OT: FiveThirtyEight article on how the Lions are the most entertaining 0-7 team ever
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/at-least-the-lions-tried/?addata=espn:frontpage
This team sure does suck but I think that has more to do with roster construction (thanks again Bob Quinn) than anything the coaches are doing wrong. This team has been set up for failure but they play their hearts out every Sunday and they're often competitive against some of the best teams in the league, putting scares into the Rams and Ravens and leading the Packers at half time.
This past offseason they signed a bunch of nobody's and castoffs to 1 year deals in the hopes to find a diamond in the rough or two. They also invested heavily in the draft by trading away the best QB in franchise history because, lets face it, Matthew Stafford could only have done so much with this team. He deserved a real opportunity at a Super Bowl for the first time in his career anyway. It was clear that this team was playing for the top pick in the draft from the moment the Stafford trade was an option.
A good chunk of this roster needs to be turned over and the team is multiple good drafts away from being competitive but I personally believe they have the right coaching staff and GM for the job now. You can use the tired adage of "same old Lions" all you want, but that lazy take will only get an eyeroll from me. If you believe that, you're not paying attention.
Here's to being the most interesting winless team ever!
October 25th, 2021 at 4:44 PM ^
the lions are clearly a terrible, terrible team, ravaged by years of lousy personnel decisions and - just as a cherry on top - terrible injury luck this season. stipulated.
but there is zero chance that campbell will "lose the locker room," to use a dumb-but-real cliche. he may or may not be a "good" coach - time will tell - but his players are still clearly busting their asses. what a difference - they'd packed it in for patricia after about seven minutes last year, not seven games.
before this season started, i expected 0-17 based on the talent level, and consoled myself with the fact that we'd get the #1 pick. i don' t want that any more. i like these guys, and i really want them to win a game or two and to hell with the #1 pick. we'll dick around with that later.
October 25th, 2021 at 6:05 PM ^
I was at Patricia's first game as a head coach, the players packed it in as soon as the Jets had the lead, even though the first series was Slay giving the Jets a pick 6. Literally no one within 25 feet of Patricia on the sideline, it was social distancing before we knew that term existed.
October 25th, 2021 at 6:26 PM ^
I don't think I have ever seen someone so clearly in over their head be more of a "smartest mother fucker in the room" caricature like he was.
October 25th, 2021 at 4:44 PM ^
As much as I didn't like the Dan Campbell hiring, he was aggressive yesterday and the players seem motivated. Time will tell if his coordinators can get it done with him as they hopefully draft some talent.
Unfortunately, the are no franchise QBs this upcoming draft with Rattler falling apart in Oklahoma. I've seen articles promoting the QB at Liberty but I don't think that's a risk the Lions can take. I'm okay with taking Penei Sewells over the next couple drafts (safe but less flashy choices) to rebuild the roster. In the end, the team will never be in serious contention while the Fords are around.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:18 PM ^
"Unfortunately, the are no franchise QBs this upcoming draft with Rattler falling apart in Oklahoma."
I take it you're not buying the recent Kenny Pickett hype. 68.9% and 23 TDs against 1 INT is a pretty gaudy stat sheet.
I'm not sure that drafting a franchise QB is the right thing to do in this draft regardless—do the Lions have enough OL talent to not get him killed?
October 25th, 2021 at 5:33 PM ^
They have arguably the best center in the league, a Top 10 LT, a rising RT/LT in Sewell, and a solid yet uninspiring guard combo. They really just need some more depth and they'll be probably the best line in the league
October 25th, 2021 at 5:41 PM ^
I dunno if you use the #1 pick in the draft for Pickett just because he is a QB. Too many other holes to fill.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:59 PM ^
The upside here is keep freakin losing.
Take Thibodeaux @#1 and there are a plethora of QB's that will fall to the late first round or early second that might not be NFL ready right away, but the Lions are still on the hook with Goff for one more year that gives that QB a chance to get acclimated to the league (i.e Carson Strong etc).
No QB this year is worth a top 5 pick.
