ffweasel
Weasel Power
If Schiano is hired by NEP for the DC job, what are your thoughts on Flores? If not him, who is available that the Lions May be looking at?
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2025 Detroit Lions: 0-0 HOF Game on tape, as DC said..."We got work to do" (37 Viewers)
- Thread starter Da Guru
- Start date
Workhorse
Footballguy
Hard to tell what kind of gameplanner Flores would be but he is HIGHLY respected in that Pats locker room. Tough as nails, no nonsense, very bright kid. I think he'll be the new Pats D coordinator through and Schiano might come on in some sort of advisor/Assistant Head Coach role.
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
Hard to tell until they actually play some games. If we could grade out HCs by what they did as a DC, Wade Philips would still be a head coach.
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Zimmer interviewed for HC jobs for years until the Vikes gave him a shot. I went back & looked at the coaching vacancy threads from 2014 a few weeks & the reviews for the best coach in the NFC North today were pretty lukewarm back in January 2014.Leroy Hoard said:
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Paul Pasqualoni as defensive coordinator among Lions’ coaching hires
Pretty sure that’s as expected; was rumored like 10 days - 2 weeks ago.
Key assistant: Jeff Davidson as O-line coach
A former Ohio State Buckeye lineman who played four seasons in the NFL, Davidson has been coaching for 22 years. He worked eight seasons in New England and had a one-year overlap with Patricia in 2004. Davidson most recently coached the Denver Broncos' offensive line.
Watching his presser now. Neatly trimmed beard for his first day on the job.
Pretty sure that’s as expected; was rumored like 10 days - 2 weeks ago.
Key assistant: Jeff Davidson as O-line coach
A former Ohio State Buckeye lineman who played four seasons in the NFL, Davidson has been coaching for 22 years. He worked eight seasons in New England and had a one-year overlap with Patricia in 2004. Davidson most recently coached the Denver Broncos' offensive line.
Watching his presser now. Neatly trimmed beard for his first day on the job.
bicycle_seat_sniffer
Smells like chicken
Well hoping that he lets cooter unleash the offense and learns that being agressive is the way to go. Wonder how he feels about being shackled with cooter
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
my notes from Matt Patricia Press Conference
- first question was on staffing. many of the offensive coach decisions were made last week. Patricia said he and Quinn reviewed that in the last couple days (wink, wink) & he fully concurs.
- regarding the hiring process, before the interviews he said he spoke to a number of current and former coaches. before he met with the Lions he wanted to be comfortable with the way the organization is run. of particular importance is the relationship between the HC and Ownership, and the HC/GM dynamic.
- defensive scheme is TBD. tons of player evaluation to be done, FA, draft, UDFA signings. whatever they run it will be filtered through the capacity & ability of the players. you don't decide on a scheme & then coach the players to that scheme; instead you develop the scheme based on what kind of players you have executing the plan.
- regarding the BB influence: great experience, saw how things are done at the highest level, obviously lots of success. there's one Bill Bilichick, and I have my own style.
- talked to Stafford last night, wished him a happy birthday (Matthew turned 30 today.) just kept it light, wanted to give him a chance to get to know me a bit & understand what I'm all about. looking forward to meeting all the players, not just Stafford, but had a great conversation nonetheless.
- beard trim is an annual exercise. every year the season ends & part of turning the page to a new NFL year is clean it up. nobody noticed before he was holding press conferences days after Super Bowls, (ASIDE - ill fitting suit, and dang, there's that pencil behind the ear.)
- what he's most looking forward to as HC: "Whether it's offense, defense, or special teams, if I want a particular play, I get to make that call." been looking forward to being a HC since he was a kid playing electric football (& that one guy always went to the side....)
- regarding the culture: MOVING FORWARD. that's the mantra. you can learn from the past, it's important to understand the history & learn what you can from it, but it's all about moving forward. doesn't matter what happened, I wasn't here, these players weren't here, we are always going to be about moving forward.
