 3rd round started getting a lot of his reps.

As for Davis, the average concussion protocol recovery time is 16 days. So it's reasonable to expect him out in week 3 and 4. I think Swanson missed 4 or 5 games last year for his concussion, so these things can linger a bit. It's a blow, but while beating good teams like ATL is a step toward being a top team, so is overcoming injuries, and it's not like the Falcons are unscathed. I'm looking forward to seeing how rookie Reeves-Maybin does, and it's a safe bet we'll see more 3 safety sets with Killebrew playing more in that hybrid LB/S role. Although Tavon Wilson is banged up too, but they've got Don Carey who can step up there.

Not only that but he got hit in the facemask on that play & poked in the god damn eye. I'm not saying that swipe across the facemask, which they mentioned in the telecast was "incidental" should be a penalty, but it's always called that way

The key to getting a facemask penalty is to turn your head when they hit it. That's the queue that it was the grab & pull penalty, and not just the incidental touching which is no longer a penalty in the NFL. The eye gouge was BS though. There was no reason to still have his hand moving at his face. The ball was long out of his hand by that point.

Confirmed Davis and Wilson out Sunday, with Swanson questionable. So look for Reeves-Maybin, Killebrew, Carey, and Bellore to see some more time. If Swanson sits, then that probably moves Graham to C, and Dahl to G, who has shown some potential to be a capable backup. They'll regress a bit without Davis, but as long as the front 4 keeps playing at an elite level it will make everyone's job behind them that much easier.

I don't think this is right for a quarterback in the pocket. Because they fall into the "defenseless player" category I think any contact with the helmet at all is supposed to be a flag. I didn't mean to imply that it should be a facemasking penalty even though the contact on the helmet was specifically on the facemask.

****.

I'm going to refer to my previous post b/c you can argue about what "forcibly" means and that he was hit by a hand rather than "forearm" but in practice they've been calling this penalty on any graze at all of a quarterback's helmet for years. I have to say I was losing my **** when it happened live because they missed a) that it was a forward pass b) the eye poke and c) the facemask contact all on a play which at the time seemed like could have swung the game. I've seen the Lions get dicked over by a fair number of calls in my day but 3 on 1 play was a lot for me to take.

Confirmed Caldwell has a long term contract. Its probably the most controversial move by Quinn. While Caldwell does have a winning record here, the expectation is win in the playoffs, and he has yet to deliver on that. Its another example of him bringing the NE way to Detroit by keeping stability at HC.

I didn’t want Caldwell here to start. Didn’t want him for the last few years.

However. I think the play is to give him an extension. He may not be the best coach, but there are worse.

I think having a figurehead coach this year would be a distraction and that’s something we don’t need.

So it’s similar to the stafford issue. If we fire JC, a bunch of teams will line up to hire him.

That penalty on Lang to negate a 1st down and put them in 3rd and 20 was some SOL

That's 2 3rd down penalties. Team looks outmatched and undisciplined.

Ugly