October 25th, 2021 at 6:19 PM ^
The hit rate for late 1st QBs is abysmal. Honestly If nobody wows you into a #1 overall, skip a QB and get a dev guy in 4th/5th
October 25th, 2021 at 10:20 PM ^
Hmm, Matt Corral & Kenny Pickett would like to have you carefully review your no franchise QB’s available in the draft with Rattler sitting on the bench.?
October 26th, 2021 at 9:28 AM ^
Corral, maybe! But Kenny Pickett is almost the same age as Lamar Jackson… There’s almost no upside to Pickett’s game left to tap and it took until his fifth season for KP to even look draftable… imo, he gives off major Mike Glennon / Brandon Weeden vibes.
Corral is really the only candidate for a QB with the ceiling to be an All Pro at the position, but he’s still a risky bet to get there due to his slight frame.
October 25th, 2021 at 4:52 PM ^
Are there Washington Generals fans somewhere thinking this is their year to take down the Globetrotters?
October 25th, 2021 at 5:12 PM ^
I don't get the Generals. They ALWAYS lose and still they come back for more.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:00 PM ^
They will have $40 mill or so in cap space and three of the top 35 picks in the draft. Lions can be competitive as early as next year if their personnel decisions pan out.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:11 PM ^
All they need are a new coach, players and ownership.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:02 PM ^
Lions next banner at Ford Field: The most entertaining 0-16 team ever.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:19 PM ^
0-17. They could make history as the first team to go 0-17.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:44 PM ^
I mean, I live in Jacksonville and I’d rather watch this Lions team over this Jaguars squad with one victory.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:10 PM ^
The only way the Lions are entertaining is that they find creative ways to lose.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:45 PM ^
The special teams gambles alone make it worth it.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:15 PM ^
So they've got that going for them, which is nice.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:19 PM ^
OP must be new around here. The great thing about how the Lions always fail is that they do it so many different ways. Sometimes, it is good talent and awful coaching. Sometimes, it is good coaching and good players and bad breaks or injuries. Sometimes, well you get the idea.
October 25th, 2021 at 7:00 PM ^
I’m 52. The Lions have been disappointing my entire lifetime. From Greg Landry to Billy Sims to Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford. I’ve seen them lose in so many different ways I’ve lost count. Until they actually have a winning season the same ol Lions cliché holds true. It’s unfortunate, but the truth. I’d love to see them be a winning franchise, and I’ll keep hoping. I like the energy Campbell brings and will still watch and hope next year.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:25 PM ^
The remaining schedule is quite difficult. They are going to win somewhere between 0 and 2 games this year.
Though winless, Dan Campbell appears to be doing a fine job as head coach IMO. Hoping he gets better players quickly. I’m guessing he’ll get 2 more years to right the ship.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:28 PM ^
Maybe the Lions should bring back Bobby Ross.
October 25th, 2021 at 6:47 PM ^
Wayne Fontes FTW.
Literally.
He was their last playoff win.
Besides, Ross accelerated Sanders' early retirement.
October 25th, 2021 at 7:43 PM ^
The hilarious thing about Fontes is that he's both the winningest and the losingest HC in Lion's history.
October 25th, 2021 at 11:09 PM ^
I saw that today... and had to read it twice because 67 losses seems too low in ~60 years of mostly losing.
I guess Lions coaches get fired by the 4th or 5th season and don't get a chance to lose more than that.
October 26th, 2021 at 11:44 AM ^
That's probably true for most teams, no?
It'd be true for Tom Landry, Don Shula, Gary Kubiak
October 25th, 2021 at 5:33 PM ^
It's absolutely not the same old Lions. This roster is actually playing above the sum of it's parts, unlike usual Lion teams.
That still equals 0-7 but it could easily be 3-4 and should absolutely be 2-5.
They're a bad roster. Before he was injured, their #1 WR was Quintez Cephus. It's now an overrated TE (by default) and a 5-8 dude they traded a 5th round pick for a week before the season began because he runs really fast.
