WEBVTT 00:00:06.280 --> 00:00:11.939 This is the Litterbox, a Detroit Lions podcast 00:00:11.939 --> 00:00:15.599 with your hosts, Chad West and Bill Patterson. 00:00:18.539 --> 00:00:22.179 Litterbox Lions listeners, we have a tilt against 00:00:22.179 --> 00:00:26.780 America's team this week. Our Lions will be home 00:00:26.780 --> 00:00:29.649 at Ford Field. taking on the Dallas Cowboys. 00:00:29.929 --> 00:00:32.729 And I am I've started diving into some of the 00:00:32.729 --> 00:00:36.210 stats and some of the nuances to the Lions season 00:00:36.210 --> 00:00:38.429 here. And Bill, I'm seeing a few things that 00:00:38.429 --> 00:00:40.289 are interesting. I'm starting to dive into things 00:00:40.289 --> 00:00:42.929 like schedules and matchups. And it's starting 00:00:42.929 --> 00:00:45.789 to become very evident that the Lions have had 00:00:45.789 --> 00:00:48.969 a rough road up till now. They've had a lot of 00:00:48.969 --> 00:00:51.770 injuries. But today we learned that they might 00:00:51.770 --> 00:00:55.740 might be able to pick up some help. Off the old 00:00:55.740 --> 00:00:59.719 waiver wire. I won Darius Slay. Has become available. 00:01:00.060 --> 00:01:02.119 Has made himself available. He's asked, he has 00:01:02.119 --> 00:01:05.379 requested his release from the Pittsburgh Steelers. 00:01:05.560 --> 00:01:07.859 Probably not big play Slay anymore, right? But 00:01:07.859 --> 00:01:10.299 maybe medium play Slay? Better than probably 00:01:10.299 --> 00:01:12.079 what we got back there right now. What do you, 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:14.000 what do you say? Would you, are you willing to 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:16.620 take a flyer on Darius Slay? All right. Darius 00:01:16.620 --> 00:01:19.280 Slay was not on my bingo card to open the show 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:22.060 today. However, I would say that - I sprung this 00:01:22.060 --> 00:01:25.120 on you. I sprung it on you. He's not big place 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:27.140 slay anymore, but he's somewhere between Diet 00:01:27.140 --> 00:01:29.739 Coke and Tab, which is still an upgrade over 00:01:29.739 --> 00:01:31.739 what we have. When I get to the injury news, 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:33.579 none of it's good, although I just got - Was 00:01:33.579 --> 00:01:35.540 Tab the one that has the saccharine warning? 00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:39.019 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, okay, all right. I always 00:01:39.019 --> 00:01:40.879 wondered what that was all about. That and squirt 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:44.239 were my grandmother's favorite drinks. Anyway, 00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:48.939 where we're going on this is Yes, Chet. Any help 00:01:48.939 --> 00:01:51.680 would be welcome in the secondary now. You're 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:54.000 drinking the squirt if it's offered. Yeah. Or 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:57.959 the tab. So, uh, America's team, how about them 00:01:57.959 --> 00:02:00.680 Cowboys? Uh, this week, Thursday night, it's 00:02:00.680 --> 00:02:03.359 going to be the, you know, only tilt on. I'm 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:05.799 looking forward to it. And I think what we need 00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:07.900 to do is probably start with our injury report 00:02:07.900 --> 00:02:10.240 to kind of walk through and then let's get over 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:12.599 to your statistics and matchups. Cause I agree 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:14.919 with you. The Lions are dealing with some tough 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:18.009 sledding. So Do you want me to kick things off 00:02:18.009 --> 00:02:21.270 with go for it? Give me give me the sad long 00:02:21.270 --> 00:02:25.289 drawn out story of our lion's injury report. 00:02:25.530 --> 00:02:30.330 Why big play or tab slay might be needed is because 00:02:30.330 --> 00:02:33.050 of this. Teran Arnold injured his shoulder. He 00:02:33.050 --> 00:02:35.650 got two opinions, one that said he needed surgery, 00:02:35.969 --> 00:02:37.870 the other that said he could give it a go. He 00:02:37.870 --> 00:02:40.689 gave it a go and guess what happened? He now 00:02:40.689 --> 00:02:44.349 needs surgery. He is out for the season. So that 00:02:44.349 --> 00:02:46.710 is bad news on the Lions injury front. Number 00:02:46.710 --> 00:02:49.789 one, number two, who did not practice. Khalif 00:02:49.789 --> 00:02:52.069 Raymond is still dealing with his ankle issues. 