Innocent until proven guilty


Also

No one will care when we ring

No one really believes that tho. It's easy and rational to draw tentative conclusions based on relatively weak evidence. Like if a child accuses their uncle of molesting them you know there's a 90%+ chance it's true. Or if a woman accuses a guy of raping/sexually assaulting her you know odds are it's true (probably 90%+ also). Are there mentally ill kids and women who lie in these circumstances? Sure but that's rare. Same idea when it comes to playing poker. If I just sit down and I see a guy voluntarily play 3 straight hands with no showdown I'm gonna assume he's too loose until proven otherwise. And if a guy is accused of rape/sexual assault/molesting the smart money is gonna assume he's guilty until proven otherwise.

We're not talking about Michigan football here. This is the Lions thread. Sorry bro. They will never ring.

Lions will ring before Umich titles again.

This is the lock of the century.

Alright, I let this thread go through camp and most of preseason, time to resurrect it.

I'm not sure whether I'm drinking the kool-aid or phoning this season in as SOL yet. So I'm just going to write it up both ways and you can reach whichever one conforms to your world view.

Why they are going to suck: They have a rookie head coach, and that rarely pans out well, let alone Belichick disciples. Their D-Line upgrades are at best moderate upgrades over busts like A'Shawn, but won't generate the pass rush needed to really compete. Jarrad Davis is so bad in pass coverage that they have to take him off the field on 3rd down, and he's been getting lit up this preseason. Glover Quin is old, and Darius Slay is little more than an above average DB that had a fluke year where a bunch of INTs fell in his lap. The O-Line that Bob Quinn has put his blood sweat and tears into looks sub-par. They have a bunch of nobody's playing TE, which has always been Stafford's safety valve. Legarrate Blount isn't the player he used to be, and Kerryon is just another 2nd round pick in the mold of Ameer and we know how well that worked out.

Why they are going to be good. They now have a ton of talent on the O-Line and once they work out some kinks and come into form may play at an elite level. Ragnow looks like a beast so far, and we know how good the other 4 guys can be when things are clicking. Kerryon and LB look like significant improvements over the previous RB's. They are just working on some stuff in the preseasons, but once the regular season starts, this offense is going to come out doing what it does best, which is spread the field and let Stafford work his magic. The defense is a work in progress, but there's a lot to like there. It felt like they played below their talent level last year, and Matty P is a master schemer who is going to draw up some creative plays to take advantage of mismatches and get at the QB. Ricky Jean Francois has looked like a brilliant signing, and Dashawn Hand is playing at a level well above his draft position. Jarrad Davis has had another offseason to learn, and it's clear he has the physical skills to play at an elite level if he can master the details. They are returning Slay and GQ who are two of the best in the game at their spots. This team could really compete for the NFC if they can stay healthy and play at their talent level.

5-11

Got my lions win the super bowl bet again.

Let’s f go.

The preseason is over, they didn't look great, but whatever. It's mostly the same team on offense that it was last year player wise, so we have a pretty good idea what to expect as far as the talent on the field goes.

I'm tired of reporters just going through position groups trying to figure out who's in and out, but I've got some bad takes that are almost surely wrong that I'll leave here.

RB - Zach Zenner in, Ameer out. No doubt that whoever gets the RB4 spot is unlikely to see any time on the field, but I think ZZ is a better fit for that role. He's a more well rounded back, is an ace in pass protection (which will matter if we get down to him) and is a smaller cap hit. Ameer won't be happy with that role, and while his trade value is lol, will get a fresh start somewhere else.

QB - Cassell out, Rudock in, then Rudock probably out by game 1. I'm tired of everyone saying Cassell will get in because he will be a better "study buddy" for Stafford. Stafford has been in this league like 10 years. He's the centerpiece of this team. What matters far more is that you have someone who can actually play behind him, and I think Rudock is marginally better. But neither of these guys have panned out, so look for them to test the free agent market for a better backup on cut day. Everyone says this team is screwed if Matt goes down, and they are probably right, but you can't look at last year's Eagles and say that backup QB's are just coaches in uniform. You can win a superbowl with the right one.

Other than that, I expect pure carnage on defense. There are probably like 4 people from last years squad who are safe (Ziggy, JD, GQ, and Slay). Other than them, start flipping coins. There are some people who are *probably* safe like Zettel, A'Shawn, Diggs, and some others, but it would not surprise me if Bob Quinn churns through players on Defense in the next week to try and find incremental improvements to the talent level.

ZZ cut. end of a freakin era man.

Maybe I jumped the gun a bit. Zenner is on the IR, not cut, so maybe he has some utility on this team yet. Final Roster is out. No huge surprises other than Deshawn Shead getting cut and they kept a weird balance where they went heavy on offensive players (although that could still shift). I was of course wrong on all my predictions. Rudock did make the practice squad, but I think there is at least some chance the backup QB changes at some point this season, especially if anyone gets injured.

They gave Quandre Diggs a pretty hefty contract. I'm a big fan of the guy. He's scrappy, has a nose for the football, and hits like a guy twice his size.

We have another surprise roster move in the final week, with Anthony Zettel getting axed in favor of a DE they apparently liked when they practiced with NY. We sort of knew something was up when he was playing deep into game 4, but when he made the final roster I figured he was safe, especially with how light they went on defense.

You may remember me picking Zettel as a breakout star last year. I'll stop short of calling him a star, but he did spend a lot of time starting opposite Ziggy. One thing he struggled with though was gap integrity. He consistently found himself out of position on run plays and was a big reason the Lions were giving up big chunk yardage on the ground. While he has a lot of raw athleticism as a pass rusher, his inability to control himself and maintain the edge is likely the reason he is gone.

Unless he goes on to become a pro-bowler, I doubt we'll miss him too much.

Anyways, season predictions time?

What I of course want to happen is a nice 13-3 season capped off with a deep playoff run. The reality feels more like a 7-9 season, with the next off season being the most active of the Bob Quinn era, as he will need to right the ship in order to save his job. The offense lacks consistency, the early game struggles continue to be a thing despite Stafford's improvements, and the defense is a hot mess that's not going to help much. But here's my specific thoughts on what we will learn this season:

Kenny Golladay is a beast, and we are going to see him take on an even bigger role in this offense. He made some pretty sick plays last year in limited action, so I'm looking for a lot more out of him.

Kerryon Johnson is pretty good. He'll lead the team in carries this year, and get them over the 100 yard rusher hump.

The O-Line will not look good. This will be a disappointment.

The defense will suck. Bad. There will be more roster moves. You might see a few guys step up. But by the end of the season you will wonder if anyone on this defense even belongs in the NFL.

Our chances of both a wild card and last place in the division have drastically gone up and we haven't even taken the field yet!

Rodgers leg fell off so look for the Leos to lead the division until week 11 when Rodgers returns and Detroit loses their last 5

strap in boys its gonna be a long season. like 2013 all over again.

Rocket scientist my ass. This game could not have been coached any worse if you got a random dude off a stool from the Moose Lodge in Pontiac.

PS Blount sucks
PPS even I know if Riddick is in the game it's a pass play

well, that could have gone better

Are we good yet?

15-1 still in play i guess.

Cassel has the weakest arm ever seen in the NFL. You kept that **** over Rudock?

Having pure winners on the roster is obviously not a priority.

4-12 here we come.

In addition to being bottom 5 in the league at Rushing and rushing the passer, we’ve now added pass blocking to that list. Just can’t win with that many glaring holes.

This combined with the ND-Mich game is seriously disheartening.

Going to suck in perpetuity

at least it's basketball season soon

er, hockey season

oh goddammit

Not even a championship WNBA team to root for. Sad!