2024 Offseason Tracker

[Just Want A Title]

8 minutes ago, vike daddy said:

boomer of a leg obviously, but lesser accuracy. still, i wish him and the Lions the best.

The probably deciding factor for the PK job will be consistency/accuracy.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[detfan782004]

17 minutes ago, vike daddy said:

boomer of a leg obviously, but lesser accuracy. still, i wish him and the Lions the best.

But honestly i think that fits Dan C gambler mindset. If it's close enough that leg doesn't matter he is more willing to go for it. He needs a leg on kicker 

[vike daddy]

1 hour ago, Just Want A Title said:

The probably deciding factor for the PK job will be consistency/accuracy.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

But one of your guys says Bates is going to be signed to a two year deal.

If that's true, wouldn't it mean the job is already his?

[Just Want A Title]

42 minutes ago, vike daddy said:

But one of your guys says Bates is going to be signed to a two year deal.

If that's true, wouldn't it mean the job is already his?

It depends on the numbers but if the Lions have shown anything, they aren't going to paint themselves into a corner with respect to contracts.  They were sitting on $40 million in cap space so if they have to cut him in favor or Badgley or Turner I don't think they will hesitate.

[vike daddy]

10 minutes ago, Just Want A Title said:

It depends on the numbers but if the Lions have shown anything, they aren't going to paint themselves into a corner with respect to contracts.  They were sitting on $40 million in cap space so if they have to cut him in favor or Badgley or Turner I don't think they will hesitate.

Bates probably had interest from a few teams, so the Lions maybe had to offer two years to get him to put them at the top of his list.

[Just Want A Title]

Just now, vike daddy said:

Bates probably had interest from a few teams, so the Lions maybe had to offer two years to get him to put them at the top of his list.

The thing about Brad Holmes is that when he makes up his mind to solve a problem, he solves the problem.  With Badgley, you have a relatively experienced kicker with average leg-strength and consistency.  James Turner is an unknown as a rookie but managed to show he has a legit NFL leg and has been made the kicks he has been asked to make.  With Jake Bates, he is somewhere in-between.  Bates has a legit NFL leg and had a heck of a run early in the season but showed some inconsistency with his accuracy late in the season.  I suspect that one PK will make the roster, one PK will make the PS and one will move on.  

The Lions don't really play for FGs but if they have a kicker who is going to make kicks from 55-yards or less it will make them even harder to defend.

[Just Want A Title]

3 minutes ago, Just Want A Title said:

The thing about Brad Holmes is that when he makes up his mind to solve a problem, he solves the problem.  With Badgley, you have a relatively experienced kicker with average leg-strength and consistency.  James Turner is an unknown as a rookie but managed to show he has a legit NFL leg and has been made the kicks he has been asked to make.  With Jake Bates, he is somewhere in-between.  Bates has a legit NFL leg and had a heck of a run early in the season but showed some inconsistency with his accuracy late in the season.  I suspect that one PK will make the roster, one PK will make the PS and one will move on.  

The Lions don't really play for FGs but if they have a kicker who is going to make kicks from 55-yards or less it will make them even harder to defend.

This conversation has weird timing.  I am listening to a podcast from Lions Wire and Jeff Risdon stated that Jake Bates isn't better than Michael Badgely or James Turner.  I want to like Michael Badgley but every so often he will miss a really makeable kick but turn around and nail a 52-yarder.  As a Lions fan, my opinions on PK are biased by watching Eddie Murray, Jason Hanson and Matt Prater but if you have doubts about a PK hitting makeable FGs, that PK may not be the long-term solution.  I wouldn't be shocked at all if James Turner won the job.

[vike daddy]

4 minutes ago, Just Want A Title said:

I want to like Michael Badgley but every so often he will miss a really makeable kick but turn around and nail a 52-yarder. 

sounds like us with Greg Joseph the last two years, who's now fighting for a roster spot with the Packers.
 

we drafted K Will Reichard, a five year starter at Alabama, and reports from OTA's have been very favorable for him so far. big leg (which wasn't his forte in college), kicks down the middle, and a cool headed, assassin-like mentality.

[Just Want A Title]

3 hours ago, vike daddy said:

sounds like us with Greg Joseph the last two years, who's now fighting for a roster spot with the Packers.
 

we drafted K Will Reichard, a five year starter at Alabama, and reports from OTA's have been very favorable for him so far. big leg (which wasn't his forte in college), kicks down the middle, and a cool headed, assassin-like mentality.

Some people have issues with using a draft pick I would have no problem if the Lions used a PK of Will Reichard's caliber.

[vike daddy]

9 minutes ago, Just Want A Title said:

Some people have issues with using a draft pick I would have no problem if the Lions used a PK of Will Reichard's caliber.

i have zero problems with us doing it.

he was a 6th round pick. what other positional 6th round draftee would be a starter and a go to guy on the team? and optimally for a decade at that.

a 6th is cheap for that kind of return. it's nearly insignificant.

[Nnivolcm]

Former Lion Isaiah Buggs arrested again, this time for DV Burglary 2. 

[Sllim Pickens]

On 6/15/2024 at 2:21 PM, Just Want A Title said:

This conversation has weird timing.  I am listening to a podcast from Lions Wire and Jeff Risdon stated that Jake Bates isn't better than Michael Badgely or James Turner.  I want to like Michael Badgley but every so often he will miss a really makeable kick but turn around and nail a 52-yarder.  As a Lions fan, my opinions on PK are biased by watching Eddie Murray, Jason Hanson and Matt Prater but if you have doubts about a PK hitting makeable FGs, that PK may not be the long-term solution.  I wouldn't be shocked at all if James Turner won the job.

