msudaisy26
Footballguy
I know he is a retread, but if the Raiders are really going to let Del Rio go, I would bring him here.
NoI know he is a retread, but if the Raiders are really going to let Del Rio go, I would bring him here.
i don't think Arians is getting canned. if he leaves AZ it's because of health reasons, right?How about Arians if he is out in AZ? Offensive guy with a decent rack record. If not for so many injuries to key players I think he could have done something with the Cardinals.
least impactful 10 sack season in history?Ziggy came to play today... Not sure what was up with him earlier this year, playing hurt maybe? I don't think we can let him walk though!
beat cancer, went to the hospital with chest pains 10 days ago....how old is he, 63-64? I think he's ready to step into the slow lane.i don't think Arians is getting canned. if he leaves AZ it's because of health reasons, right?
-- A lean couple of weeks left Golden Tate needing 101 yards to reach 1,000 on the season. And not only did he do it, but he did it in style, racing through the defense for a 71-yard touchdown that gave Detroit a 27-3 lead late in the third quarter. He teamed up with Marvin Jones to become the first Lions teammates to crack 1,000 yards since he and Calvin Johnson did it in 2014. It has only happened five other times in franchise history: Herman Moore/Brett Perriman (1995-96), Moore/Johnnie Morton (1997), Morton/Germaine Crowell (1999) and Roy Williams/Mike Furrey (2006).
-- With seven catches, Tate also pushed past 90 for the fourth time in as many seasons in Detroit. He's the first player in franchise history with four straight 90-catch seasons, and just the seventh in NFL history.
-- Not to be outdone, rookie Kenny Golladay chipped in 80 yards on two catches, 54 of which came on a touchdown grab in the first half. He finishes the season with five catches of at least 40 yards. Only one man has had more in Detroit since 2000, and that man is Calvin Johnson. And Golladay did it while operating behind two 1,000-yard recievers. Throw in Matthew Stafford, and the Lions have an offensive nucleus that should make them one of the hottest coaching jobs out there should Caldwell be fired as expected.
-- The Ezekiel Ansah question is one of the biggest facing Bob Quinn this offseason. Ansah, whose contract expires in March, racked up three more sacks against Green Bay. That gives him 12 for the season, the second-best output of his career. But anyone actually watching these games knows how misleading that is. He was just occupying space for most of the season. Nine of his sacks came in three games. He had just three in Detroit's other 13 games. So which is it? Is Ansah still a dominant pass rusher who was just slowed by injury the last two years? Or is he now a shell of himself who will occasionally remind of the player he once was? That's why they pay Bob Quinn the big bucks.
-- Teez Tabor was among four rookies who were playing on the field together in the first quarter, along with Jarrad Davis, Jamal Agnew and Jalen Reeves-Maybin. That's nearly half the defense, populated by rookies. But Quandre Diggs put an early end to that, spearing Tabor in the arm. Tabor left the game and did not return because of an arm injury.
-- The Lions rolled with a lot of Davis and Reeves-Maybin in the second half, a possible sneak preview of the starting linebackers in 2018. Tahir Whitehead, the usual starter at weak-side linebacker, is due to become a free agent. But Whitehead deserves credit for bouncing back from a disastrous 2016 season, too. He recovered his fourth fumble of the season against Green Bay.
-- Glover Quin forced the fumble that Whitehead recovered. His line for the season: Four fumbles forced, one fumble recovered, three interceptions and one touchdown. Not a bad season. Not bad at all. Some might even call it a Pro Bowl season.
-- Matthew Stafford solidified his place as a top-10 quarterback this season with another sharp day. He completed 20 of his 29 passes for 323 yards, three touchdowns and no picks. His 140.4 rating was his best since 2015, actually. Plus he caught that 2-point conversion pass on a beautiful play design by Jim Bob Cooter. The play began with Ameer Abdullah carrying the ball right, before he dished to Golden Tate coming back around on the reverse. And then Tate pulled up and lofted a pass to a wide-open Stafford, who then chucked the ball up into the stands. It was a fun and creative play call, which really begs the question: Where was this kind of thing when the plays actually mattered?
-- Running back Theo Riddick (ribs) and special teams ace Don Carey (knee) both left the game with injuries. Carey's looked particularly serious, and it required help for him to walk gingerly to the locker room. He's not a household name, but he's one of the best gunners in the league, and one of the biggest reasons Detroit has been so good on coverage teams the last couple years. He was named a captain against Green Bay, too. But he also turns 31 in February and can become a free agent in March. It's possible he has played his final game in Detroit.
-- The Lions swept the Packers for the first time since 1991.
Yeah, I read if he leaves the Cardinals he is retiring from coaching, but he would be awesome if healthy.i don't think Arians is getting canned. if he leaves AZ it's because of health reasons, right?
