Detroit Lions

Zylstra missed all of last year with a knee injury in training camp. Haven't seen the terms, but obviously this guy isn't breaking the bank.

Special teamer Jalen Reeves-Maybin has been extended with a two year, $7.5M contract.

So we have an extra $30.6M to spend, but so does every other team. Lions now have ~$65M in cap space. Set aside $15M for the draft rookies and we have $50M to spend.

Extend Goff and St Brown NOW! Then we can chase those free agents who's prices just went up.

The Detroit Lions have fired Dre Bly, defensive backs coach.

The Lions have hired:
Terrell Williams as defensive line coach/defensive run game coordinator
Deshea Townsend as defensive backs coach/defensive pass game coordinator
Jim O'Neil as a defensive assistant

The Lions have released Safety Tracy Walker.
The move frees up $5.5M of cap space.

Whew. Frank is back for another run! Allows us to concentrate more on the defense in the offseason.

OOoooooh! We get him one more year at least. Now work on those 2nd half adjustments.

Heartbreaker! But it was a great season, let's not lose sight of that.

Lions vs 49ers
Levi Stadium
6:30PM start
TV: FOX
Vegas: 49ers are a 7.5 favorite, O/U: 51.5

THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP! Let's bite some kneecaps, boys!

LIONS WIN! LIONS WIN! OMG, LIONS WIN!

Offensive MVP: Jared Goff: 30/43, 287 yards, 2 TD, zero turnovers. Clutch in the 4th quarter. Honorable mention: Frank Ragnow, played hurt all game, got dinged up, but still blocked one of the toughest noseguards in all the league.

Defensive MVP: Brian Branch. 8 tackles, 1 assist, 1 sack. Was all over the field. Honorable mention: Derrick Barns with the game sealing interception.

On to San Francisco to take on the 49ers! Road Trip!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Detroit Lions
Ford Field, 3PM
TV: NBC
Vegas: Lions favored by 6, O/U 49.5

The Divisional Round! The Lions are playing with house money in my eyes. I was hoping for a playoff win to take them seriously, and we have that. But you know, since we're here and playing a team we beat in the regular season, just go for it!

Go LIONS!

LA Rams @ Detroit Lions
Time: 8:15PM
Place: Ford Field
TV: NBC
Vegas: Lions favored by 3. O/U: 52

Remember: It is perfectly OK to cheer Stafford before the game for all he has done for us, then root against him and the Rams. TV and internet is trying to push a ridiculous narrative of Stafford seeking revenge. It's total bullshit. He wanted out as much as we needed a change of direction. The Dude won a Super Bowl with the trade, he is in no way, shape, or form bitter about any of it. Here's to our defensive line getting up close and personal to say hi early and often. We know Stafford won't fold mentally from pressure, but pressure will minimize the passing game and those WRs.

On the other side of the ball, it is a familiar theme. We need to keep Aaron Donald off Jared Goff. We do that consistently and we'll likely win.

Injuries: Kalif Raymond, WR OUT. DPJ will take his place and handle punts.
James Mitchell, TE OUT.
James Houston, LB OUT. John Cominsky, DL Questionable. Participated in practice.
Sam LaPorta, TE Questionable. Participated in practice.
Jameson Williams, Brock Wright, Taylor Decker, and Brian Branch are all listed as Unknown, but all fully participated in practice. I would expect them to play.

Vikings vs Lions
Ford Field
1PM
TV: FOX
Lions favored by 3.5, O/U: 46

Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys
Where: AT&T Stadium, Jerry's World
When: 8:15PM
TV: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 (ManningCast)
Vegas: Cowboys are favored by 5.5

King in the North! King in the North! King in the North! King in the North! King in the North! King in the North! King in the North! King in the North! King in the North! King in the North! King in the North! King in the North! King in the North!

MVPs: I missed most of the game visiting family, only caught bits here and there. You will have to tell me who the offensive and defensive MVPs are.

We're not just going to the playoffs, WE ARE HOSTING A PLAYOFF GAME!

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings
Time: 1pm
At: US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis Minnesota
TV: FOX
Vegas: Lions favored by 3

If we win, we're Kings in da Norf!

