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Calvin Has Officially Retired

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14515724/calvin-johnson-detroit-lions-says-evaluating-future

Read the little blurb along the right about how much Stafford needs him.

No doubt Calvin retiring would hurt Stafford, but I think his reliance on Calvin has been a bit overplayed. Any time a team has a player the caliber of 81, they are going to give him the ball the majority of the time, just part of utilizing talent.

Megatron leaving will hurt Stafford (it will hurt the entire offense), there is zero argument otherwise, I just dont think it will be as big of a drop off as some claim.
 
I do. I don't know who is going to step up on this offense. Ebron? He hasn't shown anything of note yet.

Tate? He's a real good #2 option that is awesome when the attention is elsewhere. Do you think he can handle the workload himself? I don't know.
 
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I do. I don't know who is going to step up on this offense. Ebron? He hasn't shown anything of note yet.

Tate? He's a real good #2 option that is awesome when the attention is elsewhere. Do you think he can handle the workload himself? I don't know.

Well, I guess I am assuming they can get a talented WR to compliment Tate in the draft or via free agency. If you just remove Megatron from the team, and do zero to replace him then ya thats a huge blow, and the offense would look very different (aka bad)...but I also think the same could be said about any team and any QB (not named Patriots/Tom Brady). Look at what happened to Aaron Rodgers when Nelson went down for the year, he struggled more than he ever has in his career.
 
You wont be able to replace Megatron ever...hes a once a generation guy. But I'm hoping they can draft a speedster to stretch the field, or a big strong WR to help in the red zone. Finding someone to do both (like Calvin has done his entire career) most likely is not possible, so they will need to figure out some other way to replace his production.
 
Ehhh, I don't know how much Rodgers struggled lol. For him it's a bad year, but the dude still threw for 31 td/8 INT and had a 90+ passer rating. He can work with what he has. I don't think Stafford has that same ability.
 
The one good thing, is last year when Calvin was out, Tate stepped up. Who knows it might help Stafford.

I think with Matt we need to continue to simplify the offense and limit what he needs to do. Get him another quick WR, the shorter the routes, the better for the Lions. No question Stafford's accuracy drops off a cliff once you ask him to throw more than 10 yards, plus interceptions go way up. Bring on the 5'11" quick speed guys.
 
Just to point out... nowhere has he actually said retirement.

Ownership may have already told him that it's restructure or be cut, and he's "mulling" the options for his future.

I'm just saying that based on his actual comments, assuming retirement is understandable, but it's not the only thing he could have been referring to.
 
Saw this on a twitter while googling Johnson...not sure if it's true, but damn that hurts:

If this is it for Calvin Johnson, Lions only won 6 more games than #Raiders in 9 seasons after Oak took Jamarcus over Megatron
 
Just to point out... nowhere has he actually said retirement.

Ownership may have already told him that it's restructure or be cut, and he's "mulling" the options for his future.

I'm just saying that based on his actual comments, assuming retirement is understandable, but it's not the only thing he could have been referring to.

Outside of demanding a trade/sitting out there really isn't much else he can do.
 
So it's Calvin and then Pettigrew? That's sad.

Well, it sort of 'makes sense' in that both Pettigrew and Stafford came into the league in '09, so hes had 6 years of targets thrown his way.

Outside of Tate, the Lions have never had a solid #2 guy for more than 1 year or so. Since Tate arrived, they have basically been 1A/1B type recievers, and then a HUGE drop off. Before Tate, you had about 3 or 4 guys who had OK numbers, but only Calvin produced consistently.

2014/2015:
Johnson: 275 Targets/158 Rec/2270 yards/17 TD
Tate: 264 Targets/185 Rec/2100 yards/10 TD


In fact, since Stafford/Pettigrew entered the league in 09, Tate (in 2 years) is already 3rd on Staffords list, slightly behind Pettigrew. That should tell you how poor Mayhew was at finding a #2 receiver damn near his entire tenure as Lions GM.


2009-Present:
Johnson (6 yrs): 900/512/8140/56
Pettigrew (6 yrs): 370/230/2210/15
Tate (2 yrