WEBVTT 00:00:06.220 --> 00:00:11.900 This is the Litterbox, a Detroit Lions podcast 00:00:11.900 --> 00:00:16.640 with your hosts, Chad West and Bill Patterson. 00:00:20.859 --> 00:00:24.960 Detroit Lions Litterbox listeners, we had a really 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:28.960 fun Sunday. 325 central standard time kickoff 00:00:28.960 --> 00:00:31.899 and the Lions beat the Cincinnati Bengals 37 00:00:31.899 --> 00:00:38.200 to 24 what was Equally awesome Was that not only 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:42.219 did they cover? The ten and a half point spread 00:00:42.219 --> 00:00:45.500 but it was the largest road spread the Lions 00:00:45.500 --> 00:00:49.840 had had since 1973 and the Lions were so in control 00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:53.159 of this game that many of the national audience 00:00:53.159 --> 00:00:58.399 or Midwest audience that had this game on soon 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:01.479 found it to be flexed in the fourth quarter to 00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:04.319 the Chargers commanders game because the Lions 00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:07.799 were so convincing in their beat down of the 00:01:07.799 --> 00:01:10.739 hapless Cincinnati Bengals, which is a first 00:01:10.739 --> 00:01:13.980 in my lifetime that I can remember the Lions 00:01:13.980 --> 00:01:16.680 beating someone so bad, Chet, that they were 00:01:16.680 --> 00:01:19.359 moved to a different game, not the opposite of 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:21.500 that. They took it right away from us. They took 00:01:21.500 --> 00:01:23.560 it right. If you're not in the Detroit market. 00:01:24.109 --> 00:01:26.569 You got the pleasure of watching the commanders 00:01:26.569 --> 00:01:29.769 and the chargers and probably this is a no market 00:01:29.769 --> 00:01:33.090 And probably the Cincinnati they probably ripped 00:01:33.090 --> 00:01:34.890 it right out of the Cincinnati market You know 00:01:34.890 --> 00:01:37.129 what? I'll take it all day long and I bet many 00:01:37.129 --> 00:01:39.510 Bengals fans wouldn't complain either for the 00:01:39.510 --> 00:01:41.650 fact that they probably didn't want to watch 00:01:41.650 --> 00:01:44.450 that Turning team anymore either. I think the 00:01:44.450 --> 00:01:48.010 Bengals are done The fans are done with their 00:01:48.010 --> 00:01:51.519 squad at this point. It is not pretty there And 00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:53.680 I don't blame him. I think just watching that 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:55.400 game, you realize how important a quarterback 00:01:55.400 --> 00:02:01.879 is. Right now, if I had a vote for the 2025 NFL 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:04.859 MVP, it would go to Joe Burrow because they were 00:02:04.859 --> 00:02:08.259 2 -0 until he got injured. And now they're 2 00:02:08.259 --> 00:02:11.650 -3 in look. I think it definitely paints a picture 00:02:11.650 --> 00:02:13.949 as to how dominant Joe Burrow is as a quarterback 00:02:13.949 --> 00:02:16.509 and how good he is. I mean, I don't know that 00:02:16.509 --> 00:02:18.870 Jake Browning, I kept calling him John Browning 00:02:18.870 --> 00:02:22.110 last week. Jake Browning, I don't know that Jake 00:02:22.110 --> 00:02:26.430 Browning is a good measuring stick. Very difficult 00:02:26.430 --> 00:02:29.629 to judge a team when their quarterback can't 00:02:29.629 --> 00:02:32.509 put balls in the right spot. I mean, it looked 00:02:32.509 --> 00:02:34.430 half the time like he was actually trying to 00:02:34.430 --> 00:02:37.580 throw it to our D backs on deep balls. The other 00:02:37.580 --> 00:02:40.919 part of that is and I'm not excusing or defending 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:44.400 Jake or John Browning I'm sure Jake wouldn't 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.259 mind a John so he can go into witness relocation 00:02:47.259 --> 00:02:50.300 at this point after that that putrid performance, 00:02:50.340 --> 00:02:54.560 but their offensive line is abysmal chat it makes 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:59.259 you realize really bad how Important it is in 00:02:59.259 --> 00:03:02.000 what the key to success for teams that are successful 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:06.120 in the NFL. So think The Eagles, the Bills, the 00:03:06.120 --> 00:03:09.740 Lions at this point, the Chiefs invest so much 00:03:09.740 --> 00:03:13.819 draft capital in building the O and D lines and 00:03:13.819 --> 00:03:16.000 there's just no substitute for it, which leads 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:18.900 me to my next point. I didn't have a good feeling 00:03:18.900 --> 00:03:24.120 when I saw Taylor Decker's name showing up on 00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:27.659 the not going to participate in the game list 00:03:27.659 --> 00:03:31.199 due to that nagging shoulder injury he has and 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:36.400 in his stead came former Canadian college football 00:03:36.400 --> 00:03:41.139 player Manu to man the left tackle spot and We'll 00:03:41.139 --> 00:03:44.000 see what the PFF grades say, but he didn't get 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:46.479 isn't good. It isn't good He didn't get Jared 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:48.819 Goff killed is the positive outside of that. 00:03:48.819 --> 00:03:51.039 He almost got him killed twice He almost did 00:03:51.039 --> 00:03:54.379 he almost managed to do it two times. You don't 00:03:54.379 --> 00:03:57.860 know I understand the you give Decker a rest. 00:03:57.860 --> 00:04:01.539 Okay against the team that has a weak a fairly 00:04:01.539 --> 00:04:04.960 weak defensive line outside of Trey Hendrickson. 