Hopefully when they have the press conference they bring 9 men to do it and they do that pass back and forth thing with his final check!Pagans is out already.
I’ve read several places the Luons were not expected to announce a move before January 2 out of respect / reverence (by Mrs Ford) for Coach Caldwell.
Coach, I’m not sure if you or your lawyer noticed article 18, clause C in the Appendum of your extension, but we’re gonna need you to write Mrs Ford a check for your final year.Hopefully when they have the press conference they bring 9 men to do it and they do that pass back and forth thing with his final check!
That would be awesome.Coach, I’m not sure if you or your lawyer noticed article 18, clause C in the Appendum of your extension, but we’re gonna need you to write Mrs Ford a check for your final year.
Oh, and thank you for your service!
- 5-1We're gonna sweep the division (6-0), loss December road games to BAL TB CIN, then blow out the Pack on NYE to wrap up the #1 seed
#superbowlLII
Agree that "in the hunt" is not good enough, but I also remember that Millen came in to an eerily similar situation and proceeded to make us all long for those halcyon days of 9-7. Don't screw this up, Quinn!Out with the old, in with the new. Lions toss out their best coach since at least Fontes. For some value of "best". Not that you came blame them. A part of me wouldn't mind keeping Caldwell in the organization, but not as head coach. Too many little things he missed, too much mediocrity. Plus it's rather refreshing to see the Lions not accept "in the playoff hunt" as not good enough, considering their philosophy with HCs in the past.
Now to see what the future brings, even if the 2018 schedule doesn't look as immediately bright. Right now it feels like Patricia is inevitable, but never count on the Lions to do what's expected. With Matt Pat, there's a fair chance of keeping JBC, maybe Austin but I'm fearing he'll get a token interview to be promoted to HC and then get tossed... er, I mean, get a chance to pursue other options >.>.
Patricia seems highly respected. Why would he take the lions job?Rotoworld reporting Lions have requested permission to interview Panthers DC. Don't know anything about him other than that a) he replaced McDermott this year and b) he's black. I hate to be cynical about these things, especially with a franchise that just hired an African American HC, but it's hard not to wonder if he's the Rooney Rule candidate who will allow them to move quickly on Patricia.
Other candidate RW mentions is Vrabel. I sense a theme here.
Patricia seems highly respected. Why would he take the lions job?
I agree about Patricia, seems like he's a DC material,not HC ..same with Caldwell, I dont think he's suited for a HC role. I'm worried about Vrabel - not one single former disciple of BB has gone on to do much of anything as a HC - Charlie Weiss, McDaniels, Romeo Crennel, etc..not even a former Pats player has gone on to have success elsewhere..I can't name one of them that has gone on to become a Pro Bowl player on another team..Giants are interviewing Schwartz this week, maybe McDaniels soon too..I hope neither gets the gig..Any HC candidate should want to come to Detroit. This is not a rebuild with a rookie QB. When Caldwell was hired this team had talent and Caldwell said it is time to "Win Now" Caldwell just could not get this team over the hump. 2014 was his best chance with Calvin and Suh..but that was basically Schwartz's team that made the playoffs. Then the Lions backed into a playoff spot with losses at the end, and two missed playoffs.
This was the year to win the division..Rodgers out, Bears starting a rookie, Viking grabbing Keenum off the street, but the Lions failed to capitalize.
Don`t know much about Patricia but he does not look like a HC..seems like a Rex Ryan type.
Lazy post and horrible reason to not hire a coach. The Lions need to do the research and interview the people and make the correct decision. Remember Bill O'Brien? Plenty of Patriot players have moved on and had success Matt Cassel, Richard Seymour, Chandler Jones all made a pro bowl or were all pro after leaving the Pats just off the top of my head.I agree about Patricia, seems like he's a DC material,not HC ..same with Caldwell, I dont think he's suited for a HC role. I'm worried about Vrabel - not one single former disciple of BB has gone on to do much of anything as a HC - Charlie Weiss, McDaniels, Romeo Crennel, etc..not even a former Pats player has gone on to have success elsewhere..I can't name one of them that has gone on to become a Pro Bowl player on another team..Giants are interviewing Schwartz this week, maybe McDaniels soon too..I hope neither gets the gig..
Keep Theo as the pass catching backup RB, AA needs to go, I like Zenner but only as a depth/special teams guy. What concerns me is that Lang did not look very good this year coming off hip surgery, and I thought Wagner would be much better. Lot of $$$ invested in those two and they need to perform better. I was an Ebron basher but have admit he did play well the last 5-6 games to save his job for at least another season.BobbyLayne said:Picking 20th in the draft this year. Last year they were 21.
