WEBVTT 00:00:06.420 --> 00:00:11.880 This is The Litterbox, a Detroit Lions podcast 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:15.500 with your hosts, Chet West and Bill Patterson. 00:00:19.239 --> 00:00:21.460 Welcome to the Detroit Lions Litterbox. I am 00:00:21.460 --> 00:00:26.039 Billy P with my co -host Chet West. And we have 00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:29.559 a very bittersweet, so close yet so far away 00:00:29.559 --> 00:00:32.979 loss in Los Angeles to the Rams at SoFi Stadium. 00:00:33.820 --> 00:00:38.340 And Chet, I feel like the Lions offense gave 00:00:38.340 --> 00:00:41.579 them a puncher's chance this entire game. However, 00:00:41.740 --> 00:00:44.799 the defense, when we needed stops, couldn't do 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:48.439 it. allowed the Rams just put up a 41 points 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:52.759 and lost 41 -34. You can't allow a team to score 00:00:52.759 --> 00:00:55.159 41 points and hope to win. I think the cracks 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:58.240 are starting to show on both sides of the ball, 00:00:58.420 --> 00:01:01.000 but mainly on the defense. What was your overall 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:04.040 takeaway from yesterday's game? So the defense 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:07.379 is definitely the problem area on this team right 00:01:07.379 --> 00:01:10.739 now. Our offensive line, we have enough talent 00:01:10.739 --> 00:01:15.590 on the offense. to get by with a substandard 00:01:15.590 --> 00:01:17.810 offensive line, which is what we have right now, 00:01:18.109 --> 00:01:20.890 okay? You watched that Rams offensive line yesterday. 00:01:21.170 --> 00:01:24.590 Man, it felt like Matt Stafford had like hours 00:01:24.590 --> 00:01:28.829 to throw the football. Hours. in synchronicity, 00:01:29.010 --> 00:01:31.829 and I couldn't agree more. They are orchestrated 00:01:31.829 --> 00:01:35.430 dance. They are like ballet. And it all starts 00:01:35.430 --> 00:01:39.010 with that line, Bill. It all starts with that 00:01:39.010 --> 00:01:40.950 line. And we even got a little bit of pressure 00:01:40.950 --> 00:01:44.349 in there yesterday at times. And it wasn't enough. 00:01:44.629 --> 00:01:48.370 It wasn't enough. So I start with O lines, but 00:01:48.370 --> 00:01:52.629 I also say our D line is just where did Alim 00:01:52.629 --> 00:01:56.989 McNeil go? Where? Where are these guys is this 00:01:56.989 --> 00:01:59.950 week's? Where are you on the milk? Where are 00:01:59.950 --> 00:02:02.469 you for a couple weeks now? I yeah, and then 00:02:02.469 --> 00:02:06.109 tackles just Lopez shows up every so often Yeah, 00:02:06.109 --> 00:02:07.870 I think we didn't even know he was doing that 00:02:07.870 --> 00:02:10.409 great from at least a PFS course He hasn't though 00:02:10.409 --> 00:02:13.530 the last two weeks. It seemed really are the 00:02:13.530 --> 00:02:16.860 middle of our line I mean we could you could 00:02:16.860 --> 00:02:19.659 flip it around in a mirror You look at the middle 00:02:19.659 --> 00:02:21.819 of our O line and defensive lines and how they 00:02:21.819 --> 00:02:24.580 attack us They go right up the gut at us every 00:02:24.580 --> 00:02:27.159 time and it just completely disrupts the quarterback 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:30.539 and Tom Brady in his broadcast this week if you 00:02:30.539 --> 00:02:33.419 can get past how bad he is as an actual announcer 00:02:33.419 --> 00:02:36.919 and Just distill his information. He actually 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:39.319 gives a ton of great nuggets of information as 00:02:39.319 --> 00:02:44.219 he should being the goat he He broke down that 00:02:44.219 --> 00:02:46.759 there is no quarterback in the NFL that will 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:49.419 perform well with a rush coming up the gut in 00:02:49.419 --> 00:02:51.599 their face. It's just not going to work out. 00:02:52.099 --> 00:02:54.460 And Jared Goff is susceptible to it like anybody, 00:02:54.580 --> 00:02:56.560 and that happens to be the weakness of our line. 00:02:56.879 --> 00:02:58.680 But then when I flip it back around and I watch 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:02.000 our defense, we get no pressure up the gut from 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:05.370 our D line. It's like it's they're just staying 00:03:05.370 --> 00:03:07.830 home or something. I don't really get it. We 00:03:07.830 --> 00:03:10.210 get a lot around the edges and the quarterback 00:03:10.210 --> 00:03:12.150 just steps right up into the pocket and flings 00:03:12.150 --> 00:03:14.110 the ball downfield every time and there's no 00:03:14.110 --> 00:03:17.050 pressure up the gut. So that was my first thing. 00:03:17.090 --> 00:03:19.770 I was watching the D tackles a lot because they 00:03:19.770 --> 00:03:22.289 just seemed to be missing in action. And you 00:03:22.289 --> 00:03:24.729 made the comment in our last pod that you thought 00:03:24.729 --> 00:03:28.490 from a fantasy standpoint, the Rams running backs 00:03:28.490 --> 00:03:33.150 were to be avoided. They. torched us yesterday, 00:03:33.449 --> 00:03:34.909 not just the passing game, but those running 00:03:34.909 --> 00:03:38.050 backs had all sorts of gaps and holes to run 00:03:38.050 --> 00:03:41.430 through, which was shocking. But then if you'd 00:03:41.430 --> 00:03:43.990 look at where our defense is ranking this year 00:03:43.990 --> 00:03:46.669 in run D, we used to have a top five run D for 00:03:46.669 --> 00:03:48.650 the last two or three seasons. We've had a top 00:03:48.650 --> 00:03:51.770 five run D this year. We're like 13th. That isn't 00:03:51.770 --> 00:03:54.289 going to cut it. When you have a terrible defensive 00:03:54.289 --> 00:03:56.110 backfield and you have a bad run D, it's just 00:03:56.110 --> 00:03:58.949 a bad, the whole thing is just not quite working 00:03:58.949 --> 00:04:01.129 on defense. And I'm not blaming it on Shepherd. 00:04:01.550 --> 00:04:04.610 I think I'm just blaming it on a lack of healthy, 00:04:05.590 --> 00:04:08.210 good players on that side of the ball. Gonna 00:04:08.210 --> 00:04:11.710 say yes for the secondary lacking health, and 00:04:11.710 --> 00:04:14.169 we always knew going into this game without either 00:04:14.169 --> 00:04:16.990 of our starting safeties that it was gonna be 00:04:16.990 --> 00:04:20.230 tough sledding. That is out there for everyone 00:04:20.230 --> 00:04:23.850 to digest. However, that has no bearing on how 00:04:23.850 --> 00:04:27.129 the defensive line plays whatsoever. And true. 