- direct yes or no, one-word answer: is JBC going to be your offensive coordinator? ANSWER: "Well I'm Italian so one-wrd answers don't really work for me. Jim Bob Cooter, he's going to be on the staff next season, & obviously he's had pretty good success so far. looking forward to working with him, I've got some ideas on play calling given that I've spent a lot of time designing defenses to stop offensive play calls." Notably, never did answer the question directly.
BroncoFreak_2K3
sucker for Orange
Rod Wood announced there would be a “slight” price increase in season tickets during the MP news conference.
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BobbyLayne
Footballguy
they are the master of opticsRod Wood announced there would be a “slight” price increase in season tickets during the MP news conference.
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
BTW - that's 5 straight years of higher prices. probably not alone on that in the NFL, and they are still in the bottom half league wide.
ETA: that last part was superfluous, it's a given we're always in the bottom half in any category
ETA: that last part was superfluous, it's a given we're always in the bottom half in any category
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BobbyLayne
Footballguy
I don't know if that's a real quote form Twitter (missed the first few seconds) but if it is
Da Guru
Fair & Balanced
Wood might be a good guy but he comes off so dooshy.Rod Wood announced there would be a “slight” price increase in season tickets during the MP news conference.
Da Guru
Fair & Balanced
Would have loved for a writer to say "Welcome to the NFL version of the pit of misery...Dilly Dilly!"
Maybe I don`t know what a HC is supposed to look and sound like. Caldwell just sounded bland and inept at times. Patricia does not sound the part..he sounds like a GM or assistant. I know that does not mean anything but just first impression. Have a hard time seeing him being pissed off at the podium after a loss.
Can`t see him commanding the team...granted I have no data to back that statement up so I hope I am wrong.
Maybe I don`t know what a HC is supposed to look and sound like. Caldwell just sounded bland and inept at times. Patricia does not sound the part..he sounds like a GM or assistant. I know that does not mean anything but just first impression. Have a hard time seeing him being pissed off at the podium after a loss.
Can`t see him commanding the team...granted I have no data to back that statement up so I hope I am wrong.
ffweasel
Weasel Power
Belichick doesn’t show a lot of emotion and he commands his team pretty well. I do agree he doesn’t look the part. We’ll see soon enough.
bicycle_seat_sniffer
Smells like chicken
Kick ### and be agressive.
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
You’ve made variations of that comment several times since I suggested The Patricia two years ago. You’ve said many, many times we should have kept Schwartz / would have performed the same or better. Schwartz went 0-8 and 1-6 the second half of his last two seasons - it’s an untenable position to say keeping him was even an option - and accomplished very little that would indicate he was on the brink of posting the best 4-year Lions record of the Super Bowl era.
But what exactly does a head coach look and sound like? Does he have to yell a lot? Does he have to remind you of Norman Schwarzkopf? Are needy engineers incapable of being leaders of men?
I’ve never once heard you say anything resembling a kind word about Coach Caldwell. He’s a flawed in-game coach - to be fair his clock management improved dramatically in 2016 & 2017 - and he failed at the most important aspect, beating good playoff bound teams.
But people who are there everyday say Caldwell changed the culture. Remember we had a ton of players who had numerous off-field incidents, and on the field the Lions were indisciplined. Stupid, boneheaded penalties, getting in fights, playing dirty, costly mistakes, Stafford was regressing. Think about it - the bad qualities that were pervasive under Schwartz simply disappeared under Caldwell.
Coach Caldwell wasn’t the LT answer, but the team & organization Patricia is walking into is light years ahead of where they were at when they moved on from the Schwartz train wreck.
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
As I said in my notes from the PC post, nope. He’ll be on staff. Did not say if he would be the OC.
Biabreakable
Footballguy
Yeah all you can do is keep an open mind and hope for the best.Leroy Hoard said:
I am not really a fan of his as a defensive coordinator. The Patriots defense has been getting worse it seems recently to not very good this year at all. I know this is partly about personnel as well. Just not really impressed with Patricias work as a DC. Maybe he will make a good HC. I don't know.
Maybe I am being biased against his name. Doesn't seem very manly.
I've been on the verge of posting this for awhile now, so thanks for doing it.