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:09.419 But they look pretty strong to me going up against 00:04:09.419 --> 00:04:12.740 Manu. Granted, the rest of our line did a much 00:04:12.740 --> 00:04:16.439 better job than Manu did. But Manu was was single 00:04:16.439 --> 00:04:20.199 handedly so bad that multiple plays ended up 00:04:20.199 --> 00:04:22.740 collapsing from that left side. And it wasn't 00:04:22.740 --> 00:04:25.480 just Trey Hendrickson going up against him. He 00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:27.699 couldn't handle anybody that was across from 00:04:27.699 --> 00:04:31.079 him. He got beat by almost every single guy they 00:04:31.079 --> 00:04:33.060 lined up over top of him on that side of the 00:04:33.060 --> 00:04:35.439 line. And when he wasn't getting beat, all sorts 00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:37.959 of chaos was being caused. I mean, you had, you 00:04:37.959 --> 00:04:40.980 know, David Montgomery, who's a good pass blocker, 00:04:41.100 --> 00:04:43.319 trying to figure out where he needed to go to 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:46.439 fill holes and help Manu out on that side. And 00:04:46.439 --> 00:04:49.040 I think even that was difficult. I think that 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:53.259 the experiment with Manu, I'm hoping ends soon. 00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:56.329 And if it doesn't, We may have to shift somebody 00:04:56.329 --> 00:04:58.550 over there, which is not the easiest thing in 00:04:58.550 --> 00:05:01.250 the world to do. To just shift somebody to left 00:05:01.250 --> 00:05:04.329 tackle. Hold on, I think you're being very, very 00:05:04.329 --> 00:05:07.230 harsh on him. He has not played that much football, 00:05:07.410 --> 00:05:11.470 and he was drafted as a project. It was his first 00:05:11.470 --> 00:05:15.470 start in the NFL, and I agree it was not good 00:05:15.470 --> 00:05:18.089 yet. He also didn't know that he was starting 00:05:18.089 --> 00:05:21.589 until Sunday morning. I get it, but in the Dan 00:05:21.589 --> 00:05:25.069 Campbell world, The next man up is supposed to 00:05:25.069 --> 00:05:28.170 be prepared. We heard that multiple times this 00:05:28.170 --> 00:05:32.230 past week. And it's offensive line. I know it's 00:05:32.230 --> 00:05:34.310 tough. And I'm not putting this all on Manu. 00:05:34.709 --> 00:05:36.870 I'm putting a lot of this on the whole front 00:05:36.870 --> 00:05:39.550 office, the coach staff. We just don't have an 00:05:39.550 --> 00:05:42.129 acceptable backup at a key position on the field. 00:05:42.610 --> 00:05:45.350 Who does have like a great left tackle backup 00:05:45.350 --> 00:05:48.129 though? Don't have to be great. But when your 00:05:48.129 --> 00:05:52.269 pass block score is a 17 .5 And you're the left 00:05:52.269 --> 00:05:55.649 tackle? That's problematic. Yeah. And what's 00:05:55.649 --> 00:05:57.689 gonna happen if Decker's out extended period 00:05:57.689 --> 00:06:01.029 of time now? The word on the street is that Decker 00:06:01.029 --> 00:06:03.889 will be back for the Chiefs game. I hope he was 00:06:03.889 --> 00:06:05.870 just getting a rest because it was a lighter 00:06:05.870 --> 00:06:08.350 opponent. Yes. So do you want to know the most 00:06:08.350 --> 00:06:12.432 amazing statistic from this game? Yes. Is despite... 00:06:12.430 --> 00:06:14.949 what we just talked about being the opportunity 00:06:14.949 --> 00:06:18.089 there, or at least one of them. Jared Goff went 00:06:18.089 --> 00:06:22.110 19 of 23. He is Superman back there. He only 00:06:22.110 --> 00:06:25.829 had four incompletions given that he didn't have 00:06:25.829 --> 00:06:29.370 a real left tackle in front of him. He did some 00:06:29.370 --> 00:06:32.360 stuff. He threw some balls under duress. that 00:06:32.360 --> 00:06:35.319 were absolutely fantastic. And some guys made 00:06:35.319 --> 00:06:37.759 some plays for him, too. But he got rid of a 00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:38.980 couple of balls that I didn't think he was going 00:06:38.980 --> 00:06:40.160 to get rid of. I think it was in the beginning 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:41.899 of the game. Gibbs got one that he practically 00:06:41.899 --> 00:06:44.899 picked up off the ground. But the fact that Goff 00:06:44.899 --> 00:06:46.879 even got him the ball was amazing because he 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:49.519 had heat coming from the backside. And I do wonder 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:51.939 how much of that for Goff is how used to that 00:06:51.939 --> 00:06:54.720 is he? I mean, he hasn't gotten a lot of pressure 00:06:54.720 --> 00:06:58.060 from the backside in his career. or at least 00:06:58.060 --> 00:06:59.860 in his career at the Lions due to the fact that 00:06:59.860 --> 00:07:01.420 they've had a good left tackle over there that 00:07:01.420 --> 00:07:04.000 he can trust. So I'm wondering if that's kind 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:07.079 of a new thing for him at this juncture or an 00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:10.879 unexpected. Yeah, he still played great. Yeah. 00:07:11.180 --> 00:07:13.720 So I would give Jared Goff one of my game balls. 