00:01was it the biggest blunder of the lions off season,
00:04not addressing safety,
00:06but this Kirby Joseph situation and Brian branch,
00:10but we feel better about branches timeline,
00:12right?
00:12But we,
00:13we,
00:13we know,
00:14and we anticipated,
00:14it sounds like they anticipated that we're going to start the season
00:16without either of them.
00:17So then did they do enough?
00:19They have Chuck Clark,
00:20Avanti Maddox and Thomas Harper,
00:22three guys that are going to rotate into the safety spots.
00:23I told you my biggest blunder was the corner opposite DJ Reed,
00:27not the nickel slot corner,
00:29but the outside corner that Terry on Arnold was going to play.
00:32They knew in February he was involved in this and he wasn't very good to
00:36begin with.
00:37It's a position they should have tried to upgrade,
00:40but both are in the secondary.
00:41And I think that's the team's biggest weakness.
00:43So take your pick.
00:44I don't think Dorch is their biggest blunder,
00:46but we talked about what's going on with punt returner.
00:48Some texts have said the word is,
00:51is he didn't fit the locker room quote.
00:53He didn't fit for the lions unconfirmed reports.
00:56He was not a good locker room fit.
00:58And another says the lions aren't afraid to admit a mistake.
01:00They didn't let something or someone who wasn't a fit,
01:03uh,
01:03fester,
01:04fester.
01:04They'll eat the money and get it right.
01:06I hadn't heard any of that.
01:07I that's news to me as well.
01:09Um,
01:10and we all,
01:10we all know that the culture in the locker room is big for this coaching
01:14staff.
01:15Tom Kennedy can be elevated from the practice squad and return kicks and
01:18punts.
01:18If necessary,
01:19they should sign Nicole Hardman returns punt speed,
01:22big,
01:22big game experience.
01:23And could play that fifth receiver if needed.
01:28That I do think that they have some options.
01:30So it's not like they're sitting there going,
01:32Oh my goodness,
01:33we're going to have to go into the season with only 52.
01:36And I think it's easier to find a punt returner than a starting safety or
01:39starting corner.
01:39Yes.
01:40This time of year.
01:41Yes.
01:41Uh,
01:41of substance.
01:42Yes.
01:43Let's go to Jim and Milford.
01:44Jim.
01:44Good morning.
01:46Hey,
01:47good morning guys.
01:48I think the,
01:49the biggest blunder is probably safety.
01:51Uh,
01:52corner really gives me,
01:53uh,
01:54some concern like everybody else,
01:55but I mean,
01:56those guys are going up against one of the best wide receiving cores in the
02:00league on a daily basis.
02:02I think they kind of see what they have.
02:04I,
02:05again,
02:05I don't have confidence in it,
02:06but I think with the,
02:07the safety position,
02:08I mean,
02:09Joseph,
02:10nobody knows if he's ever going to play.
02:12And if branch does come back,
02:13which we hope he does a hundred percent,
02:15he's one,
02:16I don't know,
02:17one bad backpedal away from being gone again for the season.
02:20And then you're left with Harper and the other guy.
02:23I just think safety is a position.
02:25They should have added at both.
02:26And if you want to throw a linebacker in there as well,
02:28that's another one.
02:29But,
02:30um,
02:30I think safety is the biggest one just because of you're,
02:33you're putting a lot on Brian branch when he comes back from a,
02:36a massive injury.
02:37So Jim,
02:38you,
02:38when you talk about Brian branch,
02:40one bad backpedal away,
02:42you think it's,
02:42it's something that he would just re injure.
02:45Yeah,
02:46exactly.
02:47So when I did it,
02:49when I did it,
02:50when I did my Achilles,
02:52after the repair,
02:53when they gave me the all go,
02:55they told me they were more confident in my medically repaired Achilles than
03:00they were in my natural one because of the way that they did the repair.
03:05And I,
03:05I'm,
03:06I'm taking the doctor at his word at that point.
03:09My question is not if he's going to re injure it,
03:12but what type of explosive power,
03:15what type of quick twitch does he have in that?
03:17Because it took me a full another,
03:18another year before I had,
03:21before I was where I was before the injury.
03:24Right.
03:25And a huge part of what branch argue with Dr.
03:27Jensen.
03:28I know,
03:28right?
03:28The guy that's had the procedure done.
03:30You know what?
03:31And trust me,
03:31I'm just repeating what I was told at the time.
03:36All right.
03:36Well,
03:36that makes me feel a lot better than at this point.
03:38And,
03:39you know,
03:39I'll give you a call.
03:40If I ever put myself on the pickleball court at this point,
03:45Jim,
03:45appreciate the phone call,
03:46but isn't that the challenges is just going to be how his body reacts in
03:51open space.
03:51Cause the position he plays in part of why I love watching Brian branch play
03:55football is he is so instinctive and his ability to,
03:59to just flock to the football.
04:02If he's a half step behind and it's a player in space,
04:05that's a difference in a first down.
04:07That's a difference in a,
04:08in a play that breaks big.
04:09Well,
04:09and the thing about Brian branch and maybe this is why they didn't address
04:14the corner with more substance or the other safety is because he,
04:18his,
04:18his position versatility,
04:19he can play so many different positions in the secondary.