Bad news is we are getting the network's C team.

The Detroit Lions Playoff picture: The good news is we are in the driver's seat, and control our own destiny.

With three games remaining, @ Vikings 12/24, @ Cowboys 12/30, hosting Vikings 1/7, if the Lions win ANY of these games they will clinch both a playoff spot and the NFC North.

If we lose out, we would need one of the following to happen:
Titans beat Seahawks - Dec. 24
Giants beat Rams - Dec. 31
Steelers beat Seahawks - Dec. 31
Packers beat Vikings - Dec. 31
Cardinals beat Seahawks - Jan. 7
49ers beat Rams - Jan. 7

Any of that happens, and we're in. We win one of our games, we host a playoff game. I believe there is a scenario where we could lose out and still win the North, but let's win instead and not worry about that.

Lions win, return to form. Good to see them regroup. Positive to see them getting Jamo involved in the intermediate passing game.

Offensive MVP: I'm going with Jared Goff. 24/34, 278yds, 5TDs, 0 turnovers. Steady and an absolute distribution unit. Broncos clearly were trying to take away Sun God and Goff found other targets. Honorable mentions to LaPorta, Gibbs, and St Brown.

Defensive MVP: Alex Anzalone. Like Goff, steady all game long. Tackles, pass breakups, and some quality pressure off blitzes. Honorable mentions to Branch and Paschal.

Broncos at the Lions
Ford Field
8:15PM
TV: NFL Network (I won't be able to watch)
Vegas: Lions are 4.5 point favorites.

It's over. Team is done.

Defense is back to the 1-6 form from last year.
Goff can't help but give the ball up.
Ben Johnson is losing his magic. Yeah, I'm talking shit about Ben. His play calling has been suspect the last couple of games.

This team may not win another game the rest of the way.

Detroit Lions vs Chicago Bears
1pm
At Soldier Field
Vegas: Lions favored by 3

Can the Lions shake off their slump and beat a surging Bears team?

Lions win ugly after blowing a 21 point lead. But no matter how ugly, it counts as a win.

Offensive MVP: Sam LaPorta with a career day, 9 catches for 140 yards and a touchdown. When we needed it, he was there. It was a very St Brown like performance.

Defensive MVP: No one. Blow a 21 point lead and let the Saints bully us all over the field.

Every team goes through a funk during the year, and we're definitely in one. To their credit, we only dropped one game in this funk so far. Goff eliminated the INTs today, but he was still off. Our line can't hold blocks long enough to let Goff go for the longer throws. There were a couple of times late in the game when Jamo was running wide open deep, but Goff had to run for his life. Our running game didn't exactly tear it up either. We find a way to get the O-line cranked back up, and I think we'll be fine. Until then, it's going to be rough.

Our defense is pulling a reverse of last year. They were terrible at the beginning (1-6) then came on in the back end. This year we started strong, but now are in free fall. Hutch didn't sniff the QB all game.

Lions vs Saints 1PM
At Caesar Super Dome
TV: FOX
Vegas: Lions favored by 4.5, O/U 47.5

Green Bay Packers vs Detroit Lions
At Ford Field
12:30pm it is an earlier start, folks.
TV: Fox
Vegas: Lions are a 7.5 point favorite

Lions with the comeback, last minute win!!!

I gotta admit, I thought it was over and a loss. Holy cow, that was a great comeback win.

Offensive MVP: David Montgomery - 76 yards on 12 carries (6.3 ypc) plus a couple of catches. Got the game winning touchdown.

Defensive MVP: Alex Anzalone. 11 tackles with 4 assists. Just steady all game.

Honestly, no one deserves an MVP. We got seriously outplayed for 57 minutes of this game, and the Bears might have had 57 minutes of possession. (It was actually 40m, 24s). But we gutted out a win when we absolutely played like crap on both sides of the ball.

Hutch with the strip-sack for a safety to seal the game, but he's been too quiet for 4 games now. When I watch him run, he looks injured, but he's always run like he's doing the Humpty Dance. So I don't know, but he's been successfully blocked one on one WAY too much.