End of season thoughts

[Louis Friend]

Lions started the season 0-8, finished 3-5-1. 

Campbell was the first Lions coach in 30 years to beat TWO teams 5 games over .500.

Anthony Lynn will be out as OC. 

Aaron Glenn was very good as DC. 

Goff played about as well as expected. He had a stronger second half when healthy.

OL was good despite numerous moving parts. They will be the strength of our offense. 

RBBC was good. 

ARSB finished with over 900 receiving yards. He is our Golden Tate slot guy.

Josh Reynolds should re-sign.

Aubrey Pleasant did wonders with our young secondary. I cannot wait to see them all healthy.

Our DL had it's ups and downs. Alim McNeill is a solid starting nose.

Our linebackers need alot of work.

We need to sign Patterson/Fox/Daly long term. 

Overall, it was a good first year of the rebuild. We can see the culture change. We can see the identity of the team. We can see development of young guys. 

This second draft for Holmes/Dorsey/MCDC will either propel us forward or cause the team to take a step back. 

How do you feel about the season overall? 

[TL-TwoWinsAway]

I think this season was perfect, considering where we are as a franchise, and established absolutely everything that it needed to.

- We developed young talent.

- We showed a competitive nature.

- We secured a top 2 pick and an elite edge prospect.

Credit to Campbell and Co. for getting the most from this roster. It would've been easy to quit, but this team didn't do that.

[Just Want A Title]

My thoughts:

1.  Dan Campbell had a good first year and HC.  There were some definite growing pains but really started to come into his own at the end of the season.  He deserves some credit for hiring guys like Aubrey Pleasant and Aaron Glenn.  Personally, I appreciated his aggressiveness.  

2.  Aaron Glenn did an amazing job.  Can't say enough positive things about him.

3.  Hank Fraley has done great work as an O-line coach.  I hope we keep him around as long as possible.

4. QBs--Jared Goff showed signs of being a pretty good QB again.  He has limited his turn overs and started to hit receivers down field in tight windows.  It will be interesting to see how he responds to having better WR talent.  Not much to talk about after that.

5.  RBs--This group was solid most of the year and will improve when we have more weapons in the passing game.  D'Andre Swift is an 18-23 touch back and is dangerous in that role.  Jamal Williams is a hard-nosed runner.  I am actually a fan of Godwin Igwebuike.  He started to show some real juice after moving from Safety to RB (which he hadn't played since high school).  If he can learn to take better care of the ball, he might become a pretty solid RB.  Craig Reynolds had a good run but it will be interesting to see of he can sustain that or is just a flash in the pan.  The jury is still out on Jermar Jefferson.  We don't have a "hammer RB" like AJ Dillion but it would be nice to address.

6.  OL--Sewell is going to be a cornerstone for our team for a long time.  Jonah Jackson continues to be solid.  Ragnow is Ragnow.  Matt Nelson will probably end up as our 3rd tackle for a long time.  It will be interested to see what they do with Taylor Decker in the off-season.  Miami is desperate for O-line help and might be willing to make a splash trade.  

7.  TEs--I like TJ Hockenson but is he a dominant TE like Mark Andrews or Travis Kelce or just a very good TE?  Can TJ Hockenson take over a game?  We may have found our TE2 in Brock Wright.  

8.  WRs--Amon Ra St. Brown is another cornerstone we drafted this year.  Other than him we have a bunch of solid role players.  We need to add another dominant WR.  Could Calvin Ridley be an option if he becomes available?  Not sure what happened with Trinity Benson but maybe with a normal off-season he might become a contributor.  

9.  D-Line--  Alim McNeil was solid and great pick in the 3rd round but he needs help.  We need Romeo Okwara to stay healthy in the worst way.  Levi Onwuzurike is a bit of an unknown long-term.  We could use upgrades in the draft and free agency

10. LB--This group has a lot of questions.  Charles Harris was a really good signing and was definitely an above average LB.  Philip Barnes good against the run and a solid blitzer but so-so in coverage.  Jalen Reeves Maybin solid but not a play-maker.  Alex Anzalone would not be a started on most teams.  Julian Okwara has flashed but he needs to take a big step forward if he is going to be anything other than a role-player.  We need a lot of help in this position group.

11.  CB--This group has held up surprisingly well.  Jerry Jacobs way better than anyone expected.  Ifeatu Melifonwu flashed and has intriguing potential.  AJ Parker was solid and consistent.  CJ Moore was a good role player also.  Jeff Okudah's best position might be as a Safety.  They will get better as they gain more experience and with a better pass-rush

12.  S--Tracy walker showed that he is a very good safety and should be re-signed.  Will Harris just doesn't cut it.  Dean Marlowe is a solid 3rd/dime safety.  A starting safety is needed.  Whether it be through free Agency, the draft or converting Jeff Okudah we need another starting Safety.

13.  Special Teams--Jack Fox was our MVP for a good part of the season.  We may have finally found a solid kicker in Riley Patterson but the Lions seem to have avoided putting him in situations where he had to make really long field goals so we will have to see on that.  Other than ball security issues, Godwin Igwebuike showed he has some juice.  Considering he came to our team as a safety, growing pains are to be expected.

14. GM Brad Holmes--Brad Holmes deserves a ton of credit.  He passed on signing Kenny Golladay.  His first draft may not have been sexy but we had rookies making contributions all over the field.  His UDFA signings were borderline brilliant.  Getting Craig Reynolds, Josh Reynolds and Riley Patterson were pretty good moves that really improved our team and could be long-term contributors.  His second off-season is crucial to the development of the Lions.  Hopefully, he will use the additional first round pick and comp picks wisely.  

