00:14Scott Anderson, watching the Detroit Lions, it's preseason,
00:18so we're kind of couching this and weighing it appropriately.
00:22But what are you starting to think about the Lions now that you've seen them
00:25a couple of times?
00:27We like to say not committed to the position.
00:30Just workshopping an idea.
00:32What are you starting to think?
00:33I've got an offensive one we'll get to.
00:35We've had concerns about the offensive line, and I think it's mostly depth-related
00:41that one listener brought up, another listener brought up,
00:44starting to think that the front seven's going to be okay defensively.
00:46And Gator, you, in fact, are starting to think that the edge opposite a hutch
00:51might no longer be a hot-button topic for Lions fans.
00:55Might.
00:55I mean, it's right now.
00:56Yeah, we're not held to this, right?
00:58No, that's why we're doing it the way we're doing it.
01:00What are you starting to think?
01:02And I don't think that's one of the things I wrote down here is between Derek Moore,
01:07Ahmed Hassanin, DJ Wanham, and people want to see a pass rush.
01:12It is, you know, the number of drives that end in scores when there's a quarterback sack.
01:19You sack the quarterback, it kills so many drives.
01:23You pressure a quarterback, you hit a quarterback, it leads to, we saw a sack fumble this weekend.
01:30We've seen, you see a quarterback who has to throw off platform, not as accurately,
01:35leads to interceptions, leads to tip passes.
01:37This is, it is, it is, it is why it is talked about in such a critical, critical part of
01:43the game.
01:43And now you've got a, maybe, just maybe, we're starting to think that the pass rush is in better hands.
01:52So, I got one on offense I want to get to in a minute here.
01:54Well, I also like, I mean, it's not just, I was specifically talking about the defensive line,
01:58but the defensive end position.
02:00But you talk about getting pressure on the quarterback, Skylar Gill-Howard was a menace in the middle.
02:07And I thought that was also a key thing.
02:09When you look at, and one of the previous callers I mentioned about it, Lee McNeil,
02:12if he's back to what he was, that's huge.
02:15Yes, that is huge.
02:16Tylee Williams looks like he's taking a step forward as well.
02:19Those two guys in defensive line in the middle, they can get some pressure.
02:23And then, by the way, you see Skylar Gill-Howard show up, and he just has a way of getting
02:28in between offensive linemen
02:31to put pressure on the quarterback.
02:32That was impressive.
02:35To be sustainable at this level, okay, what the Lions are trying to do here is re-sign all their
02:43own guys,
02:44their core star players, and those players are very expensive.
02:50It almost becomes a requirement to stay competitive that you have draftable, cheap pieces making plays for you.
02:58And a six-round pick is a draftable, cheap player.
03:01I mean, it's early to call this a win for Brad Holmes, okay?
03:05But he's noticeable for sure.
03:08The body type is what made him a six-round pick.
03:11But the speed, and as Spielman put it in the broadcast, the ability to get skinny, to keep moving upfield
03:18and slip between blocks,
03:21you do have to wonder.
03:24It's a reasonable thing to start to think that maybe, maybe, just maybe, that this guy can be one of
03:30those requirements.
03:32You have to be competitive.
03:34It is a requirement that you find cheaper players in the draft to offset the balance, to balance the books
03:39when you have so much invested in your stars.
03:41If you can find, like, I think what Spielman was saying is if you can find a way to get
03:45pressure on the quarterback
03:46while having your numbers parallel to the sideline, then you've got something.
03:51All right, time for Champ and Champ, brought to you by Sarah Chevrolet, Sterling Heights.
03:55Champ and Champ on a weekend, who had the best weekend, who should be called out for having a weekend
03:58that stinks.
03:58I struggled a little bit with champs, but I'll tell you what.
04:00But this guy is starting to make me think that he is part of the future.
04:04I was not projecting him when I, when I talked about the future of this team,
04:09but he had another good weekend and just keeps getting on base and, and hitting for enough pop.
04:14And that is how you leave my champ at a weekend.
04:17When, when we talked about what the Tigers were going to be, when this wave of players got here,
04:22we didn't talk about him much at all.
04:25He is earning a spot, man.
04:28How you leave four for 10.
04:30Again, a double and a home run this weekend, well on the radar as a future piece to this, this
04:37infield.
