00:02doug harskater out today all right so of the teams that didn't make the playoff last year
00:08the lions are one of the top five to make the playoffs this year according to an expert i gave
00:13you the others in the top five we wanted to know if you think the lions are number one if
00:18not who
00:18is if you care to give some reasoning we appreciate that as well five teams were detroit as mentioned
00:23then an alphabetical order order baltimore can uh cincinnati kansas city and tampa here's the
00:30feedback coming in uh from guyer lions number one for sure from john and plymouth one cincinnati
00:39two detroit doug and shelby says detroit with their last place schedule if they can stay healthy
00:50ross and waterford the lions would rank fourth and the number one is definitely kansas city
00:57mike writes in the lions number three cincinnati number one
01:03uh from an unnamed texter lions are number three kansas city one baltimore two
01:12teams that didn't make the playoffs ranked in order likelihood to make the playoffs this year
01:18from chris and grand rapids kansas city would be one the lions are two
01:23caleb and lincoln park lions rank four and i'm betting that the chiefs are one
01:28ravens two bengals three my reasoning is those quarterbacks rank ahead of golf
01:36chuck and clinton township lions are number one with the last place schedule an improved o-line
01:41that makes them the candidate
01:44willie and lake orion kansas city should be one mahomes that's it the lions at three above tampa and
01:51cincinnati okay so as far as these opinions are concerned
02:00the things that stand out to me in the lions favor is the schedule dangerous game to play
02:09because schedules usually aren't what you think they are we've learned this lesson every year
02:15but when sitting down to map out a season you can't help but think about what other teams are projected
02:20to
02:20be
02:23it is it is almost impossible to take a look at what other teams are aren't with to not take
02:31a look at
02:31what other teams are projected to be a couple other good points made from the people
02:37and one that chuck and clinton township said
02:40and made a presumption
02:43that is critical that he is right
02:47chuck writes in improved offensive line make them the candidate and rank the lions number one
02:51yep
02:53they better be improved offensive line
02:57because this lions team it has its share of weaknesses
03:02the secondary is going to be potentially wild here man like
03:07who is going to start in the secondary
03:09who is going to get more playing time in the in the secondary
03:12who's going to develop in the secondary
03:14who is coming back in the secondary
03:18there's simply no way
03:20of being able to
03:22to know the effectiveness of the return of injured players
03:26and
03:27some players that we have no data on
03:30ennis reikstra
03:31what is what is he going to be
03:33branch and joseph
03:36are they coming back
03:38how much is riding on
03:39rakia sin
03:41christian is in
03:42chuck clark
03:44dj reed staying healthy
03:47and roger mccreary
03:51that is a
03:52pretty decent job at going patchwork back there
03:58and you probably didn't want to commit too much specifically at safety
04:02thinking well
04:04you got to roll the dice and try and save money somewhere
04:07so saving money on the
04:10secondary
04:10of the position where you should be getting players back
04:14i can understand
04:17if you're going to tell me branch and joseph are back and healthy and dj reed stays healthy
04:21i think the secondary is going to be fine
04:24but i mean look
04:25there's a lot of ifs
04:27now i use the word if a lot
04:28all right here it is
04:29according to usa today's
04:31michael schwartz
04:32michael middlehurst schwartz
04:34the five teams in order
04:36that didn't make the playoffs last year
04:38and the likelihood to crash party this year
04:40number one
04:41the baltimore ravens
04:45number two
04:47the detroit lions
04:50number three
04:51tampa
04:52number four
04:53cincinnati
04:54number five
04:55kansas city
04:57of the lions
04:58he writes a fourth place finish
04:59was nothing short of deflating
05:01for an organization
05:01that despite winning 27 regular season games
05:04the previous two years
05:05had to confront questions
05:06that its own leaders raised
05:08about its competitive window
05:10still
05:11there might not be a franchise better position
05:13than detroit to shake off its problems
05:14from a year ago
05:15if new coordinator drew petzing
05:17can coax some consistency
05:19out of an attack
05:20that is capable of gaining yards
05:21and big chunks
05:22dan campbell's team can recapture
05:24its place as one of the league's
05:25most difficult draws
05:26and though a potentially
05:28shorthanded secondary
05:29could remain shaky
05:31a bit more resilience
05:32and flexibility
05:33particularly in using more nickel looks
05:35could go a long way