00:02:52.700 --> 00:02:56.039 Aman, St. Brown, the Sun God, is still dealing 00:02:56.039 --> 00:02:59.280 with ankle issues. Brock Wright has a neck issue, 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:02.180 and I read today, Chet, that it is out. I think 00:03:02.180 --> 00:03:05.740 he's out for the season. It's a fractured trachea. 00:03:06.020 --> 00:03:08.219 What's going on with the throats and tracheas 00:03:08.219 --> 00:03:11.120 and whatnot on this team? I don't... Lions need 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:14.479 better face masks or something, or like some 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:16.520 protection. Do they need those chin, those like 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:19.599 throat protectors goalies wear? Yes, yes. Something 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:21.960 dangling down from their face mask. This is the 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:24.860 same injury that one Frank Ragnow had. I didn't 00:03:24.860 --> 00:03:28.650 know you could fracture your trachea. A trink 00:03:28.650 --> 00:03:30.930 fracture. Yeah, I know it's happened twice to 00:03:30.930 --> 00:03:34.330 two lions. It's it's horrible. It sounds terrible. 00:03:34.449 --> 00:03:36.770 Yeah, so I don't expect Brock Wright to play. 00:03:37.009 --> 00:03:39.930 Dan Campbell talked about among Ross St. Brown 00:03:39.930 --> 00:03:42.430 yesterday and said it's game time, but we don't 00:03:42.430 --> 00:03:44.889 know. But anyway, those are the four that did 00:03:44.889 --> 00:03:48.169 not practice for obvious reasons. Limited practice. 00:03:48.449 --> 00:03:50.169 Brian Branch, he's still dealing with his toe 00:03:50.169 --> 00:03:53.770 and his ankle. Taylor Decker, limited, but he's 00:03:53.770 --> 00:03:55.229 going to be limited probably for the rest of 00:03:55.229 --> 00:03:57.229 the year. He's been limited since basically like 00:03:57.229 --> 00:03:59.710 since week two. Graham Glasgow, good news. His 00:03:59.710 --> 00:04:03.310 knee, he was limited. More good news. Kirby Joseph 00:04:03.310 --> 00:04:06.569 was limited. That's the first time he has been 00:04:06.569 --> 00:04:10.789 limited in seven weeks. So that is great news. 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:14.199 More on that if we get any updates, we'll we'll 00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:17.220 try to include those maybe in a bonus Sion Vake 00:04:17.220 --> 00:04:20.040 Now is dealing with a thumb injury He was limited 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:23.220 still not sure if he can return kicks and then 00:04:23.220 --> 00:04:25.439 we lose a tight end and then we gain a tight 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:29.040 end back Shane Zylstra from the flying Zylstra 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:32.279 Brothers. Yes is back from his knee injury and 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:34.779 was limited so bonus question while you're on 00:04:34.779 --> 00:04:38.079 it Would you take Shane Zylstra or Brock Wright 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:40.480 given the choice with or without a fractured 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:44.290 throat? Without the throat. Both are perfectly 00:04:44.290 --> 00:04:48.149 healthy. Brock Wright all day. Really? Over Zylstra. 00:04:48.449 --> 00:04:50.569 I always liked what Zylstra brought to the field. 00:04:50.930 --> 00:04:53.110 To some degree or another. But I also kind of 00:04:53.110 --> 00:04:55.290 like what Brock Wright brought to the field. 00:04:55.290 --> 00:04:59.209 I mean, we're missing Sam Laporta in a big way. 00:04:59.370 --> 00:05:02.689 We will miss Terryon Arnold as we have in a big 00:05:02.689 --> 00:05:04.850 way. Let me know your thoughts and then I can 00:05:04.850 --> 00:05:07.790 move on to the Cowboys. Laporta's injury, he's 00:05:07.790 --> 00:05:09.829 out for the season likewise. So we're missing 00:05:09.829 --> 00:05:12.970 guys like Taryn Arnold, Sam Laporta, you know, 00:05:13.069 --> 00:05:15.670 you've got this whole Ragnow thing fell apart. 00:05:16.009 --> 00:05:18.769 Ragnow's got, apparently tore his hammy on the 00:05:18.769 --> 00:05:21.209 way over to the practice facility or something. 00:05:21.430 --> 00:05:24.209 I have no clue how you discover a grade three 00:05:24.209 --> 00:05:27.329 hamstring in flight to coming back from retirement. 