Caldwell To Coach Lions (1 Viewer)

[Shutout]

Hear that, Calvin? That's the sound of your window closing.

yup. Sad. It takes an especially dolt coach to wreck a good thing and I guarantee you....guarantee...caldwell comes in and starts building things around "taking pressure off Calvin" and "using more options" and what we will see come September is how bad the Lions really are when the greatest player in the game suddenly gets the Andre Johnson treatment....run him off and drag the coverage...move him around but don't feed him.

This is going to be FRUSTRATING for Calvin owners (and the Lions fan....whoever he is).

Where do people come up with this crap? What in Caldwell's history would possibly make you think his gameplan will be to avoid throwing to his best WR? Reggie Wayne did just fine when Caldwell coached the Colts. He took plenty of shots downfield to Torrey Smith this season with the Ravens. But you're confident enough to GUARANTEE he will neglect Calvin Johnson. Why?

Plenty of logical criticisms to make about Caldwell without having to make #### up.

Mark this thread and come back to it is all I can tell you but it will happen. I've watched Caldwell enough over the years to see, with my own two eyes, the type of thinking he puts into his teams. So, THAT is where I come up with thought.

I'm not going to sit here and do homework for people that didn't watch his work or have forgotten. It is simpler to just say mark the thread and you tell me a year from now if you think Megatron lived up to Megatron history/expectations.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

Hear that, Calvin? That's the sound of your window closing.

yup. Sad. It takes an especially dolt coach to wreck a good thing and I guarantee you....guarantee...caldwell comes in and starts building things around "taking pressure off Calvin" and "using more options" and what we will see come September is how bad the Lions really are when the greatest player in the game suddenly gets the Andre Johnson treatment....run him off and drag the coverage...move him around but don't feed him.

This is going to be FRUSTRATING for Calvin owners (and the Lions fan....whoever he is).

Where do people come up with this crap? What in Caldwell's history would possibly make you think his gameplan will be to avoid throwing to his best WR? Reggie Wayne did just fine when Caldwell coached the Colts. He took plenty of shots downfield to Torrey Smith this season with the Ravens. But you're confident enough to GUARANTEE he will neglect Calvin Johnson. Why?

Plenty of logical criticisms to make about Caldwell without having to make #### up.

Mark this thread and come back to it is all I can tell you but it will happen. I've watched Caldwell enough over the years to see, with my own two eyes, the type of thinking he puts into his teams. So, THAT is where I come up with thought.

I'm not going to sit here and do homework for people that didn't watch his work or have forgotten. It is simpler to just say mark the thread and you tell me a year from now if you think Megatron lived up to Megatron history/expectations.

Wouldnt the OC have more of a hand in this then Caldwell though?

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Little known Bill Belichick story: Bill was once known as a nice, honest but somewhat dumb coach. But while on that short bus ride from Cleveland to New England (with a brief stop in New York to use the restroom), Bill bumped his head severely. It was then he became the nasty, crooked genius you see today.

 

[B-Deep]

Hear that, Calvin? That's the sound of your window closing.

yup. Sad. It takes an especially dolt coach to wreck a good thing and I guarantee you....guarantee...caldwell comes in and starts building things around "taking pressure off Calvin" and "using more options" and what we will see come September is how bad the Lions really are when the greatest player in the game suddenly gets the Andre Johnson treatment....run him off and drag the coverage...move him around but don't feed him.

This is going to be FRUSTRATING for Calvin owners (and the Lions fan....whoever he is).

Where do people come up with this crap? What in Caldwell's history would possibly make you think his gameplan will be to avoid throwing to his best WR? Reggie Wayne did just fine when Caldwell coached the Colts. He took plenty of shots downfield to Torrey Smith this season with the Ravens. But you're confident enough to GUARANTEE he will neglect Calvin Johnson. Why?

Plenty of logical criticisms to make about Caldwell without having to make #### up.

Mark this thread and come back to it is all I can tell you but it will happen. I've watched Caldwell enough over the years to see, with my own two eyes, the type of thinking he puts into his teams. So, THAT is where I come up with thought.

I'm not going to sit here and do homework for people that didn't watch his work or have forgotten. It is simpler to just say mark the thread and you tell me a year from now if you think Megatron lived up to Megatron history/expectations.

i am not sure if you are right or wrong, but you could use this argument to support any assertion under the sun

Caldwell will have sex with the lions mascott at halftime. Mark this thread and come back to it is all I can tell you but it will happen. I've watched Caldwell enough over the years to see, with my own two eyes, the type of thinking he puts into his mascotts. So, THAT is where I come up with thought.

I'm not going to sit here and do homework for people that didn't watch his work or have forgotten. It is simpler to just say mark the thread and you tell me a year from now if he boned the lion at halftime.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Caldwell will have sex with the lions mascott at halftime. Mark this thread and come back to it is all I can tell you but it will happen. I've watched Caldwell enough over the years to see, with my own two eyes, the type of thinking he puts into his mascotts.