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:30.300 Branch does blitz every now and then. Joseph 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:33.319 is a ball hawk when he's back there. Outside 00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:36.939 of Roy Lopez, our defensive tackles did nothing 00:04:36.939 --> 00:04:40.519 yesterday. And I have serious concerns about 00:04:40.519 --> 00:04:43.720 Tylek Williams hitting the rookie wall at this 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:46.819 point of the year. And then I've got really big 00:04:46.819 --> 00:04:49.560 concerns on Aleem McNeil and that that was just 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:51.839 wasted money. I don't know what happened there. 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:55.089 It's like we paid him. He got healthy. And now 00:04:55.089 --> 00:04:57.850 he's just a non -factor. He's just, he's just 00:04:57.850 --> 00:05:00.170 happy. He's rich and happy. He's rich and happy. 00:05:00.329 --> 00:05:04.970 And then Hutch, I really, I guess, let's dive 00:05:04.970 --> 00:05:07.370 into a little bit of the game going blow by blow. 00:05:07.910 --> 00:05:11.209 You know, the Lions get the ball. Crucial that 00:05:11.209 --> 00:05:14.170 they make that opening field goal. Bates misses 00:05:14.170 --> 00:05:17.009 it. I'm not going to come too hard on Bates with 00:05:17.009 --> 00:05:19.329 that. You're allowed to miss a field goal. Unless 00:05:19.329 --> 00:05:20.490 you're going to miss one once in a while. Unless 00:05:20.490 --> 00:05:25.699 you're Brandon Aubrey. And the killer was, Then, 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:29.079 Hutch gets that amazing interception. He runs 00:05:29.079 --> 00:05:32.139 out of gas, because that tells me that he might 00:05:32.139 --> 00:05:34.660 still not be fully healed from that broken leg. 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:38.779 I mean, run out of gas. He just doesn't have... 00:05:38.779 --> 00:05:40.759 I mean, the guy's not a tight end. He doesn't 00:05:40.759 --> 00:05:43.899 have sprint speed. He's not a wide receiver. 00:05:44.060 --> 00:05:46.839 I wasn't shocked that he got run down. If he 00:05:46.839 --> 00:05:49.399 was that fast, he may not be a defensive end. 00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:52.279 I just don't know that you can expect him to 00:05:52.279 --> 00:05:54.420 make it all the way there. That was a long run. 00:05:55.259 --> 00:05:58.360 That said, he is a playmaker. Hutch does tend 00:05:58.360 --> 00:06:00.939 to make plays at times when we need them and 00:06:00.939 --> 00:06:03.680 rise to the occasion. I think that's great. There's 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:05.540 another guy on this team I don't think is a playmaker. 00:06:05.620 --> 00:06:06.879 I'm going to bring him up when we get to the 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:08.980 offensive side of the ball. But for right now, 00:06:08.980 --> 00:06:11.019 I'm going to call Hutch a playmaker. He may not 00:06:11.019 --> 00:06:14.100 be the best every down defensive end in the world, 00:06:14.300 --> 00:06:16.839 but he is definitely a top defensive end and 00:06:16.839 --> 00:06:19.769 they do have to account for him extra. He still 00:06:19.769 --> 00:06:22.910 plays too many snaps. He does. I agree with that. 00:06:23.089 --> 00:06:25.529 I agree with that. I was listening to the Bears 00:06:25.529 --> 00:06:27.889 Browns game yesterday, and they kept on saying 00:06:27.889 --> 00:06:30.689 that Miles Garrett only plays two thirds of their 00:06:30.689 --> 00:06:33.810 snaps, which two thirds means a lot of things. 00:06:33.930 --> 00:06:34.870 I don't even think it's two thirds, a lot of 00:06:34.870 --> 00:06:38.990 games. They came down with 65 % roughly, between 00:06:38.990 --> 00:06:42.850 60 and 70, two thirds. And you think about how 00:06:42.850 --> 00:06:45.470 fresh that keeps him, and the fact that he really 00:06:45.470 --> 00:06:47.629 doesn't have a lot. you know, playing next to 00:06:47.629 --> 00:06:49.829 him, behind him, whatever have you, which is 00:06:49.829 --> 00:06:51.990 also indicative of how poorly the Browns are 00:06:51.990 --> 00:06:54.290 doing this season, and most seasons. With that, 00:06:54.410 --> 00:06:58.709 I have to say Brad Holmes' negligence on getting 00:06:58.709 --> 00:07:02.550 real help, because our guy, he has a new nickname, 00:07:03.009 --> 00:07:07.189 Bloody Bob. Bloody Bob. Did you see Bob number 00:07:07.189 --> 00:07:11.050 96, those white pants, just coated in garbage. 00:07:12.110 --> 00:07:15.310 And I like, look, Bob Muhammad, he's a nice... 00:07:15.290 --> 00:07:19.189 Be a fantastic third defensive end if you look 00:07:19.189 --> 00:07:23.290 at the Rams or you have young on one side and 00:07:23.290 --> 00:07:26.389 Jared verse on the other If we had one of those 00:07:26.389 --> 00:07:29.709 two guys, that'd be great. We have hutch So that's 00:07:29.709 --> 00:07:32.029 like if you had one of those guys and then nobody 00:07:32.029 --> 00:07:35.350 else So we have Bob Muhammad who's probably in 00:07:35.350 --> 00:07:38.850 third or fourth the end on many two deeps He's 00:07:38.850 --> 00:07:40.839 probably a third or fourth guy He's probably 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:43.100 third or fourth on the rung. He's out there playing 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:45.620 as the opposite defensive end, and he's getting 00:07:45.620 --> 00:07:48.360 almost as many snaps, if not as many, as Hutch 00:07:48.360 --> 00:07:51.040 is getting. These guys are just gassed, and they're 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:52.839 blitzing every down because they know they have 00:07:52.839 --> 00:07:57.439 to. Exactly. And so... I agree this doesn't fall 00:07:57.439 --> 00:07:59.699 on Shepard entirely. They face the best team 00:07:59.699 --> 00:08:02.259 in the NFL, I think, in my opinion. They face 00:08:02.259 --> 00:08:04.899 the best offensive or one of the best minds in 00:08:04.899 --> 00:08:07.120 Sean McVay, a quarterback that's playing in his 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:09.720 17th year. And so my first game ball goes to 00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:12.579 Matthew Stafford in the Los Angeles Rams. They 00:08:12.579 --> 00:08:15.420 were master class yesterday. Whatever blitzes 00:08:15.420 --> 00:08:18.910 were dialed up didn't come home. When Amik Robertson 