04:22No,
04:23I don't want him to be CB two,
04:25but he can play that position as well as safety.
04:30And he could be roaming around in the secondary doing a lot of different
04:33things.
04:35Text coming in two,
04:36four,
04:36eight,
04:36five,
04:36three,
04:37nine,
04:3797,
04:3797.
04:39Um,
04:40says the only thing I'll say in our favor is adding a secondary piece of
04:43the deadline might be the easiest position for a team to add,
04:46but it all depends on who's available.
04:49And are they going to be better?
04:51Because technically if Kirby,
04:53Joseph and Brian branch were to come back in week five and both play,
04:59you are starting two backups right now.
05:03And so,
05:03I mean,
05:04do you want to go into a season starting backups?
05:07No,
05:08you don't want to.
05:09My point was,
05:11if you think one or both are going to play,
05:14you're not going to add an expensive starter caliber safety.
05:18If those guys play,
05:20they're supposed to be very good.
05:22If Terry on Arnold had played,
05:23he wasn't going to be very good.
05:24That's why I've focused more on CB two.
05:26Sure.
05:26But I respect the position that like Kirby,
05:30Joseph might never play football again.
05:32How is that an acceptable way to run your off season?
05:34And the only reason I say this,
05:35because of the one thing that I think we believe that would hold this team
05:40back from being excellent is the defense.
05:44And is it going to be a defense?
05:47That's a top third defense,
05:48middle third,
05:49bottom third.
05:50If they're bottom third,
05:52you got no chance at winning a championship and you might not even have a chance at winning the division.
05:58Right now you had ESPN had,
06:01you found three,
06:02three bets that they like for the lions this season.
06:05Yeah.
06:05And the first one is taking the under on the wind total under 10 and a half wins.
06:10That gets you.
06:11The odds are minus one Oh five miss the playoffs.
06:14That's plus one 80 Jared golf to record a funner 400 yard passing game.
06:20And that's minus one Oh five.
06:21Now the reason they did that is because they believe that this is a team.
06:24That's just going to have to simply outscore opponents to win games.
06:28They don't have a lot of faith in the defense.
06:30And I'll just read you the first line Detroit could be headed for some regression in 2026.
06:34Thanks to a defense that is already beat up and playing in a difficult division.
06:38The rest of the,
06:39of their description to kind of follow suit on their first sentence.
06:42And they talk about shootouts,
06:43which is why they also think they can pair up a golf big passing game.
06:47Golf didn't throw for 400 yards last year,
06:49but did twice in 2024.
06:50And the schedule feels a little more like 2024.
06:53If you do believe in shootouts,
06:55there'll be in more of them.
06:56Then go ahead,
06:58make that bet.
06:58I don't think you're getting paid enough.
07:00Cause it's like even money for him to throw for 400 yards.
07:02Right.
07:03Again,
07:03again,
07:04it goes back to what would hold this team back.
07:06And we're not talking about injuries.
07:08We're not talking about things that,
07:09that are an unknown quantity.
07:11We're talking about going into the season with the players on this roster.
07:15Should they have done more in the secondary?
07:17I think they did enough up front.
07:19Sure.
07:19The thing I also want to emphasize is I think the secondary will get them burned in individual games,
07:26but the schedule doesn't have a ton of elite quarterbacks or even average quarterbacks on it.
07:31Right.
07:32Where they would really get burned is if,
07:34and when they were in the post season and,
07:36and maybe their whole,
07:37their whole thought was,
07:38well,
07:39with this group going into the season,
07:41we have enough to get through until Brian branch comes back.
07:45And anything we get from Kirby,
07:47Joseph is just a,
07:50it's,
07:50it's all gravy.
07:51Yeah.
07:52Some of the offenses that they'll face,
07:53the jets,
07:55Panthers,
07:56Cardinals,
07:57Dolphins,
07:58Falcons,
07:59Titans,
08:00depending on what you think of New Orleans out of the gate,
08:01it's half the schedule.
08:02Those teams shouldn't be running shootouts.
08:05No,
08:06they shouldn't.
08:08Unless you let them,
08:09I guess.
08:10Well,
08:10that's the thing.
08:11And we've talked about it a lot.
08:13You're going to have to apply extreme pressure.
08:17If you're going to be weak in the secondary,
08:19then how do you counter that?
08:21Well,
08:21you don't let the quarterback throw the ball.
08:22Liam McNeil,
08:23you're our savior.
08:24You got to be the difference deal.
08:26DJ want it.
08:27We all,
08:27Hutch is a known commodity,
08:28but it's a,
08:29it's a Lee McNeil.
08:30It's Tylee Williams.
08:32It's all of these guys that have to step up eight o'clock hour,
08:35a new college football feature.
08:37And we got to talk about coworkers food in the fridge.
08:39It's 97,
08:40one.
08:40And we're going to have to talk about it a little bit more about it a little bit more about
08:40it a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more
08:40than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more
08:40than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more
08:40than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more
08:40than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more
08:40than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more
08:40than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more
08:40than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more
08:40than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more
08:40than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more than a little bit more
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