Ansah and Ebron are the big decisions before the new League Year starts in early March. You can make a good case for both retaining them - franchise tag of around $17-18M for the former, $8.25M team option for the latter - and if they don't, slim pickings via FA. Doubtful the draft will yield the same immediate impact as keeping both, but I could see them moving on from either or both.
Priority of needs:
Set at QB, three solid options at WR, keep Theo, and of course you always want depth on the O-line and in the defensive backfield. But I think the problems with the former were more scheme & playcalling related (could be wrong, they graded horrible in run blocking and gave up the 2nd most sacks.) But none of these areas feel like they're the one thing holding the team back.
- Edge rusher/Edge Setter DE - Ansah and Zettel disappeared too often and they were horrendous at setting the edge on outside runs,
- Run stuffer DT - Ngata is done.
- OLB - Whitehead is an UFA, Davis and Reeves-Maybin need to continue to progress.
- RB - doesn't have to be a high pick or superstar, one cut back with size and moderate speed will suffice.
Early on the Lions ranked #1 in RZ efficiency & they were effective running to the right side. Then the injuries started piling up - think we had 10-11 combinations for the season? Continuity is always a factor for the O-line, you need a cohesive unit.Keep Theo as the pass catching backup RB, AA needs to go, I like Zenner but only as a depth/special teams guy. What concerns me is that Lang did not look very good this year coming off hip surgery, and I thought Wagner would be much better. Lot of $$$ invested in those two and they need to perform better. I was an Ebron basher but have admit he did play well the last 5-6 games to save his job for at least another season.
I think the Bidwills have also improved their image, even if they are nowhere near the Rooneys. My memories of them from childhood were moving the franchise to AZ and being incredibly cheap. I think the son came in and has been much more respected. Not a dynasty by any means, but if 10 years from now the Lions have made a SB appearance and also had a 14-2 season, and have a highly respected HC who goes out on his own terms, you'd have to regard that as a success. (Would also be nice if the HoF WR didn't retire the first chance he got)BobbyLayne said:The litmus test is changing the mentality of SOL. Sixty years of futility hangs over this franchise like a dark cloud. But as @zftcg pointed out a few days ago, there is no reason this team can't be the 1972 Steelers or the 2001 Patriots. The Rooney's were cheap and terrible owners for almost four decades - until they weren't anymore. New England had only 18 winning seasons and 5 division titles in their first 41 years.
Your past does not equal your future.
Happy New Year!![]()
Can’t see any good candidate choosing that gm and ownership. Career suicide.-OZ- said:![]()
Probably because he thinks he can turn the franchise around and knows how to win. Seriously, he gets them to a super bowl, he's a hero. Win it and the guy is set for life.
They went 9-7 the last two years. And have a top 10 QB. Not having a QB is BY FAR the biggest obstacle to winning. And yet - that issue is solved in this job. Openings like that don't come around very often.Can’t see any good candidate choosing that gm and ownership. Career suicide.
Oh, OZ, please don't go!I remember when they signed Caldwell saying to myself, after being a fan since birth, "F this, Ford really doesn't want to win."
Then my adopted team sucked with the wiz. :(
That was probably overly harsh and Jim had success, but the next signing will be interesting.
If they sign Vrabel I might have to go back to supporting the team.
Quinn was hired to do a job. Do Your Job mentality from the Patriots. Now it's his time. Any of those 2 Patriots coordinators or Vrabel in my humble opinion. I'd be greedy and say get two of them, all three would be out of the question, yet monumental.Moonlight said:Congrats to Lions for showing some balls here and not accepting mediocrity. Things could get worse, that's the risk but I didn't see the upside with staying with Caldwell.
We will learn more about Quinn as we observe how the selection process plays out and who the final choice becomes.
"Coaching trees" have always been an inexact shorthand. Walsh begat Holmgren begat Reid. Which one gets credit for Gruden? Also, coaches bounce around so much, you can't necessarily assign them to one "root". I heard an interview with Gase where he talked about how he was mentored by Martz, Saban and then Fox. This WSJ graphic outlines how complicated it all is.I don’t pay much attention to this stuff, but what’s the best all-time coaching tree? Seems like Parcels Giants staff and Holmgren’s Green Bay staff would be in the conversation. Not sure if it was the same for Bill Walsh’s 49ers.
Unless they're high-profile names (Andy Reid, Rex Ryan, John Fox), recently fired coaches rarely move directly to another HC role. When Caldwell got fired from the Colts, he got hired as Ravens QB coach, then got promoted to OC midway through the season, then stayed in that role for another year before getting the Lions job. That's far more typical.There are many job opening so we will see if Caldwell gets HC interviews with other teams.
There are many job opening so we will see if Caldwell gets HC interviews with other teams.