00:05:27.610 --> 00:05:29.930 That's odd to me. You've got Glasgow, looks like 00:05:29.930 --> 00:05:34.250 he's on the way back, although... MCDC. did say 00:05:34.250 --> 00:05:36.990 that he thought Frank worked out too hard to 00:05:36.990 --> 00:05:40.589 get back and tore his hammy and is so tough that 00:05:40.589 --> 00:05:42.730 he just showed up and was like, well, let's see 00:05:42.730 --> 00:05:45.350 what happens for for next season. But he's back 00:05:45.350 --> 00:05:47.810 on the retirement list now. That's interesting, 00:05:47.970 --> 00:05:49.769 though. That's good info. I didn't know that. 00:05:49.949 --> 00:05:52.230 I just don't. We're missing a lot of guys for 00:05:52.230 --> 00:05:54.769 the whole season. Arnold, you know, Laporta. 00:05:55.170 --> 00:05:56.750 You're going to have these guys falling out. 00:05:56.829 --> 00:05:58.730 You get who knows if we get Amun Rabak. These 00:05:58.730 --> 00:06:01.189 aren't. bit players. These are key players. These 00:06:01.189 --> 00:06:03.810 are stars. These are stars at their position. 00:06:03.949 --> 00:06:06.730 And then maybe we get Kirby back this week, but 00:06:06.730 --> 00:06:09.029 did you hear that he deleted all his social media? 00:06:09.769 --> 00:06:12.689 Yeah, he said something happened. No, he's trying 00:06:12.689 --> 00:06:16.470 to focus. I read that up today as well. He's 00:06:16.470 --> 00:06:18.750 trying to focus just on recovery and didn't want 00:06:18.750 --> 00:06:21.389 any distractions. And apparently there were some 00:06:21.389 --> 00:06:24.170 Twitter wars and other social wars going on and 00:06:24.170 --> 00:06:26.829 he made a few cryptic posts or something. Yeah. 00:06:28.350 --> 00:06:30.550 So he's just trying to take the high road on 00:06:30.550 --> 00:06:33.569 it and go radio silent. I hope all is well on 00:06:33.569 --> 00:06:36.800 that. And that's all I can do. Let's do some 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:38.560 stats. Let's do some matches. Are you ready to 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:40.579 get off the depressing news of injuries? Well, 00:06:40.740 --> 00:06:43.339 we need to do cowboys as well. Oh, gosh. Yeah. 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:45.920 And then this will make us happier, right? Well, 00:06:45.939 --> 00:06:49.100 hold on. I have one more for you. Okay. If I 00:06:49.100 --> 00:06:52.959 tore my hamstring or you tore your hamstring, 00:06:53.060 --> 00:06:56.240 I don't know that I could pod, let alone... show 00:06:56.240 --> 00:06:58.800 up to do a physical. It would be rough. It would 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:01.779 be rough. I mean, you were in a boot for a while 00:07:01.779 --> 00:07:03.980 in potting. You did okay with that. I can play 00:07:03.980 --> 00:07:05.399 her. I can play her. You did pretty well. There 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:07.319 were a couple of drugged out days where you were 00:07:07.319 --> 00:07:09.060 on some painkillers, but you did pretty well. 00:07:09.420 --> 00:07:12.399 Yeah. Acetomedophon. Really knocking it out. 00:07:12.500 --> 00:07:15.899 Anyway, Jadavian Clowney, their edge is dealing 00:07:15.899 --> 00:07:19.759 with a hammy. He did not practice. Tyler Guyton, 00:07:20.040 --> 00:07:22.040 they're starting offensive tackles dealing with 00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:26.579 an ankle. He did not practice. Hakim Adinje is 00:07:26.579 --> 00:07:29.240 the other offensive tackle. He is also dealing 00:07:29.240 --> 00:07:31.860 with a knee injury. He was limited. Now we're 00:07:31.860 --> 00:07:35.420 going to go to the secondary. Trevion Diggs or 00:07:35.420 --> 00:07:38.180 Trevon Diggs, excuse me. Cornerback dealing with 00:07:38.180 --> 00:07:41.050 a knee limited. Their other edge. dealing with 00:07:41.050 --> 00:07:43.750 a shoulder, limited. Malik Hooker, free safety, 00:07:44.089 --> 00:07:47.589 back, limited. James Houston. We remember him, 00:07:47.589 --> 00:07:50.009 Lions fans. He's not much of an edge. He's dealing 00:07:50.009 --> 00:07:52.029 with a foot and ankle, limited. This is a name 00:07:52.029 --> 00:07:54.610 for you, Chet. George Pickens, dealing with a 00:07:54.610 --> 00:07:57.790 calf and a knee, limited. Donovan Wilson, safety, 00:07:57.930 --> 00:08:00.410 dealing with a neck. Non -fracture, trachea, 00:08:00.410 --> 00:08:03.110 but he's still limited. And then we've got four 00:08:03.110 --> 00:08:05.870 full practices. Daron Bland, who is one of their 00:08:05.870 --> 00:08:09.069 starting corners. Kailene Carson dealing with 00:08:09.069 --> 00:08:15.470 a hammy full participant OSA O DZ away Defensive 00:08:15.470 --> 00:08:18.069 tackle dealing with an elbow. He's not really 00:08:18.069 --> 00:08:19.949 gonna be much of a difference maker He's a depth 00:08:19.949 --> 00:08:22.490 piece full practice and full participant and 00:08:22.490 --> 00:08:25.610 then Cavante turpin their number three receiver 00:08:25.610 --> 00:08:27.790 is dealing with a shoulder injury He was a full 00:08:27.790 --> 00:08:30.670 participant, but he looked pretty gimpy from 00:08:30.670 --> 00:08:33.590 the video I saw so they're dealing with a host 00:08:33.590 --> 00:08:36.860 of injuries. So It is basically week 14 in the 00:08:36.860 --> 00:08:40.179 NFL and that is our injury report. Let's get 00:08:40.179 --> 00:08:43.000 into some stats and matchups. Let's do that. 00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:47.620 Now I would like you to tell me. What the Lions 00:08:47.620 --> 00:08:49.679 are going to have to prepare for with this Cowboys 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:53.059 offense? An explosive offense that is currently 00:08:53.059 --> 00:08:56.539 ranking amongst the top in the NFL. Right now, 00:08:56.879 --> 00:08:58.879 the Indianapolis Colts are averaging the most 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:01.720 points per game at 29 .8. Number two is going 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:05.379 to be your Dallas Cowboys at 29 .3. And then 00:09:05.379 --> 00:09:08.120 tied for third place is going to be your Detroit 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:12.019 Lions at 29 .2 with the Seattle Seahawks. Now 00:09:12.019 --> 00:09:14.019 let's talk a little bit about yards per game. 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:17.059 That's where the edge is decisively in the Cowboys' 00:09:17.340 --> 00:09:22.899 favor. They lead the league in 4 ,1717 yards. 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:26.179 That's an average of just under 400 yards a game. 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:32.440 That's 393 .1. Our Lions are total for the season 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:39.950 4 ,515 for an average of 376 .3. Where we want 00:09:39.950 --> 00:09:43.370 to get into the weeds chat is this Dallas does 00:09:43.370 --> 00:09:46.370 their damage through the air three thousand two 00:09:46.370 --> 00:09:48.370 hundred and fifty five yards for an average of 00:09:48.370 --> 00:09:52.549 two seventy one point three a game Detroit Also 00:09:52.549 --> 00:09:56.129 does some damage through the air, but not nearly 00:09:56.129 --> 00:09:58.610 as much as Dallas does twenty eight hundred fifty 00:09:58.610 --> 00:10:00.710 eight for an average of two thirty eight point 00:10:00.710 --> 00:10:04.509 two The opposite can be said for rushing the 00:10:04.509 --> 00:10:09.899 Lions 1657 yards, which comes out to 138 .1 a 00:10:09.899 --> 00:10:15.960 game. The Cowboys 1462 for 121 .8. So if anything, 00:10:16.019 --> 00:10:18.279 you're looking at two explosive offenses, but 00:10:18.279 --> 00:10:19.960 the Cowboys are going to want to do their damage 00:10:19.960 --> 00:10:21.919 through the air against our beat up secondary. 00:10:22.299 --> 00:10:24.500 I think the Lions are going to want to run the 00:10:24.500 --> 00:10:27.740 ball to establish play action and then pick on 00:10:27.740 --> 00:10:30.220 some of those injuries that I talked about both 00:10:30.220 --> 00:10:33.279 at the safety spots and at the starting cornerback 00:10:33.279 --> 00:10:35.500 spots for the Cowboys. I'm going to throw some 00:10:35.500 --> 00:10:38.980 defensive stats in here here that stick out to 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:41.259 me. They're pretty incredible. First of all, 00:10:41.340 --> 00:10:44.039 for as successful as the Cowboys offense is their 00:10:44.039 --> 00:10:48.120 defense is an atrocity. And with all those injuries, 00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:51.080 I can't imagine it's going to be any better for 00:10:51.080 --> 00:10:55.450 total Defense, total team defense. Defensive 00:10:55.450 --> 00:10:58.409 yards on average allowed. The Cowboys are 29th 00:10:58.409 --> 00:11:02.690 out of 32 teams. They allow 376 .2 yards per 00:11:02.690 --> 00:11:06.129 game. 41 touchdowns they've allowed so far, which 00:11:06.129 --> 00:11:09.309 is by far in the bottom three or four. So those, 00:11:09.450 --> 00:11:12.250 the whole correlation meets there. Lions, if 00:11:12.250 --> 00:11:15.070 you want to kind of compare the Lions, we do 00:11:15.070 --> 00:11:18.110 our share of shredding their defense apart. The 00:11:18.110 --> 00:11:19.570 Lions are right in the middle of the pack. They're 00:11:19.570 --> 00:11:22.429 ranked 14th in defensive yards. allowed per game 00:11:22.429 --> 00:11:26.090 at 316 .2. They've allowed 33 touchdowns. That's 00:11:26.090 --> 00:11:27.629 a little high for the middle of the pack, but 00:11:27.629 --> 00:11:31.370 it's still the middle of the pack. I was shocked 00:11:31.370 --> 00:11:34.090 to see that they actually rated that high. I 00:11:34.090 --> 00:11:36.889 did not think that they had as good a team defense. 