00:07:13.779 --> 00:07:15.839 The other game ball has to go to David Montgomery, 00:07:15.939 --> 00:07:18.620 which I hope he gave to his sister. Johnny Morton 00:07:18.620 --> 00:07:21.879 just continues to wow me. And I have already 00:07:21.879 --> 00:07:24.220 forgotten about Ben Johnson or Benedict Johnson. 00:07:24.819 --> 00:07:27.790 That's a non factor for me now. David Montgomery 00:07:27.790 --> 00:07:31.389 threw a touchdown pass that was just awesome. 00:07:31.449 --> 00:07:33.889 It was only a three yarder, but it was one of 00:07:33.889 --> 00:07:37.430 those symbolic. It was symbolic and he did find 00:07:37.430 --> 00:07:40.709 the end zone. He had 18 carries for 65 yards 00:07:40.709 --> 00:07:45.389 for only a 3 .6 average. I will say that I think 00:07:45.389 --> 00:07:48.050 we're seeing the twilight of David Montgomery's 00:07:48.050 --> 00:07:51.350 career. I don't expect him to be with the Lions 00:07:51.350 --> 00:07:55.720 next year. I do think that it'll be Vahki time. 00:07:56.360 --> 00:07:58.759 And Jameer Gibbs was his usual self, 12 carries, 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:02.920 54 yards for a 4 .5 average. He was great in 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:05.860 the pass game though. He did not score a rushing 00:08:05.860 --> 00:08:09.120 touchdown. However, he did have a 39 yard pass 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:11.600 catch. And to your point, yeah, he was excellent. 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:15.399 A five catches for 92 yards, 18 .4 average on 00:08:15.399 --> 00:08:17.759 just six targets. And then another nickname. 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:21.660 It's no longer Amon Ra St. Brown. It is Amon 00:08:21.660 --> 00:08:26.649 Ra First Down. He was open. He was open. All 00:08:26.649 --> 00:08:29.509 day, eight catches, 100 yards, 12 .5 average, 00:08:29.889 --> 00:08:33.470 a long of 26 on just nine targets. But every 00:08:33.470 --> 00:08:35.690 time the Lions found themselves in third and 00:08:35.690 --> 00:08:38.610 long or third and, you know, six. He shows up. 00:08:38.730 --> 00:08:42.970 He shows up and was open. He is just so awesome. 00:08:43.509 --> 00:08:46.070 Tom and Ra is consistently now showing up at 00:08:46.070 --> 00:08:49.110 the mid -80s to 90 in PFF grades, too. So he's 00:08:49.110 --> 00:08:51.789 doing a lot of the positioning things right that 00:08:51.789 --> 00:08:53.669 maybe we don't see that they're getting on the 00:08:53.669 --> 00:08:56.899 game replay and the game. game recaps, film recaps, 00:08:57.059 --> 00:09:00.600 so it's pretty impressive that he can keep turning 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:03.259 in consistent performance after consistent performance. 00:09:03.539 --> 00:09:05.399 The last player that I think we need to give 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:07.840 a shout out to, because we were pretty much spot 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:10.440 on in our fantasy star sit -em. We were, yeah, 00:09:10.539 --> 00:09:12.360 we hit them pretty good. Stam Laporta had a great 00:09:12.360 --> 00:09:14.740 game, five catches for 92 yards. It's the most 00:09:14.740 --> 00:09:18.419 he's had yardage -wise in over, well, I guess 00:09:18.419 --> 00:09:20.259 not only this season, but you'd have to go back 00:09:20.259 --> 00:09:23.379 to this point of last season. So he's officially 00:09:23.379 --> 00:09:26.419 back, caught a touchdown and things are good. 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:29.279 I mean, the Lions offense is clicking. I will 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.820 have to say, have you bought milk today? No, 00:09:33.059 --> 00:09:35.679 no. Oh, because Jameson Williams is the missing 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:38.039 person on the back of the milk cart. Yeah, I 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:40.799 know. He is. That was well set up, by the way. 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:43.779 He is. He is. And his PFF grades showed he's 00:09:43.779 --> 00:09:47.200 down in the 50s still. He just isn't. There's 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:49.679 something not clicking with him right now, almost 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:51.759 kind of like the offensive Terry and Arnold. 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:56.379 Does that make sense? Not clicking, not picking 00:09:56.379 --> 00:09:59.620 it up, not getting it. And my only, he's still 00:09:59.620 --> 00:10:01.440 a young player in his third year, but usually 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:04.139 the third year is when a receiver starts to go. 