I hope this is true, it should cut down on the halftime crowds around the bathrooms & beer lines.

 

[mikel0254]

Serious question - Do you think Caldwell, Mayhew, and Lewand are all gone after one year if they don't make the playoffs this year? I for one thought it was ludicrous that it just happened in Cleveland, but I honestly could see something similar happening in Detroit if things don't go well.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Serious question - Do you think Caldwell, Mayhew, and Lewand are all gone after one year if they don't make the playoffs this year? I for one thought it was ludicrous that it just happened in Cleveland, but I honestly could see something similar happening in Detroit if things don't go well.

not one, but if Caldwell dont make the playoffs in year 1 or 2, then I see a clean sweep coming. althought Lewand somehow will survive it, hes a #'s guy capologist or whatever, I dont think he makes alot of football decisions

 

[Spartans Rule]

Serious question - Do you think Caldwell, Mayhew, and Lewand are all gone after one year if they don't make the playoffs this year? I for one thought it was ludicrous that it just happened in Cleveland, but I honestly could see something similar happening in Detroit if things don't go well.

It depends how bad things go. If they go 9-7 and narrowly miss a wild card, probably not. If they got 3-13, there may be a house cleaning.

As mentioned above, I don't think Lewand has anything to do with football decisions so I don't think it matters for him.

 

[fatness]

Caldwell mentioned discipline and not shooting yourself in the foot as traits he expected his teams to have. Neither was a hallmark of the Schwartz era, and Caldwell also said, when asked about his placid demeanor, that he thought that coaches who prepare their teams during the week don’t have any reason to scream and run around on the sideline.

Any coaching style would be welcomed by Lions fans if it came with a step up in play for quarterback Matthew Stafford. Caldwell said that he didn’t watch film with Stafford when they met during the interview process and that he needs to “dig down deeper” to figure out the best way to get that improvement.

Caldwell’s confident that it will happen, saying that he thinks Stafford is willing to do whatever it takes to improve and that “you’re going to see improvement from the outset” when the Lions get back on the field.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/15/jim-caldwell-on-stafford-i-think-youll-see-improvement-from-the-outset/

 

[Bob Magaw]

Sometimes teams take on the personality of their HC and leader.

Stoic can equate to cool under fire and grace under pressure. Fiery can mean hot head and volatile...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzfTC1XW_yQ

 

[Da Guru]

Sometimes teams take on the personality of their HC and leader.

Stoic can equate to cool under fire and grace under pressure. Fiery can mean hot head and volatile...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzfTC1XW_yQ

Harbaugh was a little dooshy with the handshake. Love at the end, when the scrum among the players started escalating Pettigrew put his helmet back on.

 

[Bob Magaw]

It was a pretty perfunctory shake by Harbaugh and than he sort of simultaneously whacked Schwartz on the back as he ran away from him. Did they ever say if there was previous bad blood between them?

Still, though, he probably could have handled the aftermath better. He kind of embarrassed himself and the organization. I've never seen anything like that between opposing HCs in the pros and college. Though the Ryan/Gilbride punch was weird, as was the Woody Hayes incident.

 

[MoveToSkypager]

Sometimes teams take on the personality of their HC and leader.

Stoic can equate to cool under fire and grace under pressure. Fiery can mean hot head and volatile...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzfTC1XW_yQ

Harbaugh was a little dooshy with the handshake. Love at the end, when the scrum among the players started escalating Pettigrew put his helmet back on.

I never got how people thought this. All of these guys are athletes. Schwartz and Harbaugh were both at least college players. They both know that adrenaline is flowing pretty regularly during and directly after he game. So a slap on the back is supposed to offend Schwartz now? Cmon. He also couldn't find enough people to get behind before he got bold and tried to get in Harbaugh's face. I think he knew if he made a move on Harbaugh, he'd be on his back when he woke up.

 

[Tornacl]

Since Ford took over the Lions in 1964, no Lions' HC (except interim HC **** Jauron) has ever coached again in the NFL.

The Lions: where coaching careers go to die!

 

[Tornacl]

Ford has hired 4 GMs, none of which was ever a GM before or after. And as far as I can tell, I don't think any of the GMs hired by Ford ever worked for another NFL organization. Since the Lions are one of the worst-run organizations in sports, how could anyone that has only worked for the Lions have any idea on how a team should be run?

I think that hiring a competent GM that has come up through the ranks of a winning organization, and has had success with other teams, is what this team needs more than anything to turn this 56 years of ineptitude around!

 

[nysfl2]

Caldwell is not HC material. This is an absolutely horrible hire. But if you want a HC that is really good at standing on the sideline, looking confused most of the time, then Caldwell is your guy. I have seriously never seen a coach with a more perpetual deer-in-the-headlights look than Caldwell, which the media praises as "calm demeanor". A cardboard cutout would be more animated and have better clock management skills than this guy. So pissed right now as a Lions fan.

