The 2010 NFL Thread

[Meacon Keaton]

Isn't there some sort of special equipment they can put on his shoulders to protect it? Because the shoulder pads isn't enough.

The only special equipment Stafford needs is an offensive line.

[DMN in the House]

Meacon, you think your boys can do me a favor, and beat the Chiefs?

[naiwf]

It looks like Matt Stafford might miss the rest of the year. I feel bad for the Lions fans out there since they've had very little to cheer for ever since Sanders retired. They finally make a decent high end 1st round pick, but the guy's shoulders are made out of glass.

Did you see the tackle that broke his clavicle last year? That tackle would've broken Brady's clavicle too, so it's not his problem. The tackles he gets, he ends up landing on that shoulder - at least the one that put him out against the NYJ.

Isn't there some sort of special equipment they can put on his shoulders to protect it? Because the shoulder pads isn't enough.

One injury due to a devastating hit is not a problem (ala Tony Romo), but this guy has suffered THREE serious shoulder injuries in only 13 games. I'm not saying he's the football equivalent of Greg Oden (a recent # 1 overall pick in the NBA who has played less than 1/3 of the games available since he was drafted), but if he misses the rest of this year and separates one of his shoulders again next year it may be time to look for another QB.

[HailtotheYo]

Isn't there some sort of special equipment they can put on his shoulders to protect it? Because the shoulder pads isn't enough.

The only special equipment Stafford needs is an offensive line.

The "YOU NEED A FUCKING OL FOR REAL" memo apparently is on permanent Return to Sender from the Detroit Lions front office.

[VerbalPuke]

When we did take an Offensive Lineman high in the draft, we take Gosder Cherilus over Jeff Otah. They really need to replace Dominic Raiola and Stephen Peterman first.

Truth be told, the pass protection hasn't been that bad this year, but the run block has been fucking awful. Either way, I'd say our priorities now stand at LB, then O-Line, then Secondary. Or...QB first if you want to be a real pessimist.

As damshow pointed out, we do have Suh. He keeps my little faith alive, the whole D-line does to be honest.

[Meacon Keaton]

Meacon, you think your boys can do me a favor, and beat the Chiefs?

Fuck no. We'll keep them under fifty points, though.

[Hajjhowe]

I think it's a little early to say if Stafford if fragile or not. As was said, his O-Line isn't up to snuff yet. I still think Detroit looks to at least be moving forward and Suh, Stafford & Calvin are three good guys to build around.

As for the Steelers, I am somewhat disappointed with the win. They had a healthy lead and let the Bengals walk right back before finally stopping them late. It's horrible late game play like this that killed them last year, and hopefully it goes away like it has most of this season. It'd help if Troy was back to his old form too, he's been shaky the last two weeks.

[HailtotheYo]

When we did take an Offensive Lineman high in the draft, we take Gosder Cherilus over Jeff Otah. They really need to replace Dominic Raiola and Stephen Peterman first.

Truth be told, the pass protection hasn't been that bad this year, but the run block has been fucking awful. Either way, I'd say our priorities now stand at LB, then O-Line, then Secondary. Or...QB first if you want to be a real pessimist.

As damshow pointed out, we do have Suh. He keeps my little faith alive, the whole D-line does to be honest.

The O-Line has been the biggest issue since BEFORE the Barry Sanders era and it continues through to today ... how the fuck is it not your first priority ?

I simply do not get it. Since I've been alive there has been exactly TWO "very good" offensive lineman in Detroit. TWO ... this issue wasn't good before Barry was drafted and hasn't been addressed since the day he was drafted. Nothing has been done recently either.

You've already had a first round QB helped out of the league due to not having a good enough line to help him out, and you're following that trail again now ... you've taken several top talent WRs in the first round but can't protect your QB/give him enough time to get them the ball ... and just now you've got a top quality RB right out of the gate who isn't getting protected ....

But yeah ... you need a LB ...

I just don't get that line of thinking.

[livid]

This draft isn't heavy on legit 1st round OL so I can see why you would rather go after one of the deeper positions that's still a large need and then add linemen later. They don't have to draft a guy in the 1st round to address the need.

[gunnar hendershow]

You won't find the next John Hannah or Jonathan Ogden in late rounds, but if there's nobody worth a 1st round pick in the draft than obviously stock up at another position. If the Lions draft three linemen in the later rounds, odds are at least one of them will develop into someone who can start on a line and be a definite upgrade.

What Detroit really should do is stockpile on picks for 2012 and 2013. Considering they have, supposedly, a franchise QB, a franchise WR, and a franchise DE it isn't necessary to pick super high in the draft this year. Getting depth is more important, trading down and have 2 firsts next year when the O-Line crop will probably be better seems a smarter decision for long-term success.

[HailtotheYo]

This draft isn't heavy on legit 1st round OL so I can see why you would rather go after one of the deeper positions that's still a large need and then add linemen later. They don't have to draft a guy in the 1st round to address the need.

1 - That strategy clearly hasn't paid off for the Lions in the last 30 years.

2 - It doesn't matter if there are any 1st round lineman or not ... the Lions priority is still O-Line. Where they rate on the "draft round" scale is irrelevent. That doesn't change the need of the team.

3 - Since when was the Draft the only way to address the issue ? Free Agency, trades ? O-Line isn't exempt from either of those as far as I know.