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:06.519 That's usually when they really start to catch 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:10.600 their stride. So the fact that he's not, I, I'm 00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:14.000 wondering, is it John Morton doesn't quite know 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:16.809 how to use them and fit them in yet? Or is it 00:10:16.809 --> 00:10:20.629 just he's not doing the things he needs to be 00:10:20.629 --> 00:10:23.309 doing? I'm not 100 % sure. He dropped a couple 00:10:23.309 --> 00:10:25.129 balls in the last game. This game, he barely 00:10:25.129 --> 00:10:27.629 even got a chance to catch a ball. And another 00:10:27.629 --> 00:10:29.389 thing, I want to go back to the tight end. Do 00:10:29.389 --> 00:10:32.129 you think John Morton uses the tight end a little 00:10:32.129 --> 00:10:35.370 more than our buddy Ben did? Definitely last 00:10:35.370 --> 00:10:38.470 year, it seemed like Laporta was kind of an afterthought 00:10:38.470 --> 00:10:42.509 for certain games. And it seemed like Ben really, 00:10:42.769 --> 00:10:46.509 like... He overly focused on getting the run 00:10:46.509 --> 00:10:49.429 game set up and establishing the play action. 00:10:49.429 --> 00:10:52.990 Yeah. Where I think Johnny Moe hasn't forced 00:10:52.990 --> 00:10:56.549 things quite as much. Like he seems more willing 00:10:56.549 --> 00:11:00.509 to adapt. Now, small sample size. But let's let's 00:11:00.509 --> 00:11:03.929 take the opening drive. The Lions get the ball 00:11:03.929 --> 00:11:06.809 and march down the field. And every time they 00:11:06.809 --> 00:11:09.769 ran into trouble, he pivoted. And that was the 00:11:09.769 --> 00:11:12.629 outlet. Yeah. And that was the touchdown that 00:11:12.629 --> 00:11:14.809 Montgomery threw. Wasn't it on the opening drive? 00:11:14.909 --> 00:11:17.269 Yeah, it was the Brock right. But it was now 00:11:17.269 --> 00:11:19.870 is the second touchdown. The opening drive touchdown 00:11:19.870 --> 00:11:22.509 to go to Laporta. It was from golf. Oh, yeah. 00:11:22.870 --> 00:11:24.690 That second touchdown was Montgomery to Brock 00:11:24.690 --> 00:11:27.649 right over the middle. And Brock writes another 00:11:27.649 --> 00:11:29.730 guy did not have a very good game at all, but 00:11:29.730 --> 00:11:32.570 was rewarded with a touchdown catch So he had 00:11:32.570 --> 00:11:35.509 a pretty porous game across the board in my opinion 00:11:35.509 --> 00:11:39.350 blocking and and just in general play as far 00:11:39.350 --> 00:11:42.580 as Laporta goes He was injured at the beginning 00:11:42.580 --> 00:11:44.639 of last season, so I think we chalked his absence 00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:46.799 up to the fact that he was getting a slow start, 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:49.019 but then he never got really brought into the 00:11:49.019 --> 00:11:50.580 game plan. I just didn't see him getting a ton 00:11:50.580 --> 00:11:53.120 of opportunities from the quarterback. Now, he 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:55.879 seems to be a major piece, especially on third 00:11:55.879 --> 00:11:58.919 downs and first and second downs, for that matter. 00:11:59.059 --> 00:12:00.879 He seems to be getting the ball more often, is 00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:02.379 what I'm saying. I think this was one thing that 00:12:02.379 --> 00:12:04.419 was predicted at the beginning of the season 00:12:04.419 --> 00:12:06.679 is that Johnny Morton uses that tight end a little 00:12:06.679 --> 00:12:10.340 bit more. Think you're a hundred percent correct 00:12:10.340 --> 00:12:14.460 and early returns right now I am very very pleased 00:12:14.460 --> 00:12:18.580 with the hire of Johnny Moe I wasn't when I have 00:12:18.580 --> 00:12:21.919 to say I was very dubious of that hire But I 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:24.220 am through five games a hundred percent sold 00:12:24.220 --> 00:12:27.860 on him And Kelvin Shepherd called up a great 00:12:27.860 --> 00:12:30.279 defense our guy Jack Campbell played a great 00:12:30.279 --> 00:12:34.200 game The flowing blonde locks of Alex Alonso 00:12:34.200 --> 00:12:36.700 Loney were everywhere. He played a great game 00:12:36.700 --> 00:12:39.720 as well. Hutch is officially back. He was so 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:43.200 disruptive. And what a shame on that strip that 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:46.120 he had that Arnold had to get whistled for. I 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:48.279 mean, can we just dwell on Arnold for a second? 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:51.259 I know we've torn this guy limb from limb on 00:12:51.259 --> 00:12:55.480 this day. Chet, Chet, you are on the couch. I 00:12:55.480 --> 00:12:59.399 am your therapist. Go. I cannot stand. So let's 00:12:59.399 --> 00:13:02.500 we'll start with the sack. Sack for safety that 00:13:02.500 --> 00:13:06.940 didn't happen because because Arnold mugged Jamar 00:13:06.940 --> 00:13:10.980 Chase Who was not even being looked at by Jake 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:13.340 Browning? He was on the other side of the field 00:13:13.340 --> 00:13:15.320 Browning never even looked over there. So Arnold 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:18.600 is Mugging the guy beyond five yards just to 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:20.639 keep up with him And