00:08:18.910 --> 00:08:22.089 got hurt, that hurt. I have to say the DJ Reed 00:08:22.089 --> 00:08:25.709 signing is looking worse by every game. He is, 00:08:25.790 --> 00:08:29.129 he can't cover his own shadow. Again, it's about 00:08:29.129 --> 00:08:31.250 playmaking. You know, you've got a guy that can 00:08:31.250 --> 00:08:34.429 cover the bottom half of the league, the bottom 00:08:34.429 --> 00:08:36.149 half of the starting wide receivers in the league, 00:08:36.269 --> 00:08:38.769 but can he cover the top half? No, we don't have 00:08:38.769 --> 00:08:40.370 anybody that can cover the top half of the wide. 00:08:40.409 --> 00:08:42.070 And they're the top half of the wide receivers 00:08:42.070 --> 00:08:44.110 for a reason. They're going to be a challenge, 00:08:44.169 --> 00:08:46.720 but we don't have a marquee. Corner to cover 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:49.860 a guy like that Pooka Nakua is gonna crush you 00:08:49.860 --> 00:08:52.440 Speaking of can I just say this Pooka Nakua? 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:55.059 You know how we talk about comps for St. John 00:08:55.059 --> 00:08:58.919 at times I think Pooka Nakua's comp is the playmaker 00:08:58.919 --> 00:09:02.080 Michael Irvin. He is so big. He's so physical 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:05.340 He is so strong. Well, he's what we lack in our 00:09:05.340 --> 00:09:07.179 wide receiving core. He's what we were supposed 00:09:07.179 --> 00:09:10.399 to get there I'm gonna get there. All right, 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:13.220 we'll get so the other thing is Marcus Davenport 00:09:13.220 --> 00:09:17.039 is not a I'm not 100 % sure what we're doing 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:19.399 with Marcus Davenport right now. I know, but 00:09:19.399 --> 00:09:20.700 Brad Holmes got up in front of... The fact that 00:09:20.700 --> 00:09:24.000 we waited for Marcus Davenport forever and he 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:26.580 has just played the way he has, I feel like he's 00:09:26.580 --> 00:09:29.039 probably just still hurt or ailing or something. 00:09:29.720 --> 00:09:32.259 He's like Aileen McNeil. It's kind of like an 00:09:32.259 --> 00:09:35.360 MIA missing an action deal here. But Aileen McNeil, 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:38.200 we still have a body of work that said that he 00:09:38.200 --> 00:09:42.019 was a great lion or great for the lions. We have 00:09:42.019 --> 00:09:44.879 nothing. We have nothing for that whatsoever. 00:09:45.340 --> 00:09:47.059 Marcus Davenport's one of these Saints guys, 00:09:47.399 --> 00:09:48.559 right? It's one of these like, oh, he's one of 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:50.539 my guys. He's one of these guys that we had the 00:09:50.539 --> 00:09:51.980 Saints. We love them. So we have him here now, 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:55.039 just like Anseloni, just like, and he just hasn't 00:09:55.039 --> 00:09:57.299 done it. And speaking of Anseloni did not have 00:09:57.299 --> 00:09:59.759 a good day. Let's put a stake in the defense 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:02.419 because we could go on forever. If we had to 00:10:02.419 --> 00:10:04.279 give a game ball, the only one that could be 00:10:04.279 --> 00:10:06.519 possibly given would be to that of Jack Campbell. 00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:09.450 And then I want to give a nod. I know we're hard 00:10:09.450 --> 00:10:13.830 on Brad Holmes, but Rak Yassin has been the healthiest 00:10:13.830 --> 00:10:16.269 and best person in the secondary this season. 00:10:16.539 --> 00:10:19.679 That's not a lot, Chet. This is like a C grade. 00:10:19.899 --> 00:10:21.639 You know what I'm saying? Overall, I got you. 00:10:21.700 --> 00:10:24.179 But we have we have to give credit where credit's 00:10:24.179 --> 00:10:26.860 due. Hey, kudos to the Rams, too, for stopping 00:10:26.860 --> 00:10:30.840 TK 85 as well. They kicked it away from him all 00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:33.220 game and really limited what he could do. They 00:10:33.220 --> 00:10:36.100 did. And he had he had one. He had one return. 00:10:36.139 --> 00:10:38.740 He almost broke and they tripped him up. And 00:10:38.740 --> 00:10:41.340 he knew it, too. He had green grass and he got 00:10:41.340 --> 00:10:43.679 his foot. I was like, there you go. Not quite 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:46.019 right at the end of the game. I tell you what. 00:10:45.899 --> 00:10:49.500 If you go in and you look at the PFF grades for 00:10:49.500 --> 00:10:52.440 this game Yeah, you're gonna see you're gonna 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:55.899 see where we got killed and the people that did 00:10:55.899 --> 00:10:58.580 very very poorly Do you have some PFF grades 00:10:58.580 --> 00:11:01.519 for us on the defense? I do I do great. Could 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:05.039 you share those? Let's just look over our our 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:09.919 grades here. So I'll tell you where the bad spots 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:12.500 were. Okay, I'm gonna give you the worst pieces 00:11:12.500 --> 00:11:16.980 here the people who got skewered Were DJ Reid 00:11:16.980 --> 00:11:20.240 lowest PFF grade on our entire defense at 29 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:24.340 .5 Coverage gate grade of a 28 by the way Do 00:11:24.340 --> 00:11:26.279 you know who was all over the field and almost 00:11:26.279 --> 00:11:29.080 won the game for the Patriots yesterday? I don't 00:11:29.080 --> 00:11:32.500 want to know Carlton Davis the third geez that's 00:11:32.500 --> 00:11:35.519 painful. That's painful Derek Barnes is second 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:40.110 worst 36 .5 He didn't do anything well yesterday. 00:11:40.429 --> 00:11:42.830 There isn't a single grade. At least DJ Reed 00:11:42.830 --> 00:11:45.070 got good grades in run defense and tackling. 