I think they're trying to relive the Wayne Fontes era . . .

 

[TwinTurbo]

Looking into this after my instant anger subsided, he is a coach that took a team to a SB. Those do not come on trees, some say anyone can do it but Fox couldn't do it with Manning last year and Dungy took them to as many SBs as Caldwell, while Dungy won his it is not an easy feat to get to the SB. But you could win with that team? Now that we discovered a lot of this is pure anger and not facts, lets discuss this.

Have the Lions ever had a Head Coach who has Super Bowl experience? Has Caldwell had some unfortunate circumstance to work with? Is he better than Munchak and other options? I believe so. Everyone thought Schwartz was a great hire, or at least in regards to how people feel about this hire. Does he have some respect around the league and could players want to come here to play for him? That remains to be seen, but I decided that I will reserve my judgement for when a coaching decision has to be made and we see how he handles it. I still can see why some are upset.

Bill Callahan also took a team to the Superbowl. Both Callahan and Caldwell are classic case studies as to why it's infinitely more important to have elite talent than an elite head coach if you can't have both. And most teams don't.

 

[TwinTurbo]

I would have rather kept Schwartz and hired a dynamic OC. Scott Linehan was horrible last season. The Lions lost a game vs Baltimore on a last second 61 yard FG, they lost 2 games because of Reggie Bush fumbles, they lost 2 games because Matt Stafford threw late INTs on ill advised throws. They lost another game because Nick Fairley jumped offside late in a game that kept a drive alive.

I'd agree that Schwartz with a better OC would've been a good situation. But that's also the biggest reason Schwartz had to go - he's ultimately responsible for his staff and he kept the inept Linehan as OC and the unqualified Todd Downing as QB coach, and Stafford was regressing as a result of it.

[SIZE=10.5pt]If Schwartz was still the coach next year, we'd all be back here in January 2015 saying "same old Lions". He let his players do whatever they wanted, and that resulted in undisciplined play and ultimately what lost us so many games this year. I think I read somewhere that we had the lead in the 4th quarter in 14 of the 16 games this year, including the last 7 where we lost 6 of those. That would not change with a new OC, it falls on the guy at the top. He needed to go.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]From what I'm reading, Caldwell does install discipline in his players, although it’s hard to imagine given his demeanor on the sidelines...[/SIZE]

At the pro level, discipline and accountability really falls on the players more than the HC. Detroit simply needs better players and as usual their roster is overrated with the exception of Megatron. What is Caldwell going to do differently than anyone else other than bench or fine guys, which doesn't help the team either. Reggie Bush already got benched for fumbling and he continued to fumble. And I don't think you can fine a guy for turnovers or jumping offsides. Pettigrew would be broke if you could fine guys for dropped passes.

Coughlin is arguably the biggest disciplinarian in the league but the Giants were awful this year with turnovers and penalties which led to losses. Eli forgot how to play QB. How much of it is Coughlin's fault? I'm not saying they should have kept Schwartz and he earned his pink slip, but you need to hire the best coach and Caldwell is simply not a good HC. The biggest priority is to get somebody to work with Stafford and also get him a decent WR2/TE and improve the defense.

 

[False Start]

Since Ford took over the Lions in 1964, no Lions' HC (except interim HC **** Jauron) has ever coached again in the NFL.

The Lions: where coaching careers go to die!

I assume you mean head coaches, some coaches have coached positions or have been coordinators afterward.

 

[mikel0254]

Since Ford took over the Lions in 1964, no Lions' HC (except interim HC **** Jauron) has ever coached again in the NFL.

The Lions: where coaching careers go to die!

I assume you mean head coaches, some coaches have coached positions or have been coordinators afterward.

Must be. 0-16 Rod Marinelli went on to oversee some pretty good Chicago's defenses from 2010-2012

 

[mikel0254]

I would have rather kept Schwartz and hired a dynamic OC. Scott Linehan was horrible last season. The Lions lost a game vs Baltimore on a last second 61 yard FG, they lost 2 games because of Reggie Bush fumbles, they lost 2 games because Matt Stafford threw late INTs on ill advised throws. They lost another game because Nick Fairley jumped offside late in a game that kept a drive alive.

I'd agree that Schwartz with a better OC would've been a good situation. But that's also the biggest reason Schwartz had to go - he's ultimately responsible for his staff and he kept the inept Linehan as OC and the unqualified Todd Downing as QB coach, and Stafford was regressing as a result of it.

[SIZE=10.5pt]If Schwartz was still the coach next year, we'd all be back here in January 2015 saying "same old Lions". He let his players do whatever they wanted, and that resulted in undisciplined play and ultimately what lost us so many games this year. I think I read somewhere that we had the lead in the 4th quarter in 14 of the 16 games this year, including the last 7 where we lost 6 of those. That would not change with a new OC, it falls on the guy at the top. He needed to go.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]From what I'm reading, Caldwell does install discipline in his players, although it’s hard to imagine given his demeanor on the sidelines...[/SIZE]

At the pro level, discipline and accountability really falls on the players more than the HC. Detroit simply needs better players and as usual their roster is overrated with the exception of Megatron. What is Caldwell going to do differently than anyone else other than bench or fine guys, which doesn't help the team either. Reggie Bush already got benched for fumbling and he continued to fumble. And I don't think you can fine a guy for turnovers or jumping offsides. Pettigrew would be broke if you could fine guys for dropped passes.

Coughlin is arguably the biggest disciplinarian in the league but the Giants were awful this year with turnovers and penalties which led to losses. Eli forgot how to play QB. How much of it is Coughlin's fault? I'm not saying they should have kept Schwartz and he earned his pink slip, but you need to hire the best coach and Caldwell is simply not a good HC. The biggest priority is to get somebody to work with Stafford and also get him a decent WR2/TE and improve the defense.

I guess I disagree with this to some extent. I understand they are professionals, but I think if you've watched the Lions over the last 5 years, they took on the attitude of their coach which resulted in sloppy undisciplined play. IMO, that 100% falls on the coach. It's how they are taught.



A lot of these players have only played under Schwartz. From Stafford to Suh to Fairley, etc. I don’t not think they are overrated as you say, but they need a good coach to teach them how to play and win in this league instead of beating themselves. Maybe Caldwell is the guy? It's just hard for me to see that right now...

 

[Da Guru]

I would have rather kept Schwartz and hired a dynamic OC. Scott Linehan was horrible last season. The Lions lost a game vs Baltimore on a last second 61 yard FG, they lost 2 games because of Reggie Bush fumbles, they lost 2 games because Matt Stafford threw late INTs on ill advised throws. They lost another game because Nick Fairley jumped offside late in a game that kept a drive alive.

I'd agree that Schwartz with a better OC would've been a good situation. But that's also the biggest reason Schwartz had to go - he's ultimately responsible for his staff and he kept the inept Linehan as OC and the unqualified Todd Downing as QB coach, and Stafford was regressing as a result of it.

[SIZE=10.5pt]If Schwartz was still the coach next year, we'd all be back here in January 2015 saying "same old Lions". He let his players do whatever they wanted, and that resulted in undisciplined play and ultimately what lost us so many games this year. I think I read somewhere that we had the lead in the 4th quarter in 14 of the 16 games this year, including the last 7 where we lost 6 of those. That would not change with a new OC, it falls on the guy at the top. He needed to go.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]From what I'm reading, Caldwell does install discipline in his players, although it’s hard to imagine given his demeanor on the sidelines...[/SIZE]

At the pro level, discipline and accountability really falls on the players more than the HC. Detroit simply needs better players and as usual their roster is overrated with the exception of Megatron. What is Caldwell going to do differently than anyone else other than bench or fine guys, which doesn't help the team either. Reggie Bush already got benched for fumbling and he continued to fumble. And I don't think you can fine a guy for turnovers or jumping offsides. Pettigrew would be broke if you could fine guys for dropped passes.

Coughlin is arguably the biggest disciplinarian in the league but the Giants were awful this year with turnovers and penalties which led to losses. Eli forgot how to play QB. How much of it is Coughlin's fault? I'm not saying they should have kept Schwartz and he earned his pink slip, but you need to hire the best coach and Caldwell is simply not a good HC. The biggest priority is to get somebody to work with Stafford and also get him a decent WR2/TE and improve the defense.

I guess I disagree with this to some extent. I understand they are professionals, but I think if you've watched the Lions over the last 5 years, they took on the attitude of their coach which resulted in sloppy undisciplined play. IMO, that 100% falls on the coach. It's how they are taught.

A lot of these players have only played under Schwartz. From Stafford to Suh to Fairley, etc. I don’t not think they are overrated as you say, but they need a good coach to teach them how to play and win in this league instead of beating themselves. Maybe Caldwell is the guy? It's just hard for me to see that right now...

I heard Gunther Cunningham on the radio this past season talking about penalties. Cunningham stated that everyday they drilled situational football.."Do not jump on 3rd and 5, do not hit the QB on 3rd and long after he has released the ball, they went over all of this every single practice" Yet Nick Fairley does both on a regular basis. Fairley is a gifted but dumb football player, the same way he was at Auburn.

 

[mikel0254]

I would have rather kept Schwartz and hired a dynamic OC. Scott Linehan was horrible last season. The Lions lost a game vs Baltimore on a last second 61 yard FG, they lost 2 games because of Reggie Bush fumbles, they lost 2 games because Matt Stafford threw late INTs on ill advised throws. They lost another game because Nick Fairley jumped offside late in a game that kept a drive alive.