00:11:37.190 --> 00:11:39.710 Now, passing defense. You want to get into this? 00:11:39.889 --> 00:11:43.330 The Cowboys are 30th out of 32 in passing. They 00:11:43.330 --> 00:11:47.929 allow 251 .2 on average per game, 28 touchdowns. 00:11:48.269 --> 00:11:52.210 The Lions sit at 17, so their passing defense 00:11:52.210 --> 00:11:54.230 is their weakness on their defense, and it's 00:11:54.230 --> 00:11:57.169 still trending to middle of the pack level there. 00:11:57.350 --> 00:12:01.529 25 touchdowns, 212 .5 yards. There is a weakness 00:12:01.529 --> 00:12:03.110 for the Lions coming up. I'm going to mention 00:12:03.110 --> 00:12:05.409 here in a minute, but let's get to it. Rushing 00:12:05.409 --> 00:12:08.809 defense. The Lions are 11th. OK, they've almost 00:12:08.809 --> 00:12:11.950 got a top 10 rushing D. Only allowed eight touchdowns 00:12:11.950 --> 00:12:15.470 there. Cowboys. This is their biggest strength 00:12:15.470 --> 00:12:18.909 and their 20th. Ranked in the still, in the bottom 00:12:18.909 --> 00:12:23.710 third, 124 .7 a game, they give up 13 touchdowns. 00:12:23.889 --> 00:12:26.409 Okay, so still a whole 10 spots lower than the 00:12:26.409 --> 00:12:29.429 Lions there likewise. Then we have scoring defense. 00:12:29.549 --> 00:12:31.769 This is where things get pretty ugly for the 00:12:31.769 --> 00:12:36.629 Cowboys. 31st out of 32 teams. 28 .5 points allowed 00:12:36.629 --> 00:12:41.710 per game. 41 touchdowns allowed. The Lions, dead 00:12:41.710 --> 00:12:45.039 smack in the middle again at 15th. 22 .8 points 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:48.840 per game allowed. 33 touchdowns. So you're starting 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:51.159 to see this trend. The Lions defense is pretty 00:12:51.159 --> 00:12:54.200 average for the league statistically. The Cowboys 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:56.679 are in the bottom three to four in almost every 00:12:56.679 --> 00:13:00.120 category. Red zone defense, the Cowboys are awful. 00:13:00.539 --> 00:13:05.159 31st out of 32. They allow 71 .1 % of red zone 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:08.379 opportunities to score. The Lions on the other 00:13:08.379 --> 00:13:12.039 hand, this is their Probably their biggest weakness 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:15.360 is red zone defense. They're at 27th. They allow 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:19.259 sixty three point two percent to score. So that 00:13:19.259 --> 00:13:21.019 would be a lion's weakness. I think you and I 00:13:21.019 --> 00:13:23.120 have seen that man coverage in the red zone. 00:13:23.159 --> 00:13:24.799 They struggle a little bit, especially against 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:28.340 a passing game and third down defense. I was 00:13:28.340 --> 00:13:30.559 shocked to see this. The Cowboys are the worst. 00:13:30.980 --> 00:13:33.000 So, Dan, feel free to go for it on third and 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:36.299 fourth down. tomorrow or on thursday at will 00:13:36.299 --> 00:13:39.200 they are the worst as far as third down defense 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:42.799 goes the lions actually sit up at 11th we have 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:45.379 a pretty good third down d i don't know how that's 00:13:45.379 --> 00:13:48.450 possible But we do. So that's kind of the tale 00:13:48.450 --> 00:13:51.049 of the tape on the defenses there. I was a little 00:13:51.049 --> 00:13:53.269 shocked to see the Lions actually did rank in 00:13:53.269 --> 00:13:55.549 the top half or in the middle of the pack and 00:13:55.549 --> 00:13:57.750 most of this stuff. But then I went back and 00:13:57.750 --> 00:13:59.389 I started looking at some of the schedules and 00:13:59.389 --> 00:14:01.509 I'm like, how do the Cowboys have so many wins? 00:14:01.929 --> 00:14:03.909 And you kind of skewered me for this, Bill. I've 00:14:03.909 --> 00:14:06.129 been looking at schedules a lot this year and 00:14:06.129 --> 00:14:08.789 the opponents. because of the fact, probably, 00:14:09.110 --> 00:14:11.169 because any year when we play a weak schedule 00:14:11.169 --> 00:14:12.669 and the Lions are winning, we think they're the 00:14:12.669 --> 00:14:14.590 greatest thing in the world. Then they get bounced 00:14:14.590 --> 00:14:16.710 out in the first round of the playoffs. This 00:14:16.710 --> 00:14:19.110 year, they got the toughest schedule in the NFL, 00:14:19.169 --> 00:14:21.990 and it's been a little difficult. They're seven 00:14:21.990 --> 00:14:24.129 and five. They haven't had their way with everybody. 