04:38Well, he's been so impressive.
04:40He's just built himself up to the point now where you look at it and it's surprising.
04:45He's hitting 281 on the year.
04:47It's 281, which in today's baseball is 280 is the new 320.
04:52It feels like it.
04:53And his 760 OPS is quite impressive too.
04:56For a guy who really did nothing the first month he was with the Tigers, now he's been a integral
05:02part of the everyday lineup.
05:04And you want to see more and more of him.
05:06I love what I've seen out of him.
05:07And you're 100% right.
05:08This is, we didn't expect anything.
05:10I don't know.
05:10Why, why did they bring up Howie Lee?
05:12He's hitting like 215 in Toledo.
05:14Why is he getting, well, here you go.
05:16And now it's paying off for him.
05:17For me, the champ is the Detroit Lions defensive line.
05:21They just look dominant against the commanders inside and out.
05:23Moore, Wanham, Gil Howard, and others.
05:25They held the running game to just 35 yards rushing from Washington, all while getting pretty consistent pressure on the
05:32quarterback.
05:33Now, they didn't get home, you know, five times in the game.
05:36I think they only had a couple sacks.
05:37But that quarterback was, whoever it was, was getting pressured a lot in that game.
05:43I love when I saw the defensive line.
05:44My jump of the weekend goes, with breaking news here, this morning the Cleveland Browns announced that Deshaun Watson is
05:50their starting quarterback.
05:51The performance wasn't great.
05:53And then, I will just say, a poorly played choice of words in the post-game press conference, when asked
06:00about the boos, he leaned into it a little bit.
06:02Instead of just saying, guys, I ignore it.
06:04You just got to go out and play and do your best.
06:07And instead, basically said, I don't like the fans and they don't like me.
06:11And I can't believe the Browns have named him the starting quarterback after, between the performance and the post-game
06:18press conference.
06:19I'm chomping the Browns.
06:21I mean, this is the Browns being the Browns, right?
06:23Before that news happened, I wrote on my show sheet, literally, Deshaun Watson looks like he's done his Browns QB.
06:29Shador outplayed him by a mile, and Watson was salty after the game with the fans.
06:32I had not even a 1% chance in my mind that he was going to start.
06:37And now they've named him the starter.
06:39It's tone deaf.
06:41I think this is just the Browns being the Browns.
06:44For me, the chump, it's Dylan Dingler.
06:47Four hits in his last 56 at-bats.
06:50That's the slump he is in.
06:53Now, I love Dylan Dingler, the player.
06:56I want him to get out of this slump because he's better than that.
06:58But this right now is, it's so bad, and it's been a few weeks now.
07:04And it coincides also when you have the injury to Riley Green and he's out of the lineup.
07:10If you don't have Riley Green in the lineup and you effectively don't have Dylan Dingler in the lineup, that's
07:15tough.
07:16And this is why we've seen this team slide.
07:19Feedback.
07:20We will take your champ and champ votes via feedback and phone calls.
07:24Who you got for a champ of the weekend?
07:26Who is a champ of the weekend?
07:27Again, we tally up the votes and put it on our website on Tuesday.
07:30Who do people select as champ and champ at a weekend?
07:32From Scott, my champ is the Lions crowd.
07:35Loudest crowd I've ever heard in a preseason game.
07:37I think they drew a couple of penalties in a preseason game.
07:44Chump, sprinting robots.
07:45One of them beat Usain Bolt's world record.
07:47Well, yeah, nice work.
07:48My car is also faster than Usain Bolt.
07:52Have you seen these things?
07:53Yes.
07:54I saw one wipe out.
07:56It was hysterical watching them wipe out.
07:58They hit the corner.
07:59They're going too fast.
08:00And they don't have the traction.
08:01And they just flip over like 15 times.
08:05It's great.
08:06Also a little scary, but it's great.
08:08I don't understand the appeal of these things.
08:10Of course, you can make a robot that runs faster than a human.
08:13Yeah, but you know what the application's for.
08:15This is why it's scary.
08:16Oh, dude.
08:17Yeah.
08:17I mean, gee, do you think we have reason to be worried?
08:22From Mark in Grand Rapids.
08:24Champ, the Detroit Lions providing some fun entertainment and a meaningless game.
08:28Chump Lane Kiffin for signing a player at LSU was in an NFL camp and got paid NFL money.