 

Edited January 10, 2022 by Just Want A Title
Forgot something

[Louis Friend]

Lions coaches vs teams 5+ games over .500 W%

Jim Schwartz - 0-10

Jim Caldwell - 0-8

Matt Patricia - 0-2

Darrell Bevell - 0-2

Dan Campbell - 2-0!

[LionArkie]

I'm pretty optimistic about this leadership going forward.

• I think Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes could be an attractive duo for Free agents moving forward.
• They have shown a tremendous ability to develop young talent.
• They have made the team competitive even when they shouldn't be.
• Dan Campbell has some serious stones.
• I don't think we need to be in a hurry to replace Goff. I think he can be more than serviceable moving forward, but the Lions will have to surround him with talent.
• I think the build of the team needs to be Defense and running game. This way you don't have to put the game in Goffs hands to win it.
• For once, we finished stronger than we started.
• Not to take away from the team, but I do wonder if any of our wins were assisted by teams playing down to the Lions? This has been a thought I've had for a while.
• I think this team has a bright future looking ahead, but I also believe a lot of this optimism can be realised or diminished this off season. this is a very important off season for me to start believing in this leadership.
• I still think this team is two season away before competing for a playoff spot (2023). However a great off season could accelerate this. I don't rely on rookies to get you to that level.
• Ended the season on a great note.

I'd give the leadership of this organization an A overall. The only real decision that baffled me was the trade for Trinity Benson. However, I believe they more than made up for that with other in season/UDFA signings.

Edited January 10, 2022 by LionArkie

[Sllim Pickens]

I am pretty much in agreement with others above but will add a couple points. 

• Holmes made some questionable decisions, especially at WR.  However they didn't let those poor decisions lock them in.  Perriman didn't fit the gameplan and instead of keeping him due to the guaranteed contract, they cut him and let the young guys learn.  I think this was big in allowing ARSB to develop over the season.  I hope we make some better decisions next year at WR overall as Goff showed he can be decent with decent WRs. 
• I said it early on, but this team always played hard for DC.  Even when we looked lost, this team pulled together and played hard.  I am interested in seeing what happens in a full offseason with this staff and how the positive reviews will help free agency. We just got some airtime on Greeny's radio show being used as an example for changing culture and how DC did everything he said they would do in that opening press conference. 
• The development of young players has been huge.  Especially our CBs, ARSB, and the O Line.  We made progress throughout the year and thats all I really wanted to see. Again it will be good to see a full offseason with vet buy in and rookies/young guys continuing to develop. 
• I am fully expecting us to be on hard knocks next year.  DC is such an entertaining individual and we meet the requirements so have no doubt it will be us next preseason. 

[Lions017]

I thought that the season was about as good as we could've hoped for once the injuries started hitting. 

The draft class looks pretty good on paper. Sewell, St-Brown, and McNeil could all be long-term starters. They got solid contributions out of some of the other guys and even some undrafted players like Jacobs. 

Goff is not going to be the answer long-term, but he's good enough for now I think, especially if he gets some weapons. At the very least, we should try to resign Reynolds and bring in a guy as a free agent or as a high draft pick. 

The offense is actually in decent shape if you bring in a receiver or two. The defense still needs a lot of work. We could use another pass rusher, some help at LB, and a safety to play alongside walker. Another corner wouldn't hurt either. 

It's going to be important to resign the guys that proved to be good fits. At the same time, I wouldn't let some of these guys prevent me from adding an impact player. I'm not going to not add a corner because Jacobs and Parker looked decent and I'm not going to avoid adding a receiver because of St. Brown and Reynolds, for example. 

[Louis Friend]

Jared Goff healthy with MCDC calling plays- 112-161 69.6 Comp% 1136 yds 11 TDs 2 INTs 3-2 record. W's against GB, ARI and MINN. I don't think the Lions need to reach for a QB with Goff here, but I'm still not solid that he's the long term answer. 

Campbell & Co went 2-4 in the division his first season. Beat Minny and GB at home, lost by 2 at home to Chicago on short week at Thanksgiving. Have to beat division on the road next season. 

We did not win* 7 games by one score (TD+2pt conversion) or less. *including the tie against Pittsburgh. Lions learned how to win some of those games late, but we were close to having 5 to 7 wins if some of those flipped our way. 

Ended the season with 1,886 rushing yards. I cannot remember the last time we had 1,800+ yards rushing in a season. At least 20+ years.  Probably came closest in 2013 with Reggie Bush here. Would like to see them over 2,000 next season with everyone healthy. 

 

 

 

[Old Guy]

How come nobody mentioned Amari Onuwariye as a player to build around. 

[Just Want A Title]

43 minutes ago, Old Guy said:

How come nobody mentioned Amari Onuwariye as a player to build around. 

I can own up to my oversight.  Here is my thought on him:  He is a really good #2CB.  The only thing that prevents him from being elite is his so-so speed.  His length compensates but if a guy gets by him but he doesn't have top-end recovery speed.  He still played really well though.

[Old Guy]

1 hour ago, Just Want A Title said:

I can own up to my oversight.  Here is my thought on him:  He is a really good #2CB.  The only thing that prevents him from being elite is his so-so speed.  His length compensates but if a guy gets by him but he doesn't have top-end recovery speed.  He still played really well though.

Neither did Richard Sherman. 

[LionArkie]

8 hours ago, Old Guy said:

Neither did Richard Sherman. 

We each are allowed to make our own opinions, but I try not to let the exception make the rule. AO is a really great player. I think most have known this since last year, but I think a really good #2 or 1b is about right. I could see him flirting with the pro bowl every now and then, but not be arguably the best corner in the league.

[Sllim Pickens]

Next year we have the NFC East and AFC East, Jacksonville, Carolina, and Seattle.  I know a lot can change year to year but that looks like the easiest schedule we have had in a long time.  Its a good chance for a turn around and to continue to build momentum.