this is what bothers me 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:22.860 a little bit about Arnold. He he doesn't seem 00:13:22.860 --> 00:13:26.590 to have any cover ability He either mugs it, 00:13:26.590 --> 00:13:28.129 you remember how many pass interference calls 00:13:28.129 --> 00:13:30.690 he had last season in his rookie season? We kind 00:13:30.690 --> 00:13:32.549 of chalked it up to, okay, he's a rookie. He's 00:13:32.549 --> 00:13:34.350 trying to play aggressively, blah, blah, blah. 00:13:34.490 --> 00:13:37.590 It seems now that, okay, he doesn't commit the 00:13:37.590 --> 00:13:40.129 pass interference, but he loses the guy. He had 00:13:40.129 --> 00:13:44.129 seven last year and led the league. Who didn't? 00:13:44.370 --> 00:13:46.669 Arnold had seven PIs last year and led the league. 00:13:47.009 --> 00:13:49.409 Yeah. I mean, that tracks. So he was kind of 00:13:49.409 --> 00:13:51.470 a very physical coverage guy and I sort of liked 00:13:51.470 --> 00:13:53.549 it, but I was like, he's got to learn to cover. 00:13:54.029 --> 00:13:56.669 properly, so he doesn't commit all these penalties 00:13:56.669 --> 00:13:59.190 and give up all these yards. Well, now he's just 00:13:59.190 --> 00:14:01.110 mugging guys even when they aren't in the play. 00:14:01.590 --> 00:14:04.870 I it was baffling to me that I mean, maybe maybe 00:14:04.870 --> 00:14:06.750 his mugging of him kept Browning from looking 00:14:06.750 --> 00:14:09.879 that way. I have no idea. All I know is it seemed 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:12.139 like it was unnecessary, and I think it was pretty 00:14:12.139 --> 00:14:14.159 disappointing. You saw Campbell kind of looking 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:17.659 over like, what the heck are you doing? And even, 00:14:17.700 --> 00:14:20.700 you know, Hutch, of course, disappointed. Hutch 00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:22.659 probably should have had three sacks in that 00:14:22.659 --> 00:14:24.460 game, and I think he ended up with one or two, 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:26.580 or maybe he should have had four, but he got 00:14:26.580 --> 00:14:29.620 two of them called back due to penalties. I will 00:14:29.620 --> 00:14:33.440 say, like, just as far as Arnold goes, I don't 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:35.559 think he's got it. I think we've seen everything 00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:38.080 we're going to see from Arnold. And I'm kind 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:39.820 of done watching it. And if he doesn't watch 00:14:39.820 --> 00:14:41.960 out, one of these other guys is just going to 00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:44.840 get his spot. If he isn't a liability in every 00:14:44.840 --> 00:14:46.879 game, one of these other guys will get his spot. 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:49.240 I'm looking at a couple other guys out there. 00:14:49.639 --> 00:14:51.899 Rakyasin, he was your guy at the start of the 00:14:51.899 --> 00:14:54.679 season back in training camp and preseason. You 00:14:54.679 --> 00:14:57.820 were on him. He had a great game. I thought he 00:14:57.820 --> 00:15:00.700 played quite well. He did. Can I do? Yeah. I 00:15:00.700 --> 00:15:03.830 do a fun one while we're on. Yeah, yeah. Okay, 00:15:03.909 --> 00:15:08.110 so I looked up the recap on ESPN's NFL draft 00:15:08.110 --> 00:15:11.970 from the 2024 draft. He was the 24th pick. Yep. 00:15:12.690 --> 00:15:15.269 And he played at Alabama. You're going to depress 00:15:15.269 --> 00:15:18.470 us now. No, I just I just want to read this to 00:15:18.470 --> 00:15:21.809 you. Massive steal. Arnold is the second corner 00:15:21.809 --> 00:15:24.889 on my board, but he has the same grade as QB1 00:15:24.889 --> 00:15:27.750 Quinian Mitchell, who the Eagles took and is 00:15:27.750 --> 00:15:30.870 the 11th. Overall player on my board this pick 00:15:30.870 --> 00:15:33.070 might even be better than the Eagles getting 00:15:33.070 --> 00:15:36.330 Mitchell at 22 The Lions trading up to get Arnold 00:15:36.330 --> 00:15:40.710 makes it close And he slid to 24 probably for 00:15:40.710 --> 00:15:44.129 a reason because 23 other teams saw that he wasn't 00:15:44.129 --> 00:15:47.629 Well the Lions traded with Dallas to get up to 00:15:47.629 --> 00:15:49.690 grab them because Mitchell was already off the 00:15:49.690 --> 00:15:53.389 board Who knows maybe he turns a corner maybe 00:15:53.389 --> 00:15:56.519 he and for that matter Jameson turn a corner 00:15:56.519 --> 00:15:59.279 and become all pros every year. I don't, you 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:01.100 know, we're not going to sit here. He's two years 00:16:01.100 --> 00:16:03.940 into his career, but so far it looks really bad. 