It always felt weird to defend Caldwell, because I don't think he's that great of a coach. But people describe him like he's Rich Kotite and Ray Handley's ******* love child. The hate went WAAAAAYYY too far with him. If he did something well (like his overall record) people would come up with reasons to discount it. But they were never willing to cut him a break if something went wrong.
I appreciate him taking the Lions as far as he could take them, and wish him success in whatever he does next.
Da Guru
Fair & Balanced
I said many times Jim Caldwell is a fine human being.
I do like the hiring and feel he was the best out there but time will tell as with all HCs. I like the fact that Patricia and Quinn are on the same page and have a good working relationship.
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BobbyLayne
Footballguy
It totally is an inexact science. Everyone snickered at hiring Reid’s OC two years ago because he had “emotional intelligence.” Nobody thought he was a genius when he went 5-11, but Pederson’s IQ shot up about 70 points Sunday night.
7-9 but your point stands.
Other than Belichick, Pederson, Zimmer, McVay and maybe Carroll, is any fan base satisfied with their coach? It's like the Reverse Lake Wobegon Effect: every coach is below average.
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Dan Quinn looked like smartest guy in the room until the second half of LI. Less than a year later everyone in ATL is - OK. It’s a lame fan base but still - calling him a moron.
Carlos Monotoneriz - he only writes negativity - asked if the Lions would win Super Bowl LIII. It was typical baiting Carlos question asked in the most arrogant tone, like he was challenging Coach Patricia day one. Herman Moore was sneering at him like he wanted to punch him. (don’t get me started on that jerkazoid Valenti) I DIGRESS...both Bob Quinn (earlier) & Patricia today said there’s no timeline, there’s no “our goal is to win XXX by XXXX.”
All well & good, typical meaningless coachspeak, but more so than anytime in my time as a Lions fan - 52 years this fall - this is a win now hire. Nobody expects a SB appearance year one, but doggone, the best 4-year stretch of the Ford ownership history wasn’t good enough.
A division title, playoff win, home field, securing a bye - whatever Pateicia accomplishes in his time here, because hey, they all get fired sooner or later - it better include ticking more than one of those boxes.
Stafford has been, by a country mile, the best Lions QB since my namesake. It’s meaningless. Going into Year Ten in his 30th year, nobody cares if he hits 70% or throws for 40 TDs or has XX comeback wins. It’s legacy or nothing. Win like no Lions QB since Layne. That’s the objective.
I think Stafford is a good guy, great ambassador for the brand, superb humanitarian along with his pretty wife, he’s probably a great dad to his adorable twins. Look around the league, we could do A LOT worse for the face if the franchise. But years 10, 11, & 12 better be actual (not relative) accomplishments. They didn’t give him three sweetheart deals with a cumulative worth of $260M to finish his career with zero playoff wins.
#oncebeforeidielord
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Oh, and JBC is the OC
I figured. If you're going to humiliate your OC by demoting him, you don't compound the humiliation by giving a deliberately deceptive answer.
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
Key parts to me, most of all the bolded.
This is how you do it (and how New England has been doing it). You don't pass on guys because they "don't fit our scheme" and you don't draft dullard/lazy physical wonders and tell yourself "we can coach him up".
As far as any other influences, you can't spell Patricia without at least starting with Patriots.
I know that was a joke, but it sounds like one of the reasons former Belichick assistants haven't done well as HCs is because they've tried to simply imitate BB. (I'm thinking of McDaniels, Mangini and Piloli in particular.)
I hope Patricia brings a lot of what he learned in NE over to Detroit, but I also hope he charts his own path. After all, it's not like Belichick just tried to imitate Parcells
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
I think what screwed up the other guys was coming into another system totally foreign to them in terms of front office. You just can't plug a round peg into the still square hole. Hopefully already having Quinn here will smooth out that problem.
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BobbyLayne
Footballguy
2022
Quinn, Patricia, & Stafford are all signed through the next 5 seasons.
The Lions have never won 13 or more games in a regular season, have never been a number one seed, made zero Super Bowl appearances, last won a playoff game in 1991, and last won the division title in 1993.
