OT: NFL Thread

[whitehops]

there's a ton of hype around the lions this season and they've managed to put up the second most yards and they're tied for most points through the first two weeks. do you guys think they're for real?

i'm personally a pretty hardcore vikings fan and am quite looking forward to their matchup next week

PS the vikings are playing the eagles tonight on MNF if you want to tune in to see the world of pain you're gonna feel next sunday.

[Canadafan]

there's a ton of hype around the lions this season and they've managed to put up the second most yards and they're tied for most points through the first two weeks. do you guys think they're for real?

i'm personally a pretty hardcore vikings fan and am quite looking forward to their matchup next week

PS the vikings are playing the eagles tonight on MNF if you want to tune in to see the world of pain you're gonna feel next sunday.

Dayammmm Philly layin the smackdown on them

[whitehops]

Dayammmm Philly layin the smackdown on them

yeah from start to finish it was a straight up beatdown. trying to take any kind of positive stance after this game i hope it's a great learning lesson for the new coaching staff.

also cousins continues to reinforce his "chokes in prime time" stereotype

[Canadafan]

Dayammmm Philly layin the smackdown on them

yeah from start to finish it was a straight up beatdown. trying to take any kind of positive stance after this game i hope it's a great learning lesson for the new coaching staff.

also cousins continues to reinforce his "chokes in prime time" stereotype

If it's any consolation I took Minny in my pool at work . Thought for sure they'd win

[whitehops]

If it's any consolation I took Minny in my pool at work . Thought for sure they'd win

appreciate the confidence in us haha.

already looking forward to sunday, that's all i can say!

[Manocad]

The offense is for real; they had a completely makeshift offensive line against Washington and still put some points up. And they're doing it old school too--smashmouth straight up the middle. That recipe has never failed to succeed in the NFL even with the changes to bigger air attacks/mobile QB's; win the battles in the trenches, don't turn the ball over, control the time of possession and the wins will follow. Granted, Washington is a bad team; don't get me wrong. But if you know the Lions roster you know the offensive line they put out there on Sunday wouldn't have been given the benefit of the doubt by anyone, and they did just fine. And that means depth.

The worry is that secondary; they suck. Jeff Okudah had a great training camp (according to RealGM's own Jeff Risdon, who also carries the distinction of being a personal friend; lucky him) but certainly hasn't looked like anything special in the first two games. Like the old saying goes, what do you call a receiver who can't catch? A defensive back. And that's what the Lions have; two sure interceptions got dropped on Sunday. Aidan Hutchinson is the goods and having Onwuzurike healthy will help, but that means opponents just stack the line to hold off the pass rush and let the QB pick the secondary apart.

But still encouraging and it's gonna be fun ride.

[Manocad]

Dayammmm Philly layin the smackdown on them

yeah from start to finish it was a straight up beatdown. trying to take any kind of positive stance after this game i hope it's a great learning lesson for the new coaching staff.

also cousins continues to reinforce his "chokes in prime time" stereotype

IMO Kirk Cousins will go down in history for having made the most money as an NFL QB in comparison to results that count, for lack of a better term. $40 million this year. 40.

[NYPiston]

Good idea having an NFL thread. I'm sure that there's a lot of Lions fans on this board so since they're relevant this year, it would be cool to have some Lions discussion in here.

The worry is that secondary; they suck. Jeff Okudah had a great training camp (according to RealGM's own Jeff Risdon, who also carries the distinction of being a personal friend; lucky him) but certainly hasn't looked like anything special in the first two games.

I can't say I agree with this. Okudah has been one of the bright spots on the defense after the first two games. AO is the one who got torched in the first game and Harris struggled in the 2nd game. Okudah has been solid back there.
Regardless, if the Lions don't get pressure, they're going to struggle defensively because the Back 7 is either not talented enough or just too young so they will live or die with the D-Line play.

Funny thing about the offense. They're the 2nd highest scoring offense through two games and I don't feel like they've hit their stride yet. Hockenson and Chark have been underwhelming and the ultra dynamic Jameson Williams isn't due back for another month at least so when all these guys are clicking, sky is the limit really. Going to be a fun season even if they don't rack up a ton of wins.
Much like the Pistons. Lots of promise but probably not ready to make much noise in the standings quite yet.

[zeebneeb]

Good idea having an NFL thread. I'm sure that there's a lot of Lions fans on this board so since they're relevant this year, it would be cool to have some Lions discussion in here.

So Detroit finally got a pro football team?

Maybe I'll check out a box-score this year.