05:36towards revitalizing
05:37a perpetually hamstrung defense
05:39if not for the lethal layout
05:40of the nfc north
05:41the lions would have
05:43a strong claim
05:43from first
05:45to first
05:46on this list
05:47so
05:47this is the division stuff
05:49but other than that
05:50outside the division
05:52they appear to have
05:53caught some breaks
05:56but
05:57as
05:58this thing is
06:00this thing is shaping up
06:02I think we have reason
06:03to be optimistic
06:04and we all know
06:06exactly what to watch
06:07we need to watch
06:08Blake Miller
06:09at right tackle
06:11we need to watch
06:12the secondary
06:14and a bunch of the unknowns
06:17and we need to watch
06:18Drew Petzin
06:19now that isn't to say
06:20that there are other questions
06:22but those things stand out
06:23to me
06:24as the biggest
06:25X factors
06:26that if they go
06:27Detroit's way
06:29they could be
06:30in really good shape
06:31to make a run this year
06:32a legitimate run this year
06:35and I didn't really rank
06:36them in order
06:36but Miller
06:37Petzin
06:38and the secondary
06:39I think are three
06:40stand out stories
06:41that tell what direction
06:42this season goes
06:44now maybe you have
06:45a different opinion
06:47that it's something
06:48other than one of those
06:49threes
06:51two four eight
06:51one of those three factors
06:53two four eight
06:54five three nine
06:54ninety seven
06:55ninety seven
06:56what do you think
06:57it is
06:59uh
07:00earlier in the show
07:01we were talking about
07:02the world cup
07:05and whether or not
07:06it's going to change
07:08the way
07:08the United States
07:10looks at soccer
07:12and I
07:14I
07:14it's not going to change
07:16the way at all
07:16I look at the world cup
07:17I've always loved
07:18the world cup
07:21to be fair
07:22when it's over
07:25I really don't follow
07:26through in terms of
07:27watching more soccer
07:30play the sport as a kid
07:32through high school
07:33enjoyed the hell out of it
07:34I was a keeper
07:37but
07:37and my kids all played it
07:40I just can't find
07:41rooting interest
07:42in the MLS
07:43and leagues that are
07:44played overseas
07:45it's just not for me
07:46and I get it
07:47some of you absolutely
07:48love
07:49international soccer
07:50and the EPL
07:53what's going on
07:54in Spain
07:55or Germany
07:55or wherever
07:56again
07:56I've struggled
07:58to try to
08:00authentically get into that
08:02with that said
08:03we got the following text
08:05from Daniel and Berkeley
08:06I think Americans
08:07were finally starting
08:08to get back into soccer
08:09and then the championship game
08:10between Spain and Argentina
08:11was the most stereotypical
08:13American view on soccer
08:15low scoring
08:16boring
08:16long game
08:17with very poor
08:19ending
08:19to the tournament
08:22well
08:23if the last game
08:24you saw
08:26as an American
08:27who is
08:28perhaps starting
08:29to have some enthusiasm
08:30for soccer
08:31if the last game
08:31you saw
08:32was Saturday's
08:33third place
08:34chaotic game
08:35between France
08:36and England
08:37which is one of the most
08:38predictable things ever
08:39is that a third place game
08:41where the teams
08:41have half-hearted commitment
08:43to being in it
08:44and playing it
08:46not a shocker at all
08:47that the final score
08:48was 6-4
08:51that England
08:52brought it out
08:52to a 4-0
08:53first half lead
08:54to see it cut
08:55to 4-3
08:56to go on to win
08:576-4
08:59that was a wild affair
09:03that I'm going to guess
09:04most Americans
09:06that aren't
09:07huge soccer fans
09:10probably enjoyed
09:12and I'm going to wonder
09:13if the soccer enthusiast
09:15that's with this thing
09:16year round
09:18every year
09:18regardless of the level
09:19they're watching a lot of soccer
09:21probably didn't love that game
09:23probably saw it
09:24as a sloppy affair
09:27but it was wild
09:28man
09:30and I felt like
09:31in spite of the fact
09:32that they were only playing
09:33for third base
09:34a third place
09:35I'm going to guess
09:36that England and France
09:37like beating up
09:38on one another
09:41but
09:41is Daniel Berkley
09:42right
09:43the championship game
09:44did not help
09:48and soccer
09:49soccer guy
09:50how do you feel
09:51about that third place game
09:52what did you make
09:53of the third place game
09:55between England and France
09:566-4
09:582-4-8-5-3-9-97-97
10:01also love to hear
10:02from Lions fans
10:03is it anything
10:04other than these
10:05big three things
10:06Petsing
10:07Blake Miller
10:08secondary
10:10those three things
10:11will tell us
10:11what kind of season
10:12the Lions have
10:14if they're answered
10:15in the affirmative
10:16good year
10:18if they're answered
10:19in the negative
10:20could be problems
10:22are there anything
10:23other than those
10:24big three that stand out
10:25champ and champ
10:25let's get them in
10:26248-5-3-9-97-97
10:28hey just a reminder
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