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:05.759 It looks like one of the other D backs we would 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:08.279 have drafted 10 years ago, 12 years ago that 00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:10.320 never panned out either in the first round. Remember 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:12.059 when we went through a streak of that, the lions 00:16:12.059 --> 00:16:14.940 did drafting D back after D back in the first 00:16:14.940 --> 00:16:17.480 round and none of them ended up panning out really 00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:20.879 at any rate. The other guys filled in. I like 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:22.980 Avante Maddox out there, too. You can tell he's 00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:25.200 a veteran. Gets the job done. Trey Flowers, who 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:26.620 I think has been on the team for three days, 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:29.299 ended up having to play. The injuries are starting 00:16:29.299 --> 00:16:31.419 to look a lot like last year back there in the 00:16:31.419 --> 00:16:33.179 defensive backfield a little bit. Does that scare 00:16:33.179 --> 00:16:37.960 you at all? Petrifies me. So. Why don't you do 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:40.740 some PFF grades for us? But yeah, no, I'm scared. 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:43.240 So I kind of gave you the offense. I've kind 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:45.120 of been just filtering them in here. Yeah, yeah, 00:16:45.139 --> 00:16:46.759 no, I think it's great, but I know you had to 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:49.299 come out here. The highlights on our defense 00:16:49.299 --> 00:16:51.440 were Jack Campbell and Aidan Hutchinson. As you've 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:54.320 already said, both of those guys graded out above 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:59.080 90. Hutch was a 91 .6, Jack Campbell a 92 .8. 00:16:59.559 --> 00:17:02.580 Anzaloni. and Al -Qaeda Muhammad. Al -Qaeda had 00:17:02.580 --> 00:17:05.799 a nice game, by the way. Quietly had a nice game 00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:08.619 and opened things up real well for Hutch. I tell 00:17:08.619 --> 00:17:10.920 you what, the traveling man, he can play on our 00:17:10.920 --> 00:17:13.859 defensive line as long as he wants. So far, he's 00:17:13.859 --> 00:17:16.279 been quite good. He and Anzaloni were in the 00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:20.599 mid 70s, nothing to sneeze at there. And then 00:17:20.599 --> 00:17:22.799 Roy Lopez makes an appearance in the top five 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:26.440 at 74. I didn't notice him, but he did something. 00:17:26.990 --> 00:17:29.210 And then you've got Kirby Joseph rounding it 00:17:29.210 --> 00:17:31.730 out. And Kirby, you had some, you had some interesting 00:17:31.730 --> 00:17:35.190 info on Kirby. The Lions D, if I can just comment 00:17:35.190 --> 00:17:38.230 on Roy, well, yeah, they eliminated the Bengals 00:17:38.230 --> 00:17:41.609 ability to run the ball. Yeah. And Austin. And 00:17:41.609 --> 00:17:44.069 I think a lot of credit needs to go to Roy Lopez, 00:17:44.309 --> 00:17:47.250 DJ Reader. And I know you've kind of been hot 00:17:47.250 --> 00:17:50.269 and cold on him, Tylek Williams. So what I was 00:17:50.269 --> 00:17:53.049 going to say though, Kirby Joseph within interception 00:17:53.049 --> 00:17:56.410 yesterday. is on the same trajectory. And actually, 00:17:56.490 --> 00:17:58.809 the only safety that had more interceptions at 00:17:58.809 --> 00:18:01.210 this point in his career was Hall of Famer Ed 00:18:01.210 --> 00:18:04.150 Reed, who I consider probably the greatest safety. 00:18:04.789 --> 00:18:07.450 You're not going to do much better, Ned. I really, 00:18:07.450 --> 00:18:11.690 really, really embollish on the Lions already 00:18:11.690 --> 00:18:14.230 getting a deal done for Kirby Joseph. I hope 00:18:14.230 --> 00:18:16.269 they do the same, and I'm sure you feel the same 00:18:16.269 --> 00:18:19.250 way on Brian Branch. And then... We'll just have 00:18:19.250 --> 00:18:21.970 to figure out what's gonna happen with the secondary, 00:18:22.049 --> 00:18:24.730 but it seems like the Lions do better with these... 00:18:24.730 --> 00:18:28.430 Rock. Yes, and Reclamation projects. Yep. But 00:18:28.430 --> 00:18:30.490 then they do drafting in the first and second 00:18:30.490 --> 00:18:32.990 round, because we still haven't seen, you know, 00:18:33.069 --> 00:18:35.450 the second round pick from Missouri, Enis Rake 00:18:35.450 --> 00:18:38.789 Straw, because he hasn't been healthy, so... 00:18:38.789 --> 00:18:42.119 True. Yeah, so the only guy that had a low grade 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:43.819 was Terry and Arnold. He's the only one worth 00:18:43.819 --> 00:18:45.940 talking about. Everybody else was 60 or above, 00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:48.279 which is fantastic for a defense. The defense 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:51.079 is good. Yeah, the defense has been has been 00:18:51.079 --> 00:18:53.359 playing quite well now. They've been going up 00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:56.119 against some some cupcake offenses. I mean, the 00:18:56.119 --> 00:18:59.099 Browns, you know, you saw the end of Flacco there. 