The funny thing though is that Badgley has the exact same career FG% (82.4%) as Jason Hanson and was 100% on FG last year, however he did miss 2 XP's.  Jason Hanson had a career 56% from 50+ which is better than Badgley's career of 39% but since Badgley got to Detroit, he has been 66%. Also Hanson had a career long of 56 while Badgley has a career long of 59, although his long in Detroit is 53.  

Eddie Murray, who I loved and I went to his kicking camp 2 times when I was young, was a career 75% FG kicker with a career long of 54 yards.  He was under 50% from 50+ as well.  Somehow he was an All Pro in his rookie year with a 64% rate and a long of 52.  

Matt Prater has a career 83.4% rate but does have a much better leg from deep with a 75% rate from 50+.  He did have a career long of 64 but his long in Detroit was 59. 

So while people, including myself are not comfortable with Badgley, the reason they are nto comfortable is because he isn't Jason Tucker, but guys as good as Tucker were not around back when Hanson and Murray played.  In fact the top 8 kickers in NFL history for FG% have played at least in 2022 with 7 of them playing in 2023.  14 of the top 25 all time are currently still playing and 7 more have retired since 2020.  So in general kicking is better but it's funny we think so highly of those guys when they would likely be cut if they played like that today.  Eddie Murray won an AP1 and pro bowl in a year that he likely would have been cut if he was in 2023. 

[Just Want A Title]

4 hours ago, Sllim Pickens said:

The funny thing though is that Badgley has the exact same career FG% (82.4%) as Jason Hanson and was 100% on FG last year, however he did miss 2 XP's.  Jason Hanson had a career 56% from 50+ which is better than Badgley's career of 39% but since Badgley got to Detroit, he has been 66%. Also Hanson had a career long of 56 while Badgley has a career long of 59, although his long in Detroit is 53.  

Eddie Murray, who I loved and I went to his kicking camp 2 times when I was young, was a career 75% FG kicker with a career long of 54 yards.  He was under 50% from 50+ as well.  Somehow he was an All Pro in his rookie year with a 64% rate and a long of 52.  

Matt Prater has a career 83.4% rate but does have a much better leg from deep with a 75% rate from 50+.  He did have a career long of 64 but his long in Detroit was 59. 

So while people, including myself are not comfortable with Badgley, the reason they are nto comfortable is because he isn't Jason Tucker, but guys as good as Tucker were not around back when Hanson and Murray played.  In fact the top 8 kickers in NFL history for FG% have played at least in 2022 with 7 of them playing in 2023.  14 of the top 25 all time are currently still playing and 7 more have retired since 2020.  So in general kicking is better but it's funny we think so highly of those guys when they would likely be cut if they played like that today.  Eddie Murray won an AP1 and pro bowl in a year that he likely would have been cut if he was in 2023. 

I think what it comes down to for me is he is just a little too inconsistent.  If we were the Lions of 2022 and happy to even be talked about with respect to playoffs it isn't a such a big deal.  With the Lions having built a roster that is ready to make a second deep playoff run, it gets tougher to say that Michael Badgley is the guy you want as you PK with the game on the line.  

OTAs were a good example.  He improved his leg strength in the off-season.  Thats good.  However, his inconsistency creeped up enough for James Turner and now Jake Bates to be kept around for a legit competition for the PK job during training camp.  MCDC and the Lions want to be comfortable that, when called up, their players can execute what is being asked of them.  That is true on offense.  It is true on defense.  It is true on special teams.  He is being given every chance to lock the PK down but has created enough questions to not do that despite the fact that he is going into his 7th season.  

[Sllim Pickens]

2 hours ago, Just Want A Title said:

I think what it comes down to for me is he is just a little too inconsistent.  If we were the Lions of 2022 and happy to even be talked about with respect to playoffs it isn't a such a big deal.  With the Lions having built a roster that is ready to make a second deep playoff run, it gets tougher to say that Michael Badgley is the guy you want as you PK with the game on the line.  

OTAs were a good example.  He improved his leg strength in the off-season.  Thats good.  However, his inconsistency creeped up enough for James Turner and now Jake Bates to be kept around for a legit competition for the PK job during training camp.  MCDC and the Lions want to be comfortable that, when called up, their players can execute what is being asked of them.  That is true on offense.  It is true on defense.  It is true on special teams.  He is being given every chance to lock the PK down but has created enough questions to not do that despite the fact that he is going into his 7th season.  

I get it, he isn't a safe name and thats why we brought in two UDFA to compete with him.  I just think its funny when people say they dont like him because they are used to Eddie Murray, Jason Hanson and Matt Prater and Badgley is literally the same or better for his career than all of those guys percentage wise and longest kick wise.  

Comparatively to the rest of the league today, he is not great but Badgley is a top 50 kicker all time as far as FG% goes.  And he was 100% on FG in the regular season and playoffs last year so being inconsistent wasn't an issue this year.  In 2022 he missed 4 FG but only 1 miss in a loss.  So while I do not fully trust him, he has been good when called upon the last two years.  

I think the bigger issue is the coaches trust in him based on practice.  Maybe thats why we are so aggressive on 4th instead of kicking FG or maybe its just the gameplan DC likes. But if it is a lack of trust, than we need to make a change.  But the numbers don't scream that we are poor at kicker. 

[vike daddy]

Lions sign K Bates, and cut Turner.

So there's that.