For those three men, the next five years - and likely their entire careers - will be judged by exceeding those benchmarks / ending those streaks. That’s not fair TBH, you’re basically saying be the best this town has ever seen or you’re a failure. But I think it’s accurate that is the expectation.
Quinn, Patricia, & Stafford are all signed through the next 5 seasons.
The Lions have never won 13 or more games in a regular season, have never been a number one seed, made zero Super Bowl appearances, last won a playoff game in 1991, and last won the division title in 1993.
For those three men, the next five years - and likely their entire careers - will be judged by exceeding those benchmarks / ending those streaks. That’s not fair TBH, you’re basically saying be the best this town has ever seen or you’re a failure. But I think it’s accurate that is the expectation.
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
If they can do all or most of that they will be heroes. If not, just the same old Lion zeros.
need2know
Footballguy
Da Guru
Fair & Balanced
If they can`t get it done in 5 years they all should be gone. Stafford will be 35 by then and on the downside, Quinn will have had 7 years and Patricia 5 years.
Remember this is the Lions..toss in a playoff win or two and they will all get extensions.
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
From 1933-1971 - 39 seasons - 1 (tied) division title, lost their only playoff game, had exactly 7 winning seasons, never won more than 9 games
From 1960-2000 - 41 seasons - 5 division title, 7-10 in playoff games, 19 winning seasons, 1 SB (blowout loss) appearance, never won more than 11 games
Neither the Steelers or Patriots extended their futility into a sixth decade, but there are precedents for lousy franchises changing the culture & becoming powerhouses
I would like to know more about this Detroit Super Bowl appearance.
Or are you perhaps refering to a time when the Super Bowl appeared in Detroit? 26-21 isn't exactly a blowout, though admittedly the game felt like one for much of the time.
jomar
Footballguy
he's comparing where the Lions are now with where Pitt and NE were at one point. NE has the blowout SB loss to the Bears.
Mt. Man
Footballguy
Your "pal" Valenti keeps harping on that it should be Super Bowl or bust for this trio. As much as I agree he's a blowhard (and shouldn't he be more worried about the Giants?), it's a fair point, given a mediocre team, new leadership, and how fast teams rise (who had bets on Eagles, Rams and Vikes being the elite of the conference?) and fall (Raiders-Cowboys super bowl hype, right?).
I think a few playoff wins or (mostly likely and) a NFC title game appearance would be enough to make most fans okay with extending this group a little longer. If you can win a division title or two, all the better, though at the moment that's essentially asking Rodgers to retire and the Vikings to not bother hiring a QB. The Lions don't necessary need to win 13 to go somewhere in the playoffs, though of course I'm not saying 'no' to it.
I just can't decide if this being "good enough" is realistic or having hope dashed to shreds for so long.
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BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Sorry I wasn’t more explicit - paragraph 1 is the Steelers, paragraph 2 is the Patriots, paragraph 3 ties the thoughts together. The Patriots - Bears was def a blowout. I’m middle aged & forgot the Pats also lost to the Pack in the 90s, so two SB appearances in their first 41.Arodin said:
Not sure how anyone could link Detroit hosting a Super Bowl with anything I wrote but maybe you’re an outside the box kinda thinker.
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Never understood what drives guys like Valenti, Rob Parker, or Carlos Monarrez. Bayless, Coeherd, SAS - I get it, you take a vapid existence in exchange to play the heel. You don’t even believe half the stuff that comes flying outta your mouth but that’s what they pay you for, and in the postmodern world of everything is relative, who cares about integrity anymore. But a small fry local guy, you’re not invisible like you can be in NYC. You’re out there in the community & your business card says “Professional #######.” Must be a great life.Mt. Man said:
Ben & Jerry's
Footballguy
Is Miles Killebrew going to earn a bigger role this season ?
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Regressed as the season wore on; 2017 was a step back. For awhile they were replacing Jarrad Davis with him, he sucked les than the two rookie LBs (not saying much.) When Tavon Wilson went down, instead of increasing Miles role they moved slot corner Quandre Diggs to SS, and he was lights out. Teez Tabor took over Killibrew’s role and played well the last month.