00:14:24.250 --> 00:14:26.049 But then I go look at the Cowboys. Their wins 00:14:26.049 --> 00:14:29.029 have come against both New York teams, both not 00:14:29.029 --> 00:14:33.990 good, Washington, Las Vegas. Philadelphia and 00:14:33.990 --> 00:14:36.850 KC. So their last two wins are their most impressive 00:14:36.850 --> 00:14:39.669 against teams that are kind of reeling at this 00:14:39.669 --> 00:14:42.289 point. And Philly, we know about Philly reeling. 00:14:42.809 --> 00:14:45.350 And KC, who hasn't had the best season on the 00:14:45.350 --> 00:14:47.590 face of the earth. Still good, good wins for 00:14:47.590 --> 00:14:50.350 them. Don't get me wrong. They're both home games. 00:14:50.750 --> 00:14:53.409 Okay. So those two wins took them to six, five 00:14:53.409 --> 00:14:56.710 and one. They got that lone tie. You know that 00:14:56.710 --> 00:14:58.210 familiar with that because it was against the 00:14:58.210 --> 00:15:02.159 Packers back in week four. So that... You know, 00:15:02.259 --> 00:15:06.279 they tied the Packers 40 to 40, again, at home, 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:10.100 and they beat Philly by three and beat KC by 00:15:10.100 --> 00:15:12.940 three at home. So the rest of the teams they 00:15:12.940 --> 00:15:15.500 beat really aren't much. And they've lost to 00:15:15.500 --> 00:15:19.279 teams like the likes of Carolina, Arizona, Chicago, 00:15:19.740 --> 00:15:23.360 Philly, all beat them. So these are, I don't 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:26.659 think they're that great at this point. I know 00:15:26.659 --> 00:15:29.279 they're trending up great. They're very beatable 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:32.679 for us. Great research. And so basically in the 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:35.440 immortal words of Lloyd Christmas, you're saying 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:37.840 there's a chance. I'm saying there's a chance. 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:40.000 You're saying there's a chance. Yes. I'm saying 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:42.879 there's a chance. One more X factor for you on 00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:45.899 statistics before we bounce over to fantasy and 00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:48.779 Vegas. Let's talk about turnover margin. The 00:15:48.779 --> 00:15:51.580 Lions are plus five for the year. They've got 00:15:51.580 --> 00:15:56.399 13 takeaways and they've given it away. opposite 00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:59.320 tail of the tape for the Cowboys. They're negative 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:02.220 five. They've caused 10 turnovers, but they've 00:16:02.220 --> 00:16:05.259 given it away 15 times. If the Lions are going 00:16:05.259 --> 00:16:07.679 to win this game, which I think you and I are 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:10.000 both leaning that they're going to, turnovers 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:12.120 are going to play a part in it. I think Jared 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:15.980 Goff is going to play Uh, he's going to play 00:16:15.980 --> 00:16:19.700 the role of a maestro, uh, dissecting this defense 00:16:19.700 --> 00:16:22.320 that is awful, as you mentioned on third and 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:24.679 fourth downs. And I think there's going to be 00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:27.100 the opportunity for the lions to set up the play 00:16:27.100 --> 00:16:31.059 action with Monte and Gibbs running well, and 00:16:31.059 --> 00:16:34.519 then getting some big chunk plays to Jamo and 00:16:34.519 --> 00:16:40.279 hopefully Isaac Tesla gets going and shows America's 00:16:40.279 --> 00:16:43.139 team what he and what every Detroit fan is hoping 00:16:43.139 --> 00:16:47.620 he can become. You and I both took the Cowboys 00:16:47.620 --> 00:16:50.340 in our preview the other day. I mean, we were 00:16:50.340 --> 00:16:52.240 beat up. We were reeling from that Thanksgiving 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:54.700 game. I don't think we thought the Lions had 00:16:54.700 --> 00:16:57.120 any hope. But after I've gone and look at the 00:16:57.120 --> 00:16:59.840 stats and the schedule now, I am starting to 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:02.340 churn a little here. I'm starting to drink the 00:17:02.340 --> 00:17:04.759 Kool -Aid, a little bit of the Blue Kool -Aid, 00:17:04.900 --> 00:17:06.680 the Honolulu Blue Kool -Aid. I'm starting to 00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:09.799 warm to a Lions victory here in this game. They 00:17:09.799 --> 00:17:12.609 need it. their backs are against the wall. So 00:17:12.609 --> 00:17:15.029 I can see it being, I know this, we're going 00:17:15.029 --> 00:17:16.369 to get to the fantasy and we're going to get 00:17:16.369 --> 00:17:19.170 