00:11:45.990 --> 00:11:49.669 He got skewered in coverage and overall. Derrick 00:11:49.669 --> 00:11:52.129 Barnes had nothing good across the board. Nothing 00:11:52.129 --> 00:11:55.289 over 50. I mean, that was a fifth round pick 00:11:55.289 --> 00:11:58.389 that they couldn't wait to sign. I know he doesn't 00:11:58.389 --> 00:12:01.950 cost a lot, but again, he's just a guy. He's 00:12:01.950 --> 00:12:03.970 not even a replacement guy. He's just a guy out 00:12:03.970 --> 00:12:07.570 there. Go ahead. Our guy Marcus Davenport. Third 00:12:07.570 --> 00:12:13.289 worst 38 .7 overall He didn't do much. Well Rock 00:12:13.289 --> 00:12:15.789 you sin actually came in with some bad grades 00:12:15.789 --> 00:12:19.889 forty four point two He he's cover grade was 00:12:19.889 --> 00:12:22.690 double that of DJ Reid, but still not good at 00:12:22.690 --> 00:12:28.149 45 Aleem McNeil Coming in at fifth worst were 00:12:28.149 --> 00:12:31.950 they forty five point two. He did nothing. Well 00:12:31.950 --> 00:12:35.440 And then a meek Amik got Torch 2. So when you 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:37.299 have these good wide receivers, they're going 00:12:37.299 --> 00:12:39.759 to expose the corners. And that's exactly what 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:41.879 they did all day long. I'm going to give you 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:43.960 a couple of guys that had good grades. Aiden 00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:47.330 Hutchinson had an 89 .7 overall. You know who 00:12:47.330 --> 00:12:49.389 did have a good grade? And I thought he did play 00:12:49.389 --> 00:12:51.529 a really good game in our defensive backfield. 00:12:52.029 --> 00:12:54.990 Avante Maddox was our second highest grade. He 00:12:54.990 --> 00:12:57.870 did have a good game. Good shout out. 83 .2 for 00:12:57.870 --> 00:13:00.149 Avante Maddox. And by the way, he was playing 00:13:00.149 --> 00:13:02.330 a position that he normally does not play back 00:13:02.330 --> 00:13:05.029 there at safety. I thought that was pretty impressive 00:13:05.029 --> 00:13:07.090 from him. Jack Campbell's our third highest with 00:13:07.090 --> 00:13:11.470 a 75 .6. Jack, I feel like Jack is kind of just 00:13:11.470 --> 00:13:13.710 filling a lot of gaps on the defense right now. 00:13:13.750 --> 00:13:17.019 He's being asked to do quite a bit. He is a he's 00:13:17.019 --> 00:13:19.139 I think he's one of the top boat getters for 00:13:19.139 --> 00:13:21.860 all pro for linebacker too. So good on Jack Campbell. 00:13:22.139 --> 00:13:25.139 Well, decided to see him kind of mature over 00:13:25.139 --> 00:13:28.559 his time coming up. Anzaloni had some okay grades. 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:31.539 Everybody on the defense after that was below 00:13:31.539 --> 00:13:34.399 60. So nothing worth talking about. Even your 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:37.840 guy Bob Muhammad. Hallett, terrible. Tylek, not 00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:41.559 good. DJ Reader, not good. All right. They allowed 00:13:41.559 --> 00:13:43.740 41 points. We know it. Let's get to the good 00:13:43.740 --> 00:13:45.580 stuff. Let's talk about the top performers on 00:13:45.580 --> 00:13:48.659 the offense. Okay. Offense. Amon Ra St. Brown 00:13:48.659 --> 00:13:51.980 carded in 90. And we all loved watching Amon 00:13:51.980 --> 00:13:55.559 Ra in this game. I mean, this is Amon Ra at his 00:13:55.559 --> 00:13:59.049 like Finest he's catching balls and let's give 00:13:59.049 --> 00:14:01.330 Jared Goff a pat on the back. He scored pretty 00:14:01.330 --> 00:14:03.149 high too He was our third highest scorer on the 00:14:03.149 --> 00:14:06.169 offense eighty four point one. He had a couple 00:14:06.169 --> 00:14:09.190 artful passes in this game He was threading the 00:14:09.190 --> 00:14:12.250 coverage. I mean you can't do zone against Goff 00:14:12.250 --> 00:14:14.929 if Goff gets two seconds again zone He picks 00:14:14.929 --> 00:14:18.049 it apart. He does a really good job with the 00:14:18.049 --> 00:14:21.600 zone and I would say he I'm not trying to diss 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:24.559 on Stafford here. He delivers a better ball than 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:26.779 Stafford does. Stafford missed some open receivers 00:14:26.779 --> 00:14:29.299 yesterday in the first half. He looked like the 00:14:29.299 --> 00:14:32.440 old bad Matt Stafford we know and love. So he 00:14:32.440 --> 00:14:34.559 definitely picked his game up in the second half. 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:37.399 I texted that to you, didn't I? Bad Matt Stafford. 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:41.840 Hey, real quick on that. I love Jared Goff. And 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:45.240 I agree with that, that he, if the throw can 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:48.820 be made and the pocket's clean and he has a second, 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:51.379 two seconds, whatever it is, he makes the throw 00:14:51.379 --> 00:14:54.019 nine times out of 10. He makes it so where a 00:14:54.019 --> 00:14:57.200 guy, he throws it right in the triangle in their 00:14:57.200 --> 00:15:00.419 hands. He delivers a nice ball. You don't see 00:15:00.419 --> 00:15:02.620 guys, you know, it's got the right torque on 00:15:02.620 --> 00:15:05.220 it. So I would like to give game balls to those 00:15:05.220 --> 00:15:09.059 two individuals. Now, I'm going to pick on a 00:15:09.059 --> 00:15:11.080 couple guys here, and they didn't necessarily 00:15:11.080 --> 00:15:14.759 get bad grades. Jameson Williams had our second 00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:18.340 highest offensive grade for this game at 89 .3, 00:15:18.500 --> 00:15:22.779 getting 86 .5 in the pass. Jamo is good when 00:15:22.779 --> 00:15:25.879 the ball's in his hands on the numbers and he 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:29.379 catches it. He can run. He's a runner. I like 00:15:29.379 --> 00:15:32.220 him in that position. He makes for a very good 00:15:32.220 --> 00:15:35.259 slot receiver type guy in a lot of ways. I'd 00:15:35.259 --> 00:15:37.139 love it if he was a burner. I don't think he 00:15:37.139 --> 00:15:40.940 has the size to be able to be like a puka nakua 00:15:40.940 --> 00:15:43.159 who you're going to throw the ball down the sideline 00:15:43.159 --> 00:15:44.779 to or something like that. I think he'd make 00:15:44.779 --> 00:15:48.500 a really good slot receiver on a team. One other 00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:50.539 thing, though. Well, that's weird because we 00:15:50.539 --> 00:15:52.480 already have the best slot receiver in the game. 00:15:52.659 --> 00:15:55.080 I know. I know. On the first, we have a lot of 00:15:55.080 --> 00:15:57.399 mites out there for receivers and we'll get to 00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:00.320 some other stuff around that. But in the first 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:03.419 half, or excuse me, the second half, and I think 00:16:03.419 --> 00:16:06.960 it was our first set of downs, Jared Goff threw 00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:09.899 a beautiful deep ball over the middle and JMo 00:16:09.899 --> 00:16:13.059 went up and tried to catch it and adjust to it 00:16:13.059 --> 00:16:16.419 a little bit. And if I'm paying a guy as much 00:16:16.419 --> 00:16:19.570 as JMo's getting, And again, mistakes are allowed 00:16:19.570 --> 00:16:22.929 to happen, but that was a critical pass at a 00:16:22.929 --> 00:16:26.210 critical time in the game. Goff got lit up. He 00:16:26.210 --> 00:16:28.269 stood in there, delivered it and got crushed. 