00:18:59.319 --> 00:19:02.519 You get the Bengals without Joe burrow a better 00:19:02.519 --> 00:19:04.740 test would have been in with Joe burrow, but 00:19:04.740 --> 00:19:07.420 without Joe burrow So we'll see what happens 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:09.740 here next week against the Chiefs. Do we want 00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:13.440 to talk about that game? Yeah briefly the Lions 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:17.680 are one and a half point dogs right now and On 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:20.519 the early line what I'm seeing it's plus 110 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:23.380 on the money line I would I am not expecting 00:19:23.380 --> 00:19:25.500 the Lions to win this game. I think arrowhead 00:19:25.500 --> 00:19:29.599 is gonna be rocking and this is for our listeners 00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:33.960 that love T -Swift. She just blew open the box 00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:38.279 office, basically ruined The Rock's film career 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:41.859 by drawing 37 million in for three days on her 00:19:41.859 --> 00:19:43.980 new movie that you can only see for three days. 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:46.339 And I just feel like all the momentum's with 00:19:46.339 --> 00:19:49.759 them. I feel like if Decker doesn't play, the 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:52.519 Chiefs will, Chris Jones will feast on Jared 00:19:52.519 --> 00:19:56.309 Goff. Yeah. And that worries me. I hope Decker 00:19:56.309 --> 00:19:59.029 does play. I hope Ali McNeil is healthy enough 00:19:59.029 --> 00:20:01.470 to play, but I don't have a good feeling on this 00:20:01.470 --> 00:20:04.490 one. Yeah, you're going to get Chris Jones and 00:20:04.490 --> 00:20:08.509 George Karloftas, who are the top two defensive 00:20:08.509 --> 00:20:11.329 line players for the Chiefs, and they can wreck 00:20:11.329 --> 00:20:13.690 a game by themselves. They're both very good. 00:20:14.170 --> 00:20:16.950 I really hope Decker is back for this one. I 00:20:16.950 --> 00:20:19.730 hope we rested him against Cincinnati just so 00:20:19.730 --> 00:20:23.349 he would be back for this game. Otherwise, I 00:20:23.349 --> 00:20:26.240 don't see us being able to handle that left side 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:28.440 of the line is going to be collapsing quite often. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:30.640 And that's not where it stops. They've got some 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:32.940 other guys in their line. They brought some promising 00:20:32.940 --> 00:20:37.480 rookies in. You know, the Chiefs are going to 00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:39.420 be a level above what we've seen for the last 00:20:39.420 --> 00:20:42.079 two weeks. I'm with you. I don't think we win 00:20:42.079 --> 00:20:44.140 and I don't even think we cover. I think our 00:20:44.140 --> 00:20:48.420 defense will do a decent job. It'll depend. How 00:20:48.420 --> 00:20:50.460 many defensive backs do we have healthy for this 00:20:50.460 --> 00:20:52.480 thing? I think our defense will do a decent job. 00:20:52.539 --> 00:20:55.650 I don't know. It'll come down to our offense. 00:20:55.789 --> 00:20:58.349 Can our offense perform? Which they have. For 00:20:58.349 --> 00:21:00.910 weeks on end, now four weeks straight. Can they 00:21:00.910 --> 00:21:03.890 do it against a good Chiefs defense? In Vegas, 00:21:04.789 --> 00:21:08.430 Vegas has the total at 49 and a half. The only 00:21:08.430 --> 00:21:11.190 game that's higher is the Bears commanders at 00:21:11.190 --> 00:21:14.170 50 and a half. So it's going to be, there's going 00:21:14.170 --> 00:21:16.569 to be some scoring. Correct me if I'm wrong, 00:21:16.589 --> 00:21:18.490 but the last two times we played the Chiefs, 00:21:18.549 --> 00:21:20.930 this thing has been a low scoring affair or a 00:21:20.930 --> 00:21:23.500 fairly low scoring affair. Yes, I believe we 00:21:23.500 --> 00:21:26.519 struggled to cross 40. Yeah, both of those games. 00:21:26.740 --> 00:21:28.799 That's not what the that's not what the Sharps 00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:31.500 and Vegas are saying So we'll see. All right, 00:21:31.539 --> 00:21:33.920 Bill. So give me your fantasy football angles 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:37.500 What are we looking at here for the Chiefs Lions? 00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:43.660 Who do you like? Usual suspects Ahman Ra first 00:21:43.660 --> 00:21:46.720 down calling the automatic plug -in. Yeah, he's 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:50.079 plug -and -play so is Gibbs and I know Laporta's 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:52.680 coming off a good game. I think Johnny Moe is 00:21:52.680 --> 00:21:56.099 figuring out ways to use him. Until I see more, 00:21:56.220 --> 00:22:00.160 I'd say, you know, Jameson's and Big If on that. 00:22:01.140 --> 00:22:04.519 And I do see a day, possibly by Thanksgiving, 00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:08.400 early December, where Tesla or Coleslaw is - 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:11.839 Think his day might be coming. I do too. He had 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:15.160 another nice touchdown grab this past weekend 00:22:15.160 --> 00:22:18.599 and you got Khalif Raymond who, man, I hope he's 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:21.400 okay. He took a hell of a shot there. I know, 00:22:21.400 --> 00:22:23.480 I know. I hope he's all right. But if Khalif 00:22:23.480 --> 00:22:27.779 is out, this is enter Isaac. And he is going 00:22:27.779 --> 00:22:32.359 to probably reap some benefits. If Khalif is 00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:34.930 out. You hate to see it happen that way, but 00:22:34.930 --> 00:22:37.549 the room had to be made for him to be able to 00:22:37.549 --> 00:22:40.490 get some opportunities. So I like your call there. 