08:33Well, for now, apparently, if you were on the right lawsuit, it sounds like you are eligible.
08:40If you were on the wrong lawsuit, it sounds like you weren't.
08:42This is a five for five player.
08:45This is a player that is eligible under the new rule, but had graduated under the old rule.
08:52And that class, I think they have a little bit of a beef.
08:55Now, and the beef is centered around, well, if I knew this was the rule, I might not have gone
09:00pro.
09:01And I can understand that frustration, but timing is everything.
09:04And sometimes life isn't fair.
09:06And if it's allowed by the rules, I just wish, we don't even know what the rule is.
09:13Some players that sued are eligible and some aren't.
09:15It's different by the state.
09:16It's really weird.
09:17He's able to play because it's the state of Louisiana, right?
09:19Yeah, it depends which state you're in and which judge had the ruling.
09:25It's all ridiculous.
09:27Well, after this year, that'll be done because now the rule is in place and guys will know they have
09:32the fifth year and won't have to sue to come back.
09:34They'll either stay or they'll go.
09:35Sure.
09:36In theory.
09:37Caleb in Whitmore Lake says, Champ of the Weekend is most sighted for stepping up and speaking.
09:41Sounds like a true leader and captain.
09:43Way to set the tone.
09:44Champ of the Weekend is Deshaun Watson.
09:45Lack of self-awareness is astonishing.
09:48Well, I mean, in fairness to Moe Sider, he was at an event and they had microphones and cameras out
09:54there and somebody started asking him a question.
09:56And it's not like he was, you know, getting up and opining.
10:00But whatever it was, I don't have a verbatim what he said about the Dylan Larkin situation.
10:04I mean, he was honest about it.
10:06It's like, hey, it is what it is.
10:07We don't have any control over it.
10:08And, you know, we're a better team with Larkin on the ice than without.
10:13Was one of the things he said.
10:16Champ and chump.
10:16Champ is ace.
10:19I like Rory too, buddy.
10:20Chump is the Tigers because gesture towards a flaming pile of trash.
10:23That's from Matt Downriver.
10:24Well, look, I mean, the Tigers can't hurt me.
10:27This team can't hurt me.
10:29This team, when they traded Scoobal and Mize, they could no longer hurt me.
10:33They could only surprise me in a positive way.
10:35And I'm not, I'm not, I'm seriously not mad.
10:38I'm not bitter.
10:38I'm happy that they hung around for two, three weeks after the trade deadline.
10:43In fact, got themselves into a playoff spot, which was to me unfathomable.
10:48And, you know, it's probably waterfinding its level here a little bit.
10:51They're shorthanded.
10:51And, you know, they've, they could be back next year with a vengeance.
10:55They kind of have to be.
10:56They better be back.
10:57Yeah.
10:57They need to get Riley Green back.
10:59They need Dylan Dingler to show up that he's Dylan Dingler again.
11:02And if they can do those two things, then they might have one last little run in them.
11:07But until that happens, I'm like you.
11:11Hey, it is what it is.
11:12I'm enjoying watching the young kids get their, their chance to play.
11:15I want to see Callahan.
11:17I want to see Valencia.
11:18We know we're seeing plenty of how you Lee and McGonagall and Clark.
11:21I like to see these guys.
11:22Sears got his chance to pitch yesterday and did he get hit hard?
11:25Yeah.
11:25He got hit hard a little bit, but he's also got an arm.
11:27You can see that there's, there's talent there.
11:30So I'm kind of curious to see how they develop that talent.
11:32And you look at his debut.
11:33You compare that to a debuts of Verlander and Scooble.
11:37It's right on par, you know?
11:39So who knows what we see out of Sears.
11:40All right.
11:41A couple of things on the table today, Monday's champ and chump plus with the Lions.
11:46Hey, it's preseason.
11:47We understand, but what is something about the Lions that you are starting to think not committed
11:53to the position, you're workshopping an idea.
11:55You feel like maybe this is better than you thought.
11:58Maybe this is a concern.
12:00Maybe this guy isn't going to make it.
12:01What are you starting to think about the Lions?
12:03I'll give you one on offense.
12:05Yeah, I've got one too.
12:06Today at 1055.
12:07It is Carson Anderson here on 97.1.
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