I'd agree that Schwartz with a better OC would've been a good situation. But that's also the biggest reason Schwartz had to go - he's ultimately responsible for his staff and he kept the inept Linehan as OC and the unqualified Todd Downing as QB coach, and Stafford was regressing as a result of it.

[SIZE=10.5pt]If Schwartz was still the coach next year, we'd all be back here in January 2015 saying "same old Lions". He let his players do whatever they wanted, and that resulted in undisciplined play and ultimately what lost us so many games this year. I think I read somewhere that we had the lead in the 4th quarter in 14 of the 16 games this year, including the last 7 where we lost 6 of those. That would not change with a new OC, it falls on the guy at the top. He needed to go.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]From what I'm reading, Caldwell does install discipline in his players, although it’s hard to imagine given his demeanor on the sidelines...[/SIZE]

At the pro level, discipline and accountability really falls on the players more than the HC. Detroit simply needs better players and as usual their roster is overrated with the exception of Megatron. What is Caldwell going to do differently than anyone else other than bench or fine guys, which doesn't help the team either. Reggie Bush already got benched for fumbling and he continued to fumble. And I don't think you can fine a guy for turnovers or jumping offsides. Pettigrew would be broke if you could fine guys for dropped passes.

Coughlin is arguably the biggest disciplinarian in the league but the Giants were awful this year with turnovers and penalties which led to losses. Eli forgot how to play QB. How much of it is Coughlin's fault? I'm not saying they should have kept Schwartz and he earned his pink slip, but you need to hire the best coach and Caldwell is simply not a good HC. The biggest priority is to get somebody to work with Stafford and also get him a decent WR2/TE and improve the defense.

I guess I disagree with this to some extent. I understand they are professionals, but I think if you've watched the Lions over the last 5 years, they took on the attitude of their coach which resulted in sloppy undisciplined play. IMO, that 100% falls on the coach. It's how they are taught.

A lot of these players have only played under Schwartz. From Stafford to Suh to Fairley, etc. I don’t not think they are overrated as you say, but they need a good coach to teach them how to play and win in this league instead of beating themselves. Maybe Caldwell is the guy? It's just hard for me to see that right now...

I heard Gunther Cunningham on the radio this past season talking about penalties. Cunningham stated that everyday they drilled situational football.."Do not jump on 3rd and 5, do not hit the QB on 3rd and long after he has released the ball, they went over all of this every single practice" Yet Nick Fairley does both on a regular basis. Fairley is a gifted but dumb football player, the same way he was at Auburn.

Maybe it's not how they're coached, but how the coaches react after they mess up. If there's no punishment, they'll never learn not to do it again. Obviously I'm making a ton of assumptions here, but given what we've seen over the last 5 years, I think it's reasonable to assume that the coaches weren't doing the right things to correct the problems, if anything.

 

[Spartans Rule]

Fairley is a gifted but dumb football player, the same way he was at Auburn.

Yep, and all the discipline in the world isn't going to make him smarter.

A lot of it just comes down to organizational philosophy. When you have the opportunity to draft Fairley at #13 overall, do you pass because you know he's going to do dumb things on and off the field, or do you take the discounted price on a really talented player? The Lions tend to go the latter route, and that's part of why they've been able to increase their talent level quickly but it hasn't translated into as many wins as you'd hope.

 

[metoo]

Maybe Caldwell has learned from his time as HC in Indy. He has the support of Manning.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24410808/peyton-manning-called-lions-to-endorse-jim-caldwell

 

[Bob Magaw]

Maybe Caldwell has learned from his time as HC in Indy. He has the support of Manning.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24410808/peyton-manning-called-lions-to-endorse-jim-caldwell

If the only thing that comes from this is he helps Stafford to fulfill his potential, that alone could propel DET to the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see what they do with the 1.10 pick?

CB, WR, LB, OT, trade down?

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Maybe Caldwell has learned from his time as HC in Indy. He has the support of Manning.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24410808/peyton-manning-called-lions-to-endorse-jim-caldwell

If the only thing that comes from this is he helps Stafford to fulfill his potential, that alone could propel DET to the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see what they do with the 1.10 pick?

CB, WR, LB, OT, trade down?

CB or WR I'd bet on.

There are 7 WRs vs 2 CBs listed on NFL.com's mock 1st round so maybe a CB first and then a WR that dropped in the 2nd?

 

[mikel0254]

Maybe Caldwell has learned from his time as HC in Indy. He has the support of Manning.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24410808/peyton-manning-called-lions-to-endorse-jim-caldwell

If the only thing that comes from this is he helps Stafford to fulfill his potential, that alone could propel DET to the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see what they do with the 1.10 pick?

CB, WR, LB, OT, trade down?

CB or WR I'd bet on.

There are 7 WRs vs 2 CBs listed on NFL.com's mock 1st round so maybe a CB first and then a WR that dropped in the 2nd?