to the point spreads. The over is going to be, 00:17:19.769 --> 00:17:21.809 if you're not hitting the over on this one, as 00:17:21.809 --> 00:17:24.210 they say, you're not doing it right. All right, 00:17:24.349 --> 00:17:28.130 fantasy, who do you have for me? I love, I'm 00:17:28.130 --> 00:17:29.930 going to take somebody I didn't think I'd be 00:17:29.930 --> 00:17:34.289 taken, but I'm going to take a one Jared Goff. 00:17:34.769 --> 00:17:37.329 I think Jared is going to be able to throw on 00:17:37.329 --> 00:17:40.599 these guys at will. And I'm going to couple him 00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:43.279 with Jamir Gibbs. I think the two of them could 00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:45.740 have a day through the year in a very odd way. 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:47.579 It's going to be the quarterback running back 00:17:47.579 --> 00:17:49.960 tandem. Gibbs is going to get some receiving 00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:52.579 yards out of this whole thing. Maybe a tutty 00:17:52.579 --> 00:17:55.000 in there. I think Goff's going to be able to 00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:57.859 throw a little more. Their edge rush is injured. 00:17:58.099 --> 00:18:00.299 They don't have the greatest defense as it is. 00:18:00.519 --> 00:18:03.039 And it's very possible that we could just run 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:05.059 all over him. So take Gibbs. He's your first 00:18:05.059 --> 00:18:08.180 probably. And then I'm taking off in this one. 00:18:08.339 --> 00:18:09.980 I'm rolling with him. You're not buying into 00:18:09.980 --> 00:18:13.119 the rebuilt Cowboys defensive line of Quinan 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:16.059 Williams and Kenny Clark. Not enough. OK. Not 00:18:16.059 --> 00:18:18.299 enough. All right. Not enough. Who do you have 00:18:18.299 --> 00:18:20.799 on the Cowboys side for us? Anybody that is catching 00:18:20.799 --> 00:18:24.460 a pass. George Pickens, Dak Prescott throwing 00:18:24.460 --> 00:18:27.960 to him probably isn't a bad pick. George Pickens, 00:18:28.119 --> 00:18:30.619 Javante Williams has been a strong runner all 00:18:30.619 --> 00:18:32.059 year, but I'm going to lean on the fact that 00:18:32.059 --> 00:18:35.519 the Detroit run defense is not broken. yet. But 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:37.839 I think anybody catching a pass out there, you 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:39.619 know, you got to be looking at Pickens. You got 00:18:39.619 --> 00:18:42.319 to be looking at those guys. So I think those 00:18:42.319 --> 00:18:44.119 guys are going to have a field day. So I'm taking 00:18:44.119 --> 00:18:46.599 the quarterbacks on both sides of the ball and 00:18:46.599 --> 00:18:50.460 then I'm taking Gibbs on the Lions side and I'll 00:18:50.460 --> 00:18:53.180 take Pickens on the Cowboys side. All right. 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:56.859 Good, good stuff there. It's not fantasy related. 00:18:57.819 --> 00:18:59.799 I do think one of the difference makers in this 00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:02.640 game though is going to be our guy, Jack Fox. 00:19:03.299 --> 00:19:06.640 Really? booming punts when the Lions have to 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:08.980 punt, which won't be often, but I think he is 00:19:08.980 --> 00:19:10.960 going to have one of his good special teams days. 00:19:11.500 --> 00:19:14.180 Okay. Let's talk about the Vegas on this. It 00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:17.359 opened it. Lions favored by negative three and 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:19.940 a half. It's now lane three, which means, you 00:19:19.940 --> 00:19:22.039 know, half million dollars has gone the Cowboys 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:25.980 way. You talked about the over under 54 and a 00:19:25.980 --> 00:19:28.539 half. That's what it opened at as well. And since 00:19:28.539 --> 00:19:31.220 we are always wrong on this, I'm going to say 00:19:31.549 --> 00:19:35.710 Take the lions and go under because just fade 00:19:35.710 --> 00:19:38.750 opposite of whatever I'm saying and you're sure 00:19:38.750 --> 00:19:41.799 to win. Whatever you feel like putting down as 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:44.000 probably if you're listening to this pod for 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:46.640 your gambling advice, you're in trouble That's 00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:49.240 a problem for you. That might be that might be 00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:50.859 your your first one is probably admitting