DBs are the strength of the Lions D as a group, and MK finished the year as their 6th/7th best DB (all positions.) That said, Patricia favors versatile defensive players, so he *might* have an enlarged role in 2018.
bicycle_seat_sniffer
Smells like chicken
bicycle_seat_sniffer
Smells like chicken
Caldwell had to go. Keeping cooter was an odd move why not let matty patty pick his own guy?
Da Guru
Fair & Balanced
After listening to The Ticket for so long Valenti is so predictable. First of all he wants to trade Stafford..then he says they have to pay him. 2 years ago he says Verlander is done and will never be worth a dam anymore. Plus his obsession with Harbaugh and Michigan is annoying. Valenti has single handily made me hate MSU..I know it is crazy but I want them to lose in football because of him. Plus the way he treated Foster when he came back after his stroke was appalling. I never like Terry but Valenti was downright rude when Terry was struggling to get his words out.
Valenti patterned his career like Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern. To have good ratings you need more than the people who like you, you need the people who hate you to listen as well. I have run into those guys a few times. I will say this I have talked to Rob Parker a couple times at a bar...Rob is the nicest, friendly guy in person who loved talking sports. Wojo is the same way. Valenti acts like he is above everyone. The biggest doosh of all though is Mike Stone...plus he always looks so dirty and grubby.
Ilov80s
Footballguy
I don't think Caldwell had to go- he was just about the most successful coach in modern Lions history but I get the change. Keeping JBC? Ugh. If Staff really wanted him, fine. I hate to lose Austin. The D really over achieved under him. I'm not at all excited about Patricia. He was the D.C. for one of the worst defenses in the NFL. The new D.C. is a retread. Meh.
bicycle_seat_sniffer
Smells like chicken
Its the lions they make no sense. Hire a new gm....but your keeping the coach....hire a new coach....your keepi ng the oc....and yeah this old man they got running the defense now. Not impressed
MrJimiT
Footballguy
Wow...this is worth a thread all on it's own!!
I have never met any of them in person, so I cannot comment on their off-air personalities, but your MSU rant is spot on with how I have felt the past several years!!
Ilov80s
Footballguy
Bobby addressed it better but my answer is I hope so. He has a unique physical set of skills- that hybrid LB/S is really the only role he seems fit for. He was a 4th round pick out of a smaller school so it's not really a surprise that he wasn't ready to be a regular contributer in year 2. Patricia's whole reputation is built on having a fluid defense, knowing guy's strengths and putting them in those roles. Hopefully Miles can improve and Patricia can find the right spots for him to be impactful.
The 2 defenders I am curious about are Zettel. Due to injuries and a lack of depth, he was asked to way more than he should have. However, he showed up pretty well for a 7th rounder. Can he improve? Can he be effective in the more limited role he should be in? Also, Hyder. He had a dream season in 2016 and a nightmare season in 2017. Was that a 1 year wonder or can he be a situational pass rusher that helps the Lions win games?
Da Guru
Fair & Balanced
When I say I met them in person it was being at the same place twice when a whole group was there. Rob Parker was standing at the bar and I went up to get a beer and I just said "Hey Parker" Next thing I knew we were talking for 15-20 minutes and he is so nice and so funny! Could not be more cordial.
I saw him a year or two later at Chelis bar in Detroit and did the same I said "Hey Parker" he acted just the same and we ended up having beers together. From what I am told Valenti never goes to functions. Forgot to add that Gator Anderson was very nice as well...wow is he fat in person.
It was funny because I saw Stone blowing people off and basically just acting like a self absorbed idiot, and not in a good way but a very dorky way. The same way he is on the air., so I refused to even acknowledge him when he was close to me. Not that he would care.
The thing is the second time I saw of these guys together was at Mr. Bs in Royal Oak and it was announced to come up and see and talk with the on air guys. Wojo is just like he is on the air...stuffing his face with food and drink.
Stone only talked to the people he worked with. Valenti was not there but Foster was. Seemed like a good guy.This was when Foster was still in good health and Sully was not on the show. I never went out of my way to talk to them..only if we ended up standing at the bar together.
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