I'd love to see Sammy Watkins or Marqise Lee lineup opposite of Calvin. They alone should help Stafford. It always seems like there are DB free agents or those you can get later in the draft. If they go WR, we could easily have a top 5 offense.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Maybe Caldwell has learned from his time as HC in Indy. He has the support of Manning.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24410808/peyton-manning-called-lions-to-endorse-jim-caldwell

If the only thing that comes from this is he helps Stafford to fulfill his potential, that alone could propel DET to the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see what they do with the 1.10 pick?

CB, WR, LB, OT, trade down?

CB or WR I'd bet on.

There are 7 WRs vs 2 CBs listed on NFL.com's mock 1st round so maybe a CB first and then a WR that dropped in the 2nd?

I'd love to see Sammy Watkins or Marqise Lee lineup opposite of Calvin. They alone should help Stafford. It always seems like there are DB free agents or those you can get later in the draft. If they go WR, we could easily have a top 5 offense.

I could go with that, and maybe they need another vet in the secondary anyways.

 

[False Start]

Maybe Caldwell has learned from his time as HC in Indy. He has the support of Manning.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24410808/peyton-manning-called-lions-to-endorse-jim-caldwell

If the only thing that comes from this is he helps Stafford to fulfill his potential, that alone could propel DET to the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see what they do with the 1.10 pick?

CB, WR, LB, OT, trade down?

CB or WR I'd bet on.

There are 7 WRs vs 2 CBs listed on NFL.com's mock 1st round so maybe a CB first and then a WR that dropped in the 2nd?

I'd love to see Sammy Watkins or Marqise Lee lineup opposite of Calvin. They alone should help Stafford. It always seems like there are DB free agents or those you can get later in the draft. If they go WR, we could easily have a top 5 offense.

I could go with that, and maybe they need another vet in the secondary anyways.

I would actually like to see the Lions draft CB Gilbert from Okie St. or Sammy Watkins. While he wont be there I would love to see the Lions grab Clowney. Could you imagine that D Line? Suh, Fairley, Ansah and Clowney - WOW!

 

[Faust]

Caldwell: maturation process will help Stafford's play 'escalate'

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Will Detroit be over or under .500 over the next 3 seasons?

 

[Wyld Stallyns]

Will Detroit be over or under .500 over the next 3 seasons?

Total? As in all 3 seasons combined? ...Under. No doubt.

 

[FUBAR]

Will Detroit be over or under .500 over the next 3 seasons?

Total? As in all 3 seasons combined? ...Under. No doubt.

Won't go so far as to say no doubt, but highly likely under .500 maybe one playoff game.

 

[Bob Magaw]

Stafford is the X-factor. If Caldwell can reach him and help him improve, than I could see them being a pleasant surprise. But they have talent in the division between GB, CHI and MIN could be a QB away from being a lot more competitive.

This is an important free agency/draft cycle for them. Calvin Johnson and nobody in the passing game isn't cutting it. They need to upgrade WR2 and TE (Pettigrew looked promising at one time, not an explosive, seam-stretching, down the field weapon like Vernon Davis, but as a possession, move-the-chains type, but he seems to have regressed). If they could somehow do both in the off-season, and if Reggie Bush could somehow stay healthy and hang on to the ball better, the offense could be special. Even Johnson was ailing and can hopefully get right physically. It wasn't that long ago that Stafford had 40+ TDs.

They also have some pieces in place on defense. Before the 2013 season, though, Stafford was something like 1-23 against winning teams (?), which almost seems to speak to a mental block, or psychological/attitude issue. No doubt QBs like Brady, Manning, Brees, Rodgers, Russell, etc., EXPECT to win. Winning builds confidence, and when you are confident, you are more likely to win. It is hard to build confidence when you are chronically losing (except for the 2012 playoff season). The team also has a ridiculous number of come from ahead losses in the second half or even fourth quarter. That could have been Schwartz's coaching as well as Stafford being careless with the ball. But they could be related. Maybe Caldwell can prioritize and emphasize to a greater degree the importance of being smart with the ball in the fourth quarter (throwing it away is better than a negative play like a sack or INT).

It did sound weird when Bush wanted to a call a players only meeting and Stafford nixed it. Was that just an ego thing, him having to be the alpha dog, and if he didn't think of it, nobody else could? It seemed inexplicable from a good leadership standpoint, and in retrospect, how could such a meeting have hurt (though maybe they had done them before to no avail and he was apathetic and thought they were futile, but that would be defeatist and again not strong from a leadership standpoint)?

 

[fatness]

Will Detroit be over or under .500 over the next 3 seasons?

.500 is something Schwartz didn't achieve overall. Detroit was 21-27 under Schwartz the last 3 years plus one playoff loss. The 2 years prior to that they were 8-24 under Schwartz. That's a total of 29-51 under Schwartz, nowhere near .500.