[whitehops]

pretty nervous for this upcoming game with the vikes vs. lions tbh. through the first two weeks the lions have the second best rush DVOA and the vikings have worst rush DVOA defensively. it's obviously a small sample size at this point but the vikings run a cover-2 shell defense and the lions could definitely exploit that.

[whitehops]

Good idea having an NFL thread. I'm sure that there's a lot of Lions fans on this board so since they're relevant this year, it would be cool to have some Lions discussion in here.

yeah i figured it'd be worth having a thread here. i know there's a lions board on realgm but it's dead - the last post was on May 1st. the lions are building momentum so i'm sure people from detroit would want to comment on the team.

me, i'll be updating everyone with how the vikings are doing (after they bounce back from their beatdown )

[whitehops]

lions 6 point underdogs on the road this sunday.

any other games/teams people looking forward to see this weekend?

[Manocad]

Oof. And the Lions Lions-ed while the secondary was utterly pathetic.

[whitehops]

man the lions outplayed us all game, sucks to lose on a missed FG + busted coverage.

that's why i'm 1000% going for it on 4th down if you're in a similar situation that the lions were in. if you get a first down you 100% end the game, instead of kicking a FG and still giving the other team a chance to move down the field.

i think most vikings' fans would admit that they stole the W.

[Manocad]

man the lions outplayed us all game, sucks to lose on a missed FG + busted coverage.

that's why i'm 1000% going for it on 4th down if you're in a similar situation that the lions were in. if you get a first down you 100% end the game, instead of kicking a FG and still giving the other team a chance to move down the field.

i think most vikings' fans would admit that they stole the W.

I watched the game with my dad who’s in town visiting, and as soon as the announcer said “They’re too close for a punt” (and we wanted the Lions to go for it) we both said “Huh? From the 36? Pooch a little coffin corner kick to the sideline. Put them inside the 10 instead of at the 36.” And even if the punt went deep into the end zone that still would have put the Vikings at the 20 instead of the 36. Trying a 53 yard FG outdoors when the kicker’s career long was 52 was EASILY the worst of the three options.

[whitehops]

I watched the game with my dad who’s in town visiting, and as soon as the announcer said “They’re too close for a punt” (and we wanted the Lions to go for it) we both said “Huh? From the 36? Pooch a little coffin corner kick to the sideline. Put them inside the 10 instead of at the 36.” And even if the punt went deep into the end zone that still would have put the Vikings at the 20 instead of the 36. Trying a 53 yard FG outdoors when the kicker’s career long was 52 was EASILY the worst of the three options.

i don't know the intricacies of punting but i feel like i very rarely see punters try coffin corner kicks, they almost always try to drop it at the 5 with back spin. maybe the risk of a touchback isn't worth it considering if you do kick it in the end zone out of bounds then you're only getting a 16 yard punt in that scenario. i don't know if punters just don't practice short punts or if the points are more valuable than the extra yards of field position.

i dunno, offenses are so good these days that in one score games it feels like whoever has the ball last wins. i just think it's much better to go for it on fourth down because you're guaranteed to end the game if you convert, if you kick the FG then they have to score a TD to win which is the same scenario if you didn't convert the 4th down.

either way, the lions' performance today bodes well for their season-long outlook and it's better to make coaching mistakes sooner in the season so they can learn from it.

[NYPiston]

SOL.

New faces, same results, year after year, decade after decade.
It's funny (or not so funny?). When they were up 10 in the 4th and decided to throw deep on a 3rd and 1 for some asinine reason, I knew right there and then that they would blow the game. Some would see that game as a positive because they controlled a lot of the game but what I see is the same exact mistakes that cost them last year or, should I say, for 60+ years in key moments.

Now that my rant is over, my take on the last possession is that they had two options. Punt and pin the Vikings deep or try to get 4 yards to put away the game for good then hey took the lowest percentage option. I was baffled when they trotted Siebert out especially after he shanked one earlier.

[Manocad]

When your secondary is getting picked apart by Geno friggin’ Smith, and that includes Okudah, then you know your secondary is godawful.

[zeebneeb]

So I did indeed check out a box score, and watched it update to 31-15

Can't make it up. First time in 3 years, and they get scored on live in the box score. Some things never, ever, change.

[whitehops]

SOL.

i kept seeing this after the vikes beat the lions last week and just assumed it meant **** out of luck. after about the 200th i read SOL i realized it meant same old lions.

btw this was the second week in a row it felt like the vikings stole a win, they're pretty lucky to be 3-1 and not 1-3 imo.