00:16:28.490 --> 00:16:32.110 He got crushed. JMo needs to make that catch. 00:16:32.309 --> 00:16:35.669 That is a defining moment for a guy like Jameson 00:16:35.669 --> 00:16:37.769 Williams. We talked earlier about Hutch as a 00:16:37.769 --> 00:16:40.009 playmaker. I don't think JMo is a playmaker. 00:16:40.289 --> 00:16:41.809 I don't think he's the guy that comes up with 00:16:41.809 --> 00:16:44.340 the unbelievable. Can I bring up another point 00:16:44.340 --> 00:16:46.480 that I'm sure you noticed as well? And Brady 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:48.620 was the one that called it out. And I know I'm 00:16:48.620 --> 00:16:50.980 not usually the biggest Tom Brady fan. I feel 00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:52.679 like you're kind of wasting the best of Kevin 00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:54.799 Burkhart with him. Actually, I thought Brady 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:56.759 called his best game of the season yesterday. 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:00.360 I like the information he gives. He has to polish 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:02.600 how he delivers it. Of course. And he'll get 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:05.240 better with time. Let's hope. Most do. All right. 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:08.500 So did you see when Jameau had that one good 00:17:08.500 --> 00:17:11.460 block and Penne Sewell came over to the bench? 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:14.359 Yeah. Yeah, and was addressing it was ugly. It 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:16.599 was an ugly block, but it was a good block It 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:19.039 was he kind of hugged the guy almost got a holding 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:22.799 probably it looked like a hold. But anyway Where 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:24.380 I think that's what they might have been laughing 00:17:24.380 --> 00:17:27.279 about Well where I was going with this is to 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:29.420 your point that he's probably not the playmaker 00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:32.339 that they'd like him to be It seems like he gets 00:17:32.339 --> 00:17:34.880 kudos for anything. He does. Yeah, it's almost 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:39.400 like not doing the excessive screw up Oh my god, 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:41.299 we got a first down. Way to go. He loves it when 00:17:41.299 --> 00:17:44.380 he gets a touch. He ran a nice little route that 00:17:44.380 --> 00:17:46.579 seemed up the middle on his touchdown that Goff 00:17:46.579 --> 00:17:48.799 threw a dime to him in the back of the end zone. 00:17:49.400 --> 00:17:51.720 And all I wanted to say was you ran a great route. 00:17:51.880 --> 00:17:55.279 The pass was perfect. You should never not catch 00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:58.299 that ball. The catches I want him to make are 00:17:58.299 --> 00:18:00.769 the tough ones. The ones that Devontae Adams 00:18:00.769 --> 00:18:03.329 makes for Stafford. The ones that Nakua's out 00:18:03.329 --> 00:18:06.509 there making for Stafford on many plays. Or even 00:18:06.509 --> 00:18:09.170 Parkinson. So I watched those guys and I'm like, 00:18:09.549 --> 00:18:12.049 man, Stafford's always been surrounded with a 00:18:12.049 --> 00:18:14.930 really good cast in LA as far as receivers and 00:18:14.930 --> 00:18:18.210 O -line goes. Again, one bad year. Maybe it was 00:18:18.210 --> 00:18:21.170 last year or the year before and he had no line 00:18:21.170 --> 00:18:23.950 and that's a big deal That's a big thing at any 00:18:23.950 --> 00:18:26.869 rate their GM less need if he makes if he trades 00:18:26.869 --> 00:18:30.410 draft picks chat He trades for Jalen Ramsey or 00:18:30.410 --> 00:18:33.829 Matthew Stafford or Devante Adams. Yep He gets 00:18:33.829 --> 00:18:37.730 guys that are ready to or they're already pro 00:18:37.730 --> 00:18:40.849 bowlers or they're gonna be pro bowlers Again, 00:18:41.069 --> 00:18:42.869 so I know you had some questions for me. I want 00:18:42.869 --> 00:18:45.009 to go through over Yeah, so I want to flip over 00:18:45.009 --> 00:18:46.730 to the run side of things and I have a question 00:18:46.730 --> 00:18:49.349 for you here Yeah, David Montgomery was our fourth 00:18:49.349 --> 00:18:53.910 highest rated player with a 78 .5 He did mediocre 00:18:53.910 --> 00:18:56.869 bad and pass block in the 50s and had 79 in the 00:18:56.869 --> 00:19:00.019 run game Jamiro Gibbs was seventh rated with 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:03.740 a 63 .9, he had poor pass blocking grades, but 00:19:03.740 --> 00:19:06.539 had an 80 in the run game. But Jameer Gibbs just 00:19:06.539 --> 00:19:09.779 couldn't seem to get it going. He was in for 00:19:09.779 --> 00:19:13.240 52 snaps yesterday, and Montgomery was in for 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:16.160 18 snaps. My question for you is, Bill, do you 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:19.460 feel like there are games where David Montgomery 00:19:19.460 --> 00:19:22.819 is the optimal option as the running back over 00:19:22.819 --> 00:19:25.779 Gibbs, where he will do better than Gibbs will? 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:28.220 Let's go back to... Are there scenarios that 00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:30.430 fit him better? Yes, to answer your question, 00:19:30.450 --> 00:19:32.789 and I'm going to just expand on this just briefly. 