that 00:19:50.859 --> 00:19:52.619 you've got a problem gambling Your second one 00:19:52.619 --> 00:19:55.339 is listening to us for advice, but I want to 00:19:55.339 --> 00:19:57.920 put a caveat on a few things here, too I normally 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:00.640 don't do fantasy with guys on a Thursday night 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:03.160 game because Thursday night games are just such 00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:07.019 a mess offensively Too much. It was short week. 00:20:07.019 --> 00:20:09.279 They have a short week to prep It's he's usually 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:11.720 kind of ugly because of that and a little slow 00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:15.579 every almost every position player cd lamb george 00:20:15.579 --> 00:20:21.000 pickens jamison williams both golf and dac Plus 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:25.039 you've got gibbs are all in the top five for 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:27.500 positions in fantasy football from most outlets 00:20:27.500 --> 00:20:30.880 right now And that's that's incredible. I mean 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:33.240 that for a thursday night game. That's incredible 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:35.720 jake ferguson is seventh in tight end rankings 00:20:35.720 --> 00:20:38.980 right around there for uh For the Cowboys, he 00:20:38.980 --> 00:20:40.779 could do some damage to us, too. So if you need 00:20:40.779 --> 00:20:43.680 a tight end, just drop in there. Drop old Fergie, 00:20:43.880 --> 00:20:45.619 Jake in there. Other than that, yeah, that's 00:20:45.619 --> 00:20:47.599 I think there's going to be an offensive explosion 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:50.519 this week. OK, you know, the interesting part 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:53.339 about this is typically Thursday night weeks. 00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:56.319 I mean, both teams typically play in the same 00:20:56.319 --> 00:20:59.500 time slot before and after. But this one's interesting 00:20:59.500 --> 00:21:01.920 for the fact that both teams had a full week 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:04.099 to prepare since they're both the traditional 00:21:04.099 --> 00:21:08.660 teams. So this would kind of be a neat one if 00:21:08.660 --> 00:21:11.740 it could continue season after season to be the 00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:14.079 Thursday following the Thanksgiving. Follow the 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:16.539 Thanksgiving and drop these two guys on the Thursday. 00:21:17.019 --> 00:21:19.859 I like playing the Cowboys. And that's that's 00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:22.279 where I'm going to begin. I mean, I like that 00:21:22.279 --> 00:21:24.019 idea. Plus, it's kind of like having Maction 00:21:24.019 --> 00:21:27.720 in the NFL. We get a Thursday night game. I like 00:21:27.720 --> 00:21:30.140 it. We like it. Yeah. All right. And they're 00:21:30.140 --> 00:21:32.099 playing in a sort of field. So I'm going to take 00:21:32.099 --> 00:21:35.890 the Lions. I am going to go. something to the 00:21:35.890 --> 00:21:41.009 effect of 38 to 24 Lions, and it's turnovers 00:21:41.009 --> 00:21:42.869 that are going to be the difference in this. 00:21:43.809 --> 00:21:47.009 I guess that puts me on the over so sorry. But 00:21:47.009 --> 00:21:49.630 that's that's just what I'm doing off the top 00:21:49.630 --> 00:21:51.289 of my head. What do you have to say? I think 00:21:51.289 --> 00:21:56.109 it's going to be a tie. 5656. It's going to end. 00:21:56.670 --> 00:21:59.309 We'll end at 35 all but they'll just keep scoring 00:21:59.309 --> 00:22:02.039 touchdowns on each other. And so the time just 00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:05.160 runs off the clock and overtime. I love it. I'll 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:09.680 tell you what. I'll take the Lions forty five 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:13.759 Cowboys forty two. They miss a field goal to 00:22:13.759 --> 00:22:16.660 tie it at the end from like 60 yards. Nice. All 00:22:16.660 --> 00:22:20.240 right. Field's going to be loud. Let's go. Honolulu 00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:22.539 blue and silver. Thank you for listening to the 00:22:22.539 --> 00:22:25.359 Detroit Lions litter box. I'm your co -host Billy 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:28.400 P with my co -host Chet West. We thank you for 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:30.259 listening and go Lions. Go Lions.