[VerbalPuke]

When we did take an Offensive Lineman high in the draft, we take Gosder Cherilus over Jeff Otah. They really need to replace Dominic Raiola and Stephen Peterman first.

Truth be told, the pass protection hasn't been that bad this year, but the run block has been fucking awful. Either way, I'd say our priorities now stand at LB, then O-Line, then Secondary. Or...QB first if you want to be a real pessimist.

As damshow pointed out, we do have Suh. He keeps my little faith alive, the whole D-line does to be honest.

The O-Line has been the biggest issue since BEFORE the Barry Sanders era and it continues through to today ... how the fuck is it not your first priority ?

I simply do not get it. Since I've been alive there has been exactly TWO "very good" offensive lineman in Detroit. TWO ... this issue wasn't good before Barry was drafted and hasn't been addressed since the day he was drafted. Nothing has been done recently either.

You've already had a first round QB helped out of the league due to not having a good enough line to help him out, and you're following that trail again now ... you've taken several top talent WRs in the first round but can't protect your QB/give him enough time to get them the ball ... and just now you've got a top quality RB right out of the gate who isn't getting protected ....

But yeah ... you need a LB ...

I just don't get that line of thinking.

Because we have neglected the defense just as long. We have practice squad caliber linebackers that can't tackle for shit, which constantly springs the others teams offense for big plays. We haven't had a good linebacker on this team since Stephen Boyd.

Also, the offensive line isn't in the same dire need that our linebackers are. They need improvement but I would be focusing on making our defense elite. If it came down to the draft, I would take the best player available between the three positions I listed as needs. It also depends on free agency.

By the way Joey Harrington helped himself out of the league. He is a bad example to use.

[gunnar hendershow]

A lot of this talk about the Lions having no line nor QB for decades helps solidify the argument of just how great Barry Sanders was. He didn't need blocking. Though, of course, having blocking might have had him see out the prime of his career and maybe then he would have single-handedly won a Super Bowl in the early 90s.

[naiwf]

Also, the offensive line isn't in the same dire need that our linebackers are. They need improvement but I would be focusing on making our defense elite. If it came down to the draft, I would take the best player available between the three positions I listed as needs. It also depends on free agency.

I don't think you can rely on that strategy to be successful when you gave a rookie QB almost $42 million in guaranteed money just 6 years after you drafted another QB 3rd overall. If Stafford keeps getting hurt, you're going to have to go back and draft ANOTHER QB in the 1st round before his deal expires, and you can't keep doing that without crippling your cap space. It does you no good to have skill position players if you can't get the ball to them because you can't stop the opposing pass rush. You're not going to be able to field the 2000 Ravens, so you may as well try to get help on the O-Line and use the pieces you already have in place before they start to age.

[HailtotheYo]

Because we have neglected the defense just as long. We have practice squad caliber linebackers that can't tackle for shit, which constantly springs the others teams offense for big plays. We haven't had a good linebacker on this team since Stephen Boyd.

You can protect LBs and have them do a good job, just ask the NY Giants and Antonio Pierce about that. You can't hide your OL with coverages and schemes. You can hide mediocre/borderline bad LBs.

Also, the offensive line isn't in the same dire need that our linebackers are. They need improvement but I would be focusing on making our defense elite. If it came down to the draft, I would take the best player available between the three positions I listed as needs. It also depends on free agency.

When the OL has been an issue for 30+years ... yeah it is a dire need.

By the way Joey Harrington helped himself out of the league. He is a bad example to use.

by the way I'm very aware of what Joey Harrington did/did not do ... I'm also aware that his OL made it twice as bad. The kid never stood a chance ... kind of like Stafford doesn't.

[Panni]

So Chad Pennington is getting the start in Miami over Chad Henne this weekend. As a Jet fan who obviously has much disdain for the Dolphins, I still can't help but love Pennington.

I always felt he was such a smart passer that you knew you wouldn't lose a game due to mistakes. He was always good enough to get the Jets in or around the playoffs. However, his lack of arm strength, always held the Jets back from being the best. I remember a funny stat one year where he had the passer rating for 1-10 yard passes, the lowest for 11-20 yard passes, and the highest for 21-up. That was because he would throw one or two bombs a game, but they would be on the money.

That season he debuted everyone was comparing him to Joe Montana. I remember in 2002, Pennington led the Jets to a blow-out win over Manning and the Colts. I was convinced we would get at least one Super Bowl ring with Pennington in charge. Unfortunately, he got hurt and was never the same. Although he is the only two-time Comeback Player of the Year. Either way I'm happy to see him back again and hope he does well yet again. If it wasn't for LT or Vick, I'd be rooting for him to become 3x Comeback Player of the Year!

[Kyle_]

What a game, good to actually see a Falcons game for once.

[Damian WayLNKe]

If the refs gave the Ravens the calls that they gave their opposition, they would be undefeated.

[naiwf]

If the refs gave the Ravens the calls that they gave their opposition, they would be the Steelers.

[buck...]

The reason that Detroit fans arnt as worried about the O line is that they really havent been that bad this year. It has improved by leap and bounds. The run blocking could be better, and I do expect upgrades, but it is far from a top prioity. The lions are 2nd in past attempts at around 42 a game, and have given up 14 sacks on the season. The lions need a better offensive line, yes, but the linebacker postion as a whole and improving the secondary seems more important in my eyes at least.