00:19:33.470 --> 00:19:35.589 The Lions were in control of that game going 00:19:35.589 --> 00:19:38.369 into halftime. And then they kick the ball off 00:19:38.369 --> 00:19:40.589 to the Rams. The Rams come down and score. They 00:19:40.589 --> 00:19:43.049 go three and out. The Rams come down, score again. 00:19:43.190 --> 00:19:46.410 And they had a 17 -point swing in the third quarter. 00:19:47.069 --> 00:19:49.829 Do you know what the time to have run David Montgomery 00:19:49.829 --> 00:19:52.789 would have been down the Rams' throats? The third 00:19:52.789 --> 00:19:53.630 quarter. I have a feeling you're going to tell 00:19:53.630 --> 00:19:57.029 us. And so I couldn't agree with you more, Chet. 00:19:57.440 --> 00:20:00.740 It is befuddling to me and this is my biggest 00:20:00.740 --> 00:20:02.680 frustration with Dan Campbell taking over the 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:04.859 play calling is not that Dan Campbell's a bad 00:20:04.859 --> 00:20:07.500 play caller He's an exceptional play caller Chet, 00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:10.480 but he's not managing the game like he used to 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:14.599 all seems to be refusal To give Montgomery the 00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:17.519 right he Montgomery was in for 18 snaps. He had 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:21.230 seven runs yesterday on those runs Don't think 00:20:21.230 --> 00:20:23.990 I saw a single run from Montgomery where he got 00:20:23.990 --> 00:20:27.089 stuffed or got a yard or a half yard He grounded 00:20:27.089 --> 00:20:29.450 out for three to five yards every time which 00:20:29.450 --> 00:20:32.950 is what that offense needs sometimes I think 00:20:32.950 --> 00:20:35.970 that Montgomery is the runner in high -contact 00:20:35.970 --> 00:20:38.730 games where you have a good D line going against 00:20:38.730 --> 00:20:41.549 our O line Yeah, and you need somebody to blast 00:20:41.549 --> 00:20:45.009 all hole you need to lean on Montgomery Gibbs. 00:20:45.130 --> 00:20:48.309 I love him He's an athlete. He's incredible at 00:20:48.309 --> 00:20:50.630 times. He's a playmaker. He isn't the guy to 00:20:50.630 --> 00:20:53.970 blast a hole up the gut. And in some games, you 00:20:53.970 --> 00:20:56.789 need that. Yesterday, Gibbs looked the run. He 00:20:56.789 --> 00:20:59.170 got 14 runs. He got double the amount of run 00:20:59.170 --> 00:21:01.450 plays that Montgomery got. And I can guarantee 00:21:01.450 --> 00:21:03.769 you a lot of those were up the gut. Here's another 00:21:03.769 --> 00:21:06.549 thing, and I'm not, this isn't Bash, Jamir, Gibbs 00:21:06.549 --> 00:21:08.730 time. I'm not saying that. Gibbs is a wonderful 00:21:08.730 --> 00:21:10.569 player, great player. No, we're talking about 00:21:10.569 --> 00:21:13.430 optimizing. He just has, there are certain people 00:21:13.430 --> 00:21:15.950 for certain types of instances. Everybody has 00:21:15.950 --> 00:21:16.869 a superpower. You have two running backs for 00:21:16.869 --> 00:21:19.829 a reason. Yes. Gibbs is not a good pass blocker. 00:21:19.950 --> 00:21:22.990 He just isn't. His grades there have been poor 00:21:22.990 --> 00:21:26.049 all season long. He had poor grades there again 00:21:26.049 --> 00:21:29.470 yesterday. Monte, slightly better there. Just 00:21:29.470 --> 00:21:31.910 seems like Monte, this was a Monte game. I think 00:21:31.910 --> 00:21:33.309 there are Monte games, I think there are Gibbs 00:21:33.309 --> 00:21:35.069 games, and that's what I was getting at. I couldn't 00:21:35.069 --> 00:21:36.990 agree more. I have a question for you on the 00:21:36.990 --> 00:21:40.029 same topic. We heard, I think it was three weeks 00:21:40.029 --> 00:21:43.730 ago at Dan Campbell's presser, that he was going 00:21:43.730 --> 00:21:45.970 to do his best to get both guys on the field 00:21:45.970 --> 00:21:49.829 as often as he could. Why is that proven so difficult 00:21:49.829 --> 00:21:52.910 now that Laporte has been out? Because we did 00:21:52.910 --> 00:21:57.509 see them more. That's a great question. I don't 00:21:57.509 --> 00:21:59.490 know if you saw this yesterday, but it almost 00:21:59.490 --> 00:22:02.589 made me a little jealous. The Rams run this 13 00:22:02.589 --> 00:22:05.690 package. It's a one wide out and three tight 00:22:05.690 --> 00:22:08.869 end package. We they have three tight ends are 00:22:08.869 --> 00:22:10.789 capable of starting. We don't have any right 00:22:10.789 --> 00:22:13.710 now. So we are I think we are trying to move 00:22:13.710 --> 00:22:17.430 guys around and do things to create on our offense 00:22:17.430 --> 00:22:19.970 because we don't have a true tight end threat 00:22:19.970 --> 00:22:23.829 out there. We had Anthony Ferkser, Shane Zylstra 00:22:23.829 --> 00:22:26.740 and Giovanni Ricci. out there yesterday. You 00:22:26.740 --> 00:22:30.140 guys signed off the streets and Zylstra was the 00:22:30.140 --> 00:22:33.299 one of the last men to make the 53 man roster. 00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:36.259 This is going to strain your passing game and 00:22:36.259 --> 00:22:38.940 possibly your running game, too. So they're moving 00:22:38.940 --> 00:22:41.160 guys into the slot. I didn't see Gibbs in the 00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:43.299 slot as much yesterday as I did the previous 00:22:43.299 --> 00:22:45.319 game. Do you know who is available in the Lions 00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:48.279 drafted ties or Isaac Tesla? We're going to go 00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:52.109 back and do this. Who? Ferguson that had a great 00:22:52.109 --> 00:22:54.569 game for the Rams. He actually didn't have that 00:22:54.569 --> 00:22:56.490 good a game for the Rams, but he did seem to 00:22:56.490 --> 00:22:59.029 be more involved. Parkinson had the really good 00:22:59.029 --> 00:23:01.390 game for the Rams yesterday. He just wasn't available 00:23:01.390 --> 00:23:03.589 at that point. But I'm saying that Ferguson was 00:23:03.589 --> 00:23:05.230 a stud at Oregon and could have been drafted. 00:23:05.470 --> 00:23:07.710 Yes, he will be good. I think Ferguson will be 00:23:07.710 --> 00:23:09.849 good. Let's talk about the O line a little bit. 00:23:10.569 --> 00:23:14.430 I've got good news for you. The O line. They're 00:23:14.430 --> 00:23:17.049 just, you know, outside of Panaisoul, they aren't 00:23:17.049 --> 00:23:20.990 scoring high. Ratledge is in the mid. Decker 00:23:20.990 --> 00:23:23.690 is just not putting in incredible games this 00:23:23.690 --> 00:23:25.329 season. He's hurt. I think he's playing hurt. 00:23:25.789 --> 00:23:28.170 He's struggling. He hasn't practiced. You know, 00:23:28.190 --> 00:23:31.549 Skipper and Frazier and Glasgow again. Glasgow 00:23:31.549 --> 00:23:34.990 turns in another sub 60 game and the PFF scores 00:23:34.990 --> 00:23:39.059 just a bad game from him. Tristan cologne had 00:23:39.059 --> 00:23:41.660 one of the worst scores pff overall and he did 00:23:41.660 --> 00:23:43.980 look like he was just kind of not picking blocks 00:23:43.980 --> 00:23:48.000 up The gut was getting penetrated again. He got 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:51.299 blown up four to five times. I will say this 00:23:51.299 --> 00:23:53.819 Yeah, and I'm at phrasing it as somewhat of a 00:23:53.819 --> 00:23:57.299 question. The time to start Frazier is now I 00:23:57.299 --> 00:24:01.200 think so. I think miles Frazier Scored better 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:03.900 than him playing right guard. He was only in 00:24:03.900 --> 00:24:07.160 for 13 snaps though These two brown eyes saw 00:24:07.160 --> 00:24:09.160 what they saw. I think you gotta put Frazier 00:24:09.160 --> 00:24:11.619 in the left guard spot and let him learn on the 00:24:11.619 --> 00:24:13.839 job at this point. I don't think you're going 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:16.980 to protect Goff or open up any holes for the 00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:20.180 run game using Cologne out there as often as 00:24:20.180 --> 00:24:22.240 you are. I know that he has an extra year of 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:24.079 experience on Frazier, but I'm not buying it. 00:24:24.180 --> 00:24:26.259 I think Frazier has more talent. Cologne was... 00:24:26.259 --> 00:24:28.799 Let's see what Frazier's got. Yeah. Okay, I agree 00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:32.119 completely. Can we... Start talking about what 00:24:32.119 --> 00:24:36.059 this means now that the Lions are there eight 00:24:36.059 --> 00:24:39.619 and six So 14 games in three games left. They 00:24:39.619 --> 00:24:43.039 host the Steelers at 325 Central time this week 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:46.000 Then they have a Christmas Day tilt against the 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:49.519 Minnesota Vikings in Minnesota Then we have a 00:24:49.519 --> 00:24:51.880 game that will be flexed at Soldier Field in 00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:53.819 Chicago We just don't know the date and time 00:24:53.819 --> 00:24:56.619 yet because NFL schedule makers want, you know, 00:24:56.700 --> 00:24:59.390 the best possible product on the field it all 00:24:59.390 --> 00:25:02.230 given times. Chet, they have to win out and they 00:25:02.230 --> 00:25:05.470 need help now. What is your gut instinct at this 00:25:05.470 --> 00:25:08.309 point? Do they win out as question one and two? 00:25:08.369 --> 00:25:10.690 Will they get the help needed and do they make 00:25:10.690 --> 00:25:14.470 the playoffs? Oddly enough, oddly enough, I think 00:25:14.470 --> 00:25:16.390 to make the playoffs, Lions will have to win 00:25:16.390 --> 00:25:19.289 out. They could lose to the Steelers. Beat the 00:25:19.289 --> 00:25:21.369 Vikings and beat the Bears and I think they may 00:25:21.369 --> 00:25:23.769 still get into the playoffs somehow But other 00:25:23.769 --> 00:25:27.130 things may have to happen, but I know if we beat 00:25:27.130 --> 00:25:30.950 the Steelers the linchpin game Becomes the Bears 00:25:30.950 --> 00:25:33.390 game, which is the last game of the season if 00:25:33.390 --> 00:25:36.230 we beat the Steelers regardless Maybe a few other 00:25:36.230 --> 00:25:38.190 things have to happen, but it is looking like 00:25:38.190 --> 00:25:41.589 that Bears game against our former OC It's gonna 00:25:41.589 --> 00:25:44.609 come down to that. I don't see let's put it this 00:25:44.609 --> 00:25:47.029 way if you looked at our whole schedule The scenario 00:25:47.029 --> 00:25:48.849 that's playing out is about as good as we could 00:25:48.849 --> 00:25:52.029 have it. Aside from playing the worst teams in 00:25:52.029 --> 00:25:54.130 the league, you're going to play the Steelers 00:25:54.130 --> 00:25:56.450 who are struggles. You're going to play the Vikings 00:25:56.450 --> 00:25:58.730 who are struggling. You're going to play the 00:25:58.730 --> 00:26:02.349 Bears who are hot. And you're going to play them 00:26:02.349 --> 00:26:06.410 at Chicago in the cold in January. The Vikings 00:26:06.410 --> 00:26:08.869 and Bears games. I worry. I worry about those 00:26:08.869 --> 00:26:11.009 games. I don't know we can get by those and we 00:26:11.009 --> 00:26:13.779 could be a nine win team this year. And we are 00:26:13.779 --> 00:26:15.559 going to have to sit and deal with the fact that 00:26:15.559 --> 00:26:17.779 we missed the playoffs. We're a nine -win team 00:26:17.779 --> 00:26:19.720 in a season where we expected a lot more, but 00:26:19.720 --> 00:26:22.579 we had a very tough schedule. You've been saying 00:26:22.579 --> 00:26:25.039 that for weeks, and you're correct. And I guess 00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:27.539 maybe I don't mean to diminish it, and if I seem 00:26:27.539 --> 00:26:30.170 like I have, I apologize. Diminish away. No, 00:26:30.170 --> 00:26:32.210 I'm not diminishing it, because it's the reality 00:26:32.210 --> 00:26:35.210 of the situation. If we go back to like our preseason 00:26:35.210 --> 00:26:39.109 stuff, Chet, we had them basically at the same 00:26:39.109 --> 00:26:41.549 record probably at this time. What we didn't 00:26:41.549 --> 00:26:43.450 expect, Chet, was that the Packers were going 00:26:43.450 --> 00:26:47.009 to be the cream of the NFC or one of the two 00:26:47.009 --> 00:26:48.829 elite teams with the Rams, and we didn't see 00:26:48.829 --> 00:26:51.190 the Bears coming in any way, shape, or form. 00:26:51.630 --> 00:26:54.849 And the other thing that's really going to end 00:26:54.849 --> 00:26:59.779 up hurting... The Lions chances is how good the 00:26:59.779 --> 00:27:05.059 NFC West has been outside of the Rams I did not 00:27:05.059 --> 00:27:07.079 and I don't know if you did see the Cardinals 00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:09.019 I didn't see them as a playoff team, but I didn't 00:27:09.019 --> 00:27:13.440 see them collapsing and The Seahawks now already 00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:18.039 have 11 wins the the 49ers have 10 wins The Rams, 00:27:18.119 --> 00:27:21.480 you know, have 11 wins and clinched the playoffs 00:27:21.480 --> 00:27:24.759 yesterday. So