What should be the Lions' QB plan moving forward?

[Duluther]

There's been a handful of games this year that Goff has been a major factor as to why the Lions lost. For me, he's proving he's not going to get them into the top tier of the NFC. And so this regime should seek other options.

Late first round QB this year? They'd be the cheapest option. Bo Nix, Penix Jr, McCarthy, etc.

FA QB? Kirk Cousins (who's better than Goff, even after his injury, don't @ me). 

Trade for QB? MILF hunter.

Ride out his slump and stick with Goff?

[lavar703]

2 minutes ago, Duluther said:

There's been a handful of games this year that Goff has been a major factor as to why the Lions lost. For me, he's proving he's not going to get them into the top tier of the NFC. And so this regime should seek other options.

Late first round QB this year? They'd be the cheapest option. Bo Nix, Penix Jr, McCarthy, etc.

FA QB? Kirk Cousins (who's better than Goff, even after his injury, don't @ me). 

Trade for QB? MILF hunter.

Ride out his slump and stick with Goff?

Why wouldn't they try Hendon Hooker if Goff doesn't get it done?

[Duluther]

1 minute ago, lavar703 said:

Why wouldn't they try Hendon Hooker if Goff doesn't get it done?

Sure, that's another option (and a good one, if this regime likes what they've seen from him in practice).

[nagahide13]

Hooker has been practicing for less than 2 weeks. Teddy Bridgewater is the backup.

Lions have to stick with Goff for the year. He's great if they can protect him. He's not very good if they can't. I'm not confident that Teddy is better than Goff even when our O-line is banged up.

Goff is just an equal portion of Detroit's issues right now though. The line is banged up an inconsistent. They consistently put the defense in bad spots. Sun God seems hurt and there isn't much after him. Ben Johnson is really creative, but when his creativity isn't working he doesn't seem to have a good foundation to go back to. There is a lot wrong.

[detfan782004]

The issue is more about protection. Plus they lack a good second WR right now. 

[DontTazeMeBro]

Everyone’s solution should be Joe Flacco 

[Tank4Drake]

13 minutes ago, detfan782004 said:

The issue is more about protection. Plus they lack a good second WR right now. 

Oh come on. Lions have one of the best OL’s in the league. Goff will always make his OLs look worse. Also Jameson is a solid #2 WR, get a QB with a better arm that can take advantage of his speed. Goff is a Top 12-14 QB but when you’re a Super Bowl contender, you want a little better than 12-14. That just doesn’t win titles most of the time.

[detfan782004]

1 minute ago, Tank4Drake said:

Oh come on. Lions have one of the best OL’s in the league. Goff will always make his OLs look worse. Also Jameson is a solid #2 WR, get a QB with a better arm that can take advantage of his speed. Goff is a Top 12-14 QB but when you’re a Super Bowl contender, you want a little better than 12-14. That just doesn’t win titles most of the time.

Never said the oline was bad. They haven't done well protecting him lately. 

[nagahide13]

Just now, detfan782004 said:

Never said the oline was bad. They haven't done well protecting him lately. 

Theyre banged up. They were healthy earlier in the year when Detroit and Goff looked great. Goff is particularly susceptible to poor line play. Josh Allen he is not.

[detfan782004]

Just now, nagahide13 said:

Theyre banged up. They were healthy earlier in the year when Detroit and Goff looked great. Goff is particularly susceptible to poor line play. Josh Allen he is not.

For sure 

[Duluther]

35 minutes ago, nagahide13 said:

Hooker has been practicing for less than 2 weeks. Teddy Bridgewater is the backup.

Lions have to stick with Goff for the year. He's great if they can protect him. He's not very good if they can't. I'm not confident that Teddy is better than Goff even when our O-line is banged up.

Goff is just an equal portion of Detroit's issues right now though. The line is banged up an inconsistent. They consistently put the defense in bad spots. Sun God seems hurt and there isn't much after him. Ben Johnson is really creative, but when his creativity isn't working he doesn't seem to have a good foundation to go back to. There is a lot wrong.