00:22:40.970 --> 00:22:43.869 I'm going to go, I'll tell you what. I'm going 00:22:43.869 --> 00:22:46.490 to go with Gibbs in this game. This is a Gibbs 00:22:46.490 --> 00:22:48.390 game, in my opinion. I think they're going to 00:22:48.390 --> 00:22:51.630 be staying out of the middle. Chris Jones, Karloftas, 00:22:51.670 --> 00:22:53.470 those guys are going to be clogging that middle 00:22:53.470 --> 00:22:55.430 up. And I think they're going to have to go out 00:22:55.430 --> 00:22:58.059 around the edge. That doesn't mean. that, you 00:22:58.059 --> 00:23:00.000 know, Nick Bolton can get out there and tackle 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:02.200 him just as well, but from that linebacker spot. 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:03.740 But I think Gibbs is going to be more effective 00:23:03.740 --> 00:23:06.579 in this game. And I think as usual, if you're 00:23:06.579 --> 00:23:08.799 not starting Amon Ross, St. Brown and every single 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:11.400 fantasy game you ever have where he's in playing, 00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:14.980 you should quit fantasy. So he's he's a automatic 00:23:14.980 --> 00:23:18.299 plug and play number one top spot for me. Other 00:23:18.299 --> 00:23:21.460 than that, yeah. the chief side of things. Obviously, 00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:24.559 if you have Mahomes, go for it. Xavier Worthy, 00:23:24.779 --> 00:23:26.640 holy cow, those guys might have a field day. 00:23:27.160 --> 00:23:31.579 Yeah, yeah. And then I personally wouldn't start 00:23:31.579 --> 00:23:34.160 Hollywood Brown, but he is their leading receiver 00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:37.880 right now. He has 209 yards on 22 receptions. 00:23:38.059 --> 00:23:39.619 I think that's due to Worthy being out for a 00:23:39.619 --> 00:23:42.160 couple games. But only one touchdown. Yeah. I've 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:44.819 got a fun one for you, though. It's not so much 00:23:44.819 --> 00:23:48.529 fantasy. Well, it is fantasy. If you have a Chiefs 00:23:48.529 --> 00:23:51.329 running back, don't even bother. They're leading 00:23:51.329 --> 00:23:53.549 rusher for four games because they're playing 00:23:53.549 --> 00:23:56.950 tonight, Monday night against the Jaguars. Guess 00:23:56.950 --> 00:23:59.690 who their leading rusher is? Gosh, it's going 00:23:59.690 --> 00:24:03.529 to be somebody goofy. It's not. It's not Mahomes, 00:24:03.650 --> 00:24:07.609 is it? It's Mahomes, Chet. Lord. Well, that's... 00:24:07.609 --> 00:24:10.589 22 carries for 130 yards. I have the Chetko on 00:24:10.589 --> 00:24:12.349 one of my squads, and I'm like, what happened 00:24:12.349 --> 00:24:15.390 to this guy? He's gone. I mean, he is just not 00:24:15.390 --> 00:24:17.769 producing at all now. So he's been relegated 00:24:17.769 --> 00:24:20.670 to... I think their offensive line can pass block. 00:24:20.809 --> 00:24:22.490 I don't think they run block well. They may not 00:24:22.490 --> 00:24:25.670 run block well. So I have a feeling their passing 00:24:25.670 --> 00:24:28.089 game is going to have a day on us. Travis Kelsey 00:24:28.089 --> 00:24:31.569 might have a day on us. I agree. I worry about 00:24:31.569 --> 00:24:33.440 any of those. those guys, so if you got them, 00:24:33.700 --> 00:24:36.079 play them. I would say worthy, well, Mahomes 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:38.900 worthy, Kelsey are your plays. If you have a 00:24:38.900 --> 00:24:42.880 Chiefs running back, sit them. And Hollywood 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:45.900 Brown. He might pop a big one. Hollywood Brown 00:24:45.900 --> 00:24:48.019 could get, we are susceptible to the deep ball. 00:24:48.940 --> 00:24:51.079 So that the lines are Hollywood, Hollywood could 00:24:51.079 --> 00:24:53.319 catch one going down the sideline and take off 00:24:53.319 --> 00:24:56.180 with it and never come back. So it's very possible 00:24:56.180 --> 00:24:58.339 we could get beat there too. but I would rank 00:24:58.339 --> 00:25:00.480 him down toward the bottom just on percentages 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:03.640 alone. Agree. So, uh, and sorry, the money line's, 00:25:03.640 --> 00:25:06.839 uh, negative 105 for the Lions. I'm seeing way 00:25:06.839 --> 00:25:08.539 away from anything on the Lions side of this. 00:25:08.619 --> 00:25:10.259 That's for sure. Yeah, same. If you do anything, 00:25:10.299 --> 00:25:12.200 I'd take the Chiefs and they'll give the points. 00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:16.480 I would do the same and just avoid it from there. 00:25:16.660 --> 00:25:19.599 So we'll be back with you. Please check out our 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:23.180 sister pod, the Detroit Tigers litter box and 00:25:23.180 --> 00:25:24.839 go Lions. Go Lions.