we're banking on the Eagles and 00:27:24.759 --> 00:27:26.680 then either the Bucks. This is the first season 00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:28.259 in a while where we're going to have to rely 00:27:28.259 --> 00:27:30.400 on other people to fail to get ourselves in, 00:27:30.420 --> 00:27:35.019 probably. Yeah. So what we need now is the Packers 00:27:35.019 --> 00:27:37.940 to start losing. And then we need the 49ers to 00:27:37.940 --> 00:27:40.819 start losing. We were cheering against the Seahawks 00:27:40.819 --> 00:27:44.359 until they... Shane Steichen, man. Yeah. We have 00:27:44.359 --> 00:27:47.400 to say it real quick. He rolled out Philip Rivers' 00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:51.680 dead body and somehow almost beat the Seahawks 00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:54.259 in Seattle. So Chet, here's one thing. Did you 00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:56.519 see Philip Rivers drop back to throw and fall 00:27:56.519 --> 00:27:59.559 over? No. There's a highlight out there. Poor 00:27:59.559 --> 00:28:02.359 guy. Poor guy just dropped back to pass and fell. 00:28:03.819 --> 00:28:06.400 Anyhow, he was impressive as all heck for what 00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:09.539 he did. Question one, I think we both know that 00:28:09.539 --> 00:28:12.549 the playoffs, if they win out, are probably in 00:28:12.549 --> 00:28:15.210 reason. My next question to you is, will the 00:28:15.210 --> 00:28:18.150 Lions make any noise if they do qualify for the 00:28:18.150 --> 00:28:21.390 playoffs? First and foremost, 11 wins should 00:28:21.390 --> 00:28:23.710 get you into the playoffs in a normal NFL season. 00:28:23.930 --> 00:28:26.309 Sometimes it doesn't, but it should. But it might 00:28:26.309 --> 00:28:29.490 not. Secondarily, an 11 -win season is still 00:28:29.490 --> 00:28:31.269 a good season, even if you don't get into the 00:28:31.269 --> 00:28:33.509 playoffs. Unfortunately, you can't turn around 00:28:33.509 --> 00:28:36.849 and say an 11 -win season is a bad season. Third, 00:28:37.190 --> 00:28:41.349 especially the NFL. Third, I'm not 100 % sure 00:28:42.200 --> 00:28:45.240 If we can get by round one of the playoffs with 00:28:45.240 --> 00:28:47.140 the defense playing the way we currently are 00:28:47.140 --> 00:28:50.619 it will be as I've said matchup based What kind 00:28:50.619 --> 00:28:52.579 of matchups do we have? What are the other team 00:28:52.579 --> 00:28:56.480 strengths against our weaknesses? Well, let's 00:28:56.480 --> 00:28:59.599 go through this real quick. Let's say the Rams 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:01.619 do what they need to do and win out and are the 00:29:01.619 --> 00:29:04.440 one seed So they're gonna be at home, which means 00:29:04.440 --> 00:29:07.660 that it would either be The Lions at the seventh 00:29:07.660 --> 00:29:13.089 seed either play either at Chicago Yeah. At Lambeau. 00:29:13.289 --> 00:29:15.890 Yep. Or excuse me, at Soldier Field, at Lambeau, 00:29:16.089 --> 00:29:19.849 at Philadelphia, at the link, or either at Carolina 00:29:19.849 --> 00:29:23.970 or at Tampa. Those are the four best scenarios 00:29:23.970 --> 00:29:25.529 they could probably look for. I would love to 00:29:25.529 --> 00:29:28.210 have one of those last two scenarios if we had 00:29:28.210 --> 00:29:30.829 to be in that situation. I would hope that it 00:29:30.829 --> 00:29:33.609 was Carolina or Tampa Bay. A, I think those are 00:29:33.609 --> 00:29:36.970 teams we can beat and have beat. B, I think the 00:29:36.970 --> 00:29:38.849 weather will be better in either one of those 00:29:38.849 --> 00:29:41.380 spots than it will at the link. Green Bay or 00:29:41.380 --> 00:29:44.019 Chicago at that point in the season. But you 00:29:44.019 --> 00:29:46.480 can bank on the weather stinking at Soldier and 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:49.240 Lambeau. There's no way. And I know we're going 00:29:49.240 --> 00:29:51.759 to get a preview of this in January when Goff 00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:53.640 has to go out there in the freezing cold with 00:29:53.640 --> 00:29:55.779 his gloves on and try to throw the football. 00:29:55.900 --> 00:29:58.119 He turns into a completely different animal at 00:29:58.119 --> 00:30:01.839 that point. At any rate, yes. It does not bode 00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:03.980 well. A first round matchup for us does not bode 00:30:03.980 --> 00:30:07.480 well because none of those matchups. work, at 00:30:07.480 --> 00:30:09.079 least from the standpoint of being outdoors. 00:30:09.240 --> 00:30:12.059 But the Panthers and Tampa Bay are ones I would 00:30:12.059 --> 00:30:14.680 prefer. Unfortunately, I don't believe those 00:30:14.680 --> 00:30:16.880 two teams will be at the top half of the bracket, 00:30:17.299 --> 00:30:19.400 which is where we will be playing people. We're 00:30:19.400 --> 00:30:21.039 going to be playing the one or two seed most 00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:25.039 likely. So we will probably end up in Chicago 00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:29.759 or L .A. or one seed gets a buy. So once you 00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:31.380 get a buy, that's true. You're right. You're 00:30:31.380 --> 00:30:33.839 right. So we'll probably end up in Chicago or 00:30:33.839 --> 00:30:36.799 Philly. Would be my guess possibly Green Bay, 00:30:36.859 --> 00:30:39.539 but I don't think they'll be the number two or 00:30:39.539 --> 00:30:41.420 three Well, I don't think there's any way that 00:30:41.420 --> 00:30:44.099 Green Bay Chicago and Detroit can make the playoffs 00:30:44.099 --> 00:30:46.859 true. That's true, too So we would have to hope 00:30:46.859 --> 00:30:50.339 Green Bay fades. Yeah, so that's really what 00:30:50.339 --> 00:30:52.700 it comes down to at this point I just don't you're 00:30:52.700 --> 00:30:54.720 right Green Bay is gonna have to lose another 00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:57.200 game for us to catch up and get into the conversation 00:30:57.200 --> 00:31:01.299 So all right A little bit longer litter box, 00:31:01.460 --> 00:31:04.119 but a lot to unpack. Thank you so much Detroit 00:31:04.119 --> 00:31:07.299 Lions litter box listeners. We appreciate it. 00:31:07.640 --> 00:31:10.420 We will be back on to preview the Pittsburgh 00:31:10.420 --> 00:31:13.539 Steelers game later this week. And with that, 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:15.240 go Lions. Go Lions.