00:01Jansen coming through again strikes out Bregman Tigers win sounds good doesn't it yeah look I
00:08said I was in this weird conflicted place like I want them to win I don't think they're gonna
00:12make the right decision they need to make it the right decision by winning and adding and going on
00:15a run here taking care of business against the Cubs last night was a fun game especially if you
00:19stayed up late for it we're a week out from training camp what's one word or one phrase
00:24you would use to describe how you're feeling about our football team mine would be the perfect storm
00:31now let me explain I say the perfect storm because this is a season where you have a lot of
00:40parts
00:40that are new in some very key positions and some unknowns take the offensive line which we knew
00:47going into last year with the retirement of Frank Ragnow Graham Glasgow playing center all right it
00:52wasn't going to be that same offensive line and it never developed in fact it got worse throughout
00:56the course of the year this year they moved Penny Sewell over to left that's an improvement over
01:00Taylor Decker Blake Miller not an improvement over Penny Sewell but together it may be a better tackle
01:07tandem it's going to take a little time to develop Blake Miller into the tackle that he's going to be
01:12and it's not even what he's going to be in three four years what he'll be this year Cade Mays
01:17a new
01:17signal caller up front going to have to get on the same page as your quarterback going to have to
01:21get
01:21everybody on the same page TBD up left guard so there's going to be some development that has
01:26to happen Dan has said yeah we will we'll play these guys a little bit in the preseason more than
01:32we have in the past but it's going to take some time throughout the course of the year defensive
01:38backfield all right it's going to take some time we don't know at all what Kirby Joseph is going to
01:44be
01:44Brian Branch when will he be available this is a schedule last place schedule where you start
01:51with New Orleans week three you got the Jets you've got Carolina Arizona that's your first five
01:56now obviously either I skipped over the bills that's going to be a good we use the the Cubs
02:01right now as a litmus test that's going to be a good litmus test it's the first game in Highmark
02:04Stadium there's going to be a lot of pomp and circumstance primetime game so was the Carolina game
02:10it gives this team a chance to test themselves early against the bills but to also rack up some wins
02:18when they're not playing their best football I don't expect them to be as good against New
02:24Orleans or the Jets or against Arizona as they will be in week 10 or 11 or how about the
02:29end of
02:29the year three of the last four games are road divisional games it's the storm of the what is
02:35the NFL season where it's it's kind of laid out perfectly where you get a chance to learn more
02:40about yourself against Buffalo than maybe any other team on this schedule and defensively I think that's
02:46really where you're going to learn a lot about this team what are they going to be defensively how
02:50can they have pressure and how can they keep Josh Allen in the pocket how can they minimize what he
02:55can do those lessons not all of them are going to be great you can learn from those and use
03:01it when
03:01you're playing Jordan Love at home and you come out of that bye week it's also Brian Branch I mentioned
03:07him if he starts the season on the pup which I fully expect him to do when will he be
03:13eligible to
03:14play right around that bye week week five you play Arizona it's on the road now if he gets some
03:20reps
03:20in that game he's got two weeks to recover two weeks to get his legs back underneath them the the
03:25Lions get a chance to use him a little bit in practice leading up to it but then see what
03:30he can
03:30do and and I think that's where I would target his return you say perfect storm yeah when we talk
03:36about the Lions I still feel like there's a residual dread from last year they finished last in the
03:42division it was underwhelming the offensive line crumbled and they collapsed I still feel a
03:47residual negativity when we talk about the Lions and I want to get that taste out of our mouth
03:51to me it's palate cleanse if Dan Campbell says strictly business I like hearing it because it
03:56feels like more of who they had been that gritty tough physical football team that fell apart a year
04:02ago it could easily be diagnosed it was an offensive line issue we were shouting it from the midpoint of
04:09the season the offensive line had taken steps backwards so what do they do Cade Mays is the big free
04:14agent their first round pick is a tackle that's two big investments on the offensive line well suddenly
04:19that lets them get back to the identity that they lost run the ball play action pass golf's a maestro
04:27with
04:27that more than your average quarterback he thrives in play action and then what does that do I can get
04:33to
04:33third down and fourth down in red zone and finish more of those drives I can possess the ball and
04:39help my
04:39defense I can put up sevens instead of punting or kicking field goals I really think this is a bounce
04:45back
04:45year for the Lions and maybe it is because of what you said a perfect storm where they can get
04:49right at their
04:50own pace with a favorable schedule when this division host playoff games again I feel like it's a bounce back
04:56year but to do it you know that will get the taste out of our mouth of last year I'm
05:01looking forward to this year
05:02is a palate cleanse because I don't feel like the doom of last year is going to carry over to
05:06this
05:06year but they got to do it because otherwise we're going to keep getting these calls from people who
05:10are rightly concerned and have questions 248-539-9797 how about these responses a made-up word John
05:22skeptimistic that's Vern skeptimistic is his word for the Lions thanks Vern for the Lions it's show me I
05:29think the offense is great I think our defense is good enough and the schedule is easy it's just
05:34to wait and see what the new OC and how it looks on the field fun take huh that's Sam
05:38and Grand Rapids
05:40it's very let it play out take one word worried players get hurt in training camp every year our
05:46secondary is already dismantled and I'm worried if a starter gives gets hurt in another position
05:51receiver linebacker D line quarterback the season could be done Todd in Howell
05:57all right we'll keep taking some feedback on this your word your phrase talking about the Lions
06:01ahead of uh training camp one week away
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