I hope (and would assume) no one's asking for Teddy. As a Vikings fan, he's a favorite of ours and mine, but he certainly just doesn't have the ceiling that Goff has.

[tyler735]

1 hour ago, lavar703 said:

Why wouldn't they try Hendon Hooker if Goff doesn't get it done?

This. Had Hooker not been injured he’s likely a late 1st/early 2nd round pick in the draft this year. Would be silly to not give him a shot.

[Tugboat]

They're definitely in a bit of an awkward purgatory with Goff.  If everything is absolutely perfect around him, he can win games.  But he's ultimately just a high-end game manager, through and through.  So when some aspect of things get away from him (like inconsistent banged up OLine play) he can kind of fall apart and lose you games.  Just doesn't have enough juice to actually go out and elevate the team around him and take them to that next level when it really matters.  It's the situation the Niners and then Chiefs had with Alex Smith.  It's the reason why the Rams decided to make the bold call to just move on from Goff, when they decided he just wasn't gonna be able to get it done.

Smart teams will realize they've got a bit of a window here, and pay the price to do something about the situation, sooner rather than later.  You're not going to be able to keep all the various other pieces of the Lions roster together forever.  They've got a lot of good things going for them right now, and have made a real culture change that you want to keep rolling.  Just running it back with Goff again and again is going to wear thin on that culture at some point.

 

I think grabbing someone in the draft probably makes the most sense.  The pricetag probably fits.  But they do also need those "premium" picks to continue to patch a few other holes and keep the depth there to move in the right direction as some of their guys are getting older.  It's a tricky transition to make too...where you don't know how long it's going to take for a rookie QB to be ready to step in and make a positive impact.  So you're inclined to hang onto Goff in the interim as a "safe" option.  That makes it awkward if that rookie QB is ready sometime in the next season...pulling the plug on Goff while he's still on the roster.  Works out more smoothly if it does take a year of sitting for the rookie, but then you've still burned another year of this "window" on Goff.  Not ideal either.

 

As much as Goff isn't the answer...there's still that purgatory aspect that really knocks down any of the viable Veteran FA/Trade options.  You need to do better, but he fits the system to where striking out on some other retread veteran, you're a lot more likely to end up doing worse.

 

I think the least worst option is probably just to grab a guy with upside in the draft...and wait it out with Goff until they're ready.

[CWood21]

11 minutes ago, Tugboat said:

They're definitely in a bit of an awkward purgatory with Goff. 

Very much this.  He's just not a QB that's capable of elevating his supporting cast.  As long as you keep him upright, he's going to be able to connect passes and if you keep him relatively clean he's going to limit the bad plays.  But the problem is he's going into the final year of his contract and the Lions are projected to be picking at the very latest they've picked in a LONG time.  Odds are high that Jayden Daniels is going to be off the board when the Lions' pick in the first round, and probably a bit early to take Michael Penix.  Contract-wise, it seems likely that Carr's contract is Goff's floor.  Something like 4 years, $150M sounds about right.

[Tugboat]

9 minutes ago, CWood21 said:

Very much this.  He's just not a QB that's capable of elevating his supporting cast.  As long as you keep him upright, he's going to be able to connect passes and if you keep him relatively clean he's going to limit the bad plays.  But the problem is he's going into the final year of his contract and the Lions are projected to be picking at the very latest they've picked in a LONG time.  Odds are high that Jayden Daniels is going to be off the board when the Lions' pick in the first round, and probably a bit early to take Michael Penix.  Contract-wise, it seems likely that Carr's contract is Goff's floor.  Something like 4 years, $150M sounds about right.

 

I kind of wonder if the Lions aren't a team that might make sense to take a swing on Shedeur Sanders.  Can probably get it done without spending a 1st (lose the extra option year but whatever).  And that final year of Goff under contract does buy them some time, even if it's a bit frustrating to burn another year of the window with that.