On defense, the lynchpin is perennial All-Pro, Alex Analzone...or Anzalone. You know, that one guy. The secondary is made up of Rookies that should be on a decent team's practice squad right now.
I really like the current staff and sincerely believe they'll get it going in a couple seasons. Nobody in their right mind thought this team was better than having the first pick in the 2022 Draft. If you did you're insane. Be real.
October 25th, 2021 at 9:51 PM ^
Lol at Analzone. XD
He feels like one of those "diamonds in the rough" I mentioned they were trying to find with all the short term contracts they handed out in the offseason. Brad Holmes seems to know what he's doing, just gotta make good picks in the draft now.
October 25th, 2021 at 5:58 PM ^
Sorta like saying the Titanic was the most interesting ship ever.
October 25th, 2021 at 6:24 PM ^
Not really a fair comparison. Nobody went into this season thinking this Lions team was "unsinkable."
October 25th, 2021 at 6:03 PM ^
i will say the D is playing a lot better than i would have thought. i figured they would be 30th at best. though i did say they would be lucky to win 4 games this year. i think the original over/under was 6.5, or at least that is what i was told.
October 25th, 2021 at 6:09 PM ^
Did the Fords foot the bill for this article?
Theres nothing fun about losing for 30+ years.
October 25th, 2021 at 6:31 PM ^
I've been rolling my eyes at the Lions for a rather long time, we'll call it 60 years, to the point that they are stuck looking at the top of my head. I'm pretty sure they'll fuck this up, too.
October 25th, 2021 at 6:53 PM ^
Yes, thank you.
To the OP. "Same old lions" is a lazy take?!!! Bullshit.
"Same old lions" is backed up by more data than you can possibly find to support any other opinion.
October 25th, 2021 at 8:38 PM ^
That's not lazy.
I'm so used you to saying/typing it I refer to it as "SOL" and forgoing the rest...Now that's lazy.
October 25th, 2021 at 10:13 PM ^
At this point being a Loins fan is the definition of insanity. Watching them over and over again and expecting a different result. That’s why they are the SOL. I dropped watching / following them about 15 years ago and so glad I did. It helps that I don’t live in metro Detroit so they are never on tv anyway. It’s great having my Sunday’s back. If they ever win a playoff game, I may pay attention but they haven’t done anything to earn my time or loyalty.
October 25th, 2021 at 6:48 PM ^
You can use the tired adage of "same old Lions" all you want,
Ummm, it's not tired. It's been reality for two and a half GENERATIONS now.
October 25th, 2021 at 10:49 PM ^
It oughta be tired. It's the hardest working phrase in the business. It's like the Energizer Bunny with a Mr. Fusion.
October 25th, 2021 at 7:05 PM ^
I was at the game yesterday (SoFi is an incredible stadium). The Lions had a visible energy to them and credit to them for that. You always want to see struggling teams still "bringing it."
That said, the Rams were still a considerably better team. There's simply quite a ways to go as regards the raw talent on the Lions team.
October 25th, 2021 at 7:49 PM ^
Next week's article....
Nebraska is the best, hardest hitting 3-5 team in college football history.
October 25th, 2021 at 8:13 PM ^
Start rolling your eyes because until they truly prove otherwise and win something meaningful and don't continually set records for futility...they are "The Same Old Lions"!
October 25th, 2021 at 8:41 PM ^
What I miss are the days when the Loins already had an established coach. I guess the playoffs weren’t that entertaining. Caldwell says,”hello!”
October 26th, 2021 at 9:18 AM ^
I wasn't a fan of that firing either, but if you invest a little time in seeing what happened to Caldwell after he was let go, you realize it wouldn't have made any difference.
October 25th, 2021 at 10:21 PM ^
My personal theory is Holmes and Campbell sold Sheila on trying to set the team up for the post-Aaron Rodgers era. Go 0-34 (or damn close to it), stock up on high-end talent, and hope you draft the right QB so you dominate the division for a decade.
Who knows if it'll pan out that way, but I think that's the plan.