Will Detroit be better or worse than 21-27 in 3 seasons under Caldwell? Will they be better than 29-51 in 5 seasons under Caldwell?

Measure Caldwell by what the guy did before him.

 

[False Start]

Will Detroit be over or under .500 over the next 3 seasons?

.500 is something Schwartz didn't achieve overall. Detroit was 21-27 under Schwartz the last 3 years plus one playoff loss. The 2 years prior to that they were 8-24 under Schwartz. That's a total of 29-51 under Schwartz, nowhere near .500.

Will Detroit be better or worse than 21-27 in 3 seasons under Caldwell? Will they be better than 29-51 in 5 seasons under Caldwell?

Measure Caldwell by what the guy did before him.

The hate for Caldwell is overwhelming really. While I dislike the hire, he is far and away a better option than Schwartz after I let it settle in more. Schwartz has shown he is not capable to be a coach while Caldwell has, regardless of his screw ups, Schwartz makes him look like Einstein.

 

[fatness]

I tend to agree with you.

The one thing I'm unsure of is whether the Lions have been a talented underachieving team (seems to be the predominant opinion) or whether they're maybe just not that talented. If it's the former then Schwartz failed to get the talent to play to its level on the field. If it's the latter maybe Schwartz did the best he could do. After 3 or 5 years of Caldwell we'll have a better picture of what the talent level was/is.

I'm not sure why the bar would be set at .500 for Caldwell though. Seems like measuring him by a standard that didn't have to be achieved by his predecessor.

 

[MAC_32]

I tend to agree with you.

The one thing I'm unsure of is whether the Lions have been a talented underachieving team (seems to be the predominant opinion) or whether they're maybe just not that talented. If it's the former then Schwartz failed to get the talent to play to its level on the field. If it's the latter maybe Schwartz did the best he could do. After 3 or 5 years of Caldwell we'll have a better picture of what the talent level was/is.

I'm not sure why the bar would be set at .500 for Caldwell though. Seems like measuring him by a standard that didn't have to be achieved by his predecessor.

they are talented, but their coach wasn't a leader and their star qb thinks his game is better than it is. Those are two huge problems to overcome and one of them is still there.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

I tend to agree with you.

The one thing I'm unsure of is whether the Lions have been a talented underachieving team (seems to be the predominant opinion) or whether they're maybe just not that talented. If it's the former then Schwartz failed to get the talent to play to its level on the field. If it's the latter maybe Schwartz did the best he could do. After 3 or 5 years of Caldwell we'll have a better picture of what the talent level was/is.

I'm not sure why the bar would be set at .500 for Caldwell though. Seems like measuring him by a standard that didn't have to be achieved by his predecessor.

They are top heavy in their talent. and unfortunately for the lions, the big contracts were Pre-Strike CBA, so the contracts are large n cumbersome

I think besides their Dline the rest of the Defense is below league average (starters)

The Oline has 2 legit players in Reiff and Warford, besides that its below average.

The Dline depth is terrible.

After Calvin they have Nate Burleson, A UDFA of Matt staffords roommate and busts in Broyles and titus Young (man do those picks hurt) at WR

I think they let Pettigrew go, and replace him with Fauria full time this year.

Running back is deep w Bush/Bell/LeSHoure/Riddick (plus a burned 1st pick at RB in Jahvid Best)

Quality back up QB in Shaun HIll who is a FA

So really 5 core talents in Bush/Calvin/Stafford/Suh/Fairley - a few mid levels in Glover Quin, Rieff, Warford, DeAndre Levy, Tulloch

Book is still out on Ziggy

Delmas cant stay healthy

Chris Houston is their #1 CB and he's not very good

then a whole bunch of nothing

 

[MAC_32]

So really 5 core talents in Bush/Calvin/Stafford/Suh/Fairley - a few mid levels in Glover Quin, Rieff, Warford, DeAndre Levy, Tulloch

Book is still out on Ziggy

Delmas cant stay healthy

Chris Houston is their #1 CB and he's not very good

then a whole bunch of nothing

that is not much different than how most teams are currently built, San Fran and Seattle withstanding.

 

[flapgreen]

It's fun watching the Lions fail, especially Stafford.

 

[JohnnyU]

It's fun watching the Lions fail, especially Stafford.

Stafford would improve on the field if he would quit wearing his hat backwards off the field

 

[Bob Magaw]

I tend to agree with you.

The one thing I'm unsure of is whether the Lions have been a talented underachieving team (seems to be the predominant opinion) or whether they're maybe just not that talented. If it's the former then Schwartz failed to get the talent to play to its level on the field. If it's the latter maybe Schwartz did the best he could do. After 3 or 5 years of Caldwell we'll have a better picture of what the talent level was/is.

I'm not sure why the bar would be set at .500 for Caldwell though. Seems like measuring him by a standard that didn't have to be achieved by his predecessor.

They are top heavy in their talent. and unfortunately for the lions, the big contracts were Pre-Strike CBA, so the contracts are large n cumbersomeI think besides their Dline the rest of the Defense is below league average (starters)

The Oline has 2 legit players in Reiff and Warford, besides that its below average.

The Dline depth is terrible.

After Calvin they have Nate Burleson, A UDFA of Matt staffords roommate and busts in Broyles and titus Young (man do those picks hurt) at WR

I think they let Pettigrew go, and replace him with Fauria full time this year.

Running back is deep w Bush/Bell/LeSHoure/Riddick (plus a burned 1st pick at RB in Jahvid Best)

Quality back up QB in Shaun HIll who is a FA

So really 5 core talents in Bush/Calvin/Stafford/Suh/Fairley - a few mid levels in Glover Quin, Rieff, Warford, DeAndre Levy, Tulloch

Book is still out on Ziggy

Delmas cant stay healthy

Chris Houston is their #1 CB and he's not very good

then a whole bunch of nothing

Per the comment on the picks of WRs Young and Broyles hurting, and the burned Best pick, you prompted me to look at the DET drafting record again.After a quick look again, just a TON of whiffs with HIGH first and second round picks on skill position players. For that matter, defense, too, in the past decade, give or take a few years. This actually includes multiple regimes, but lets start with the draft record with the Millen era as the demarcation line. From 2001 to 2007, their aggregate 31-81 record and .277 record was the third worst seven year stretch in league history (STL had a 15-65 five year stretch that was one of the worst ever, another leitmotif or recurring theme was heinous drafting).

Firsts

2001 - Jeff Backus (stellar pick by Millen standards)

2002 - Joey Harrington

2003 - Charles Rogers (in theory this battery could stll be starring for the team if they hadn't busted, based on age)

2004 - Roy Williams and Kevin Jones

2005 - BMW

2006 - Ernie Sims (first defensive player taken in first, looked good first few years, hurt a lot, never regained that form, now in DAL)

2007 - Calvin Johnson (best thing Millen ever did for DET, even a blind nut can find a squirrel sometimes)

Seconds

2001 - Dominic Raiola and Shaun Rogers

2002 - Kalimba Edwards

2003 - Boss Bailey

2004 - Teddy Lehman

2005 - Shaun Cody

2006 - Daniel Bullocks

2007 - Drew Stanton (breaks the rigid defense in the second pattern, than reestablishing it), Ikaika Alama-Francis and Gerald Alexander

After that appallingly bad, abysmal, horror show (not a lot to show for those seven years - Calvin the only great player out of 18 first or second round picks), moving on to the post-Millen era...

Firsts

2008 - Gosder Cherilus

2009 - Matthew Stafford and Brandon Pettigrew

2010 - Ndamukong Suh (breaks from the Millen-like rigid offense in first pattern, than reestablishes) and Jahvid Best

2011 - Nick Fairley (hasn't led to the dominant DL they hoped for paired with Suh, so far)

2012 - Riley Reiff

2013 - Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah

Seconds

2008 - Jordon Dizon

2009 - Louis Delmas

2010 - none (traded for Best?)

2011 - Titus Young (also breaks the rigid defense in second pattern, tragic case) and Mikel Leshoure (bad luck with Achilles)

2012 - Ryan Broyles (drafted with a torn ACL, had a second in 2013 after beginning to return to form from the first knee injury)

2013 - Darius Slay

Better in the six seasons comprising the post-Millen era (low bar there), but still not great. Too early to judge some drafts (I think Ansah has star potential), and some bad luck (but were WRs Young and Broyles known risks for different reasons?). Not sure if Stafford, Suh and Fairley are great, call them very good, that is three of 14 first or second rounders, with Ansah having the talent to add to this. Also worth noting, picking as high as they did in the cases of Stafford, Suh and Ansah, a monkey with a dartboard should be able to pick very good to great, talented players. It is amazing Millen blew so many high first/second round picks.

 

[False Start]

It's fun watching the Lions fail, especially Stafford.

What was the point of this post? Seems to be a post that does not bring real discussion. What has Matt Stafford done to you?

 

[False Start]

Lions hired Saints QBs coach Joe Lombardi as offensive coordinator.
Lombardi is the grandson of Vince Lombardi. He's been with the Saints since 2007, spending the past five seasons as QBs coach working with Drew Brees. Prior to that, Lombardi worked as an offensive assistant for the Falcons for one season and coordinated the offense at Mercyhurst College for four years. He played tight end at Air Force. Lombardi interviewed for the Jets OC opening last winter. He'll be another quality mind for Matthew Stafford to work with.

 

[Raider Nation]

BUMP

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Bailed out by an even worse coach on the other sideline this week.

 

[FUBAR]

He's doing better than I thought he would. As wiz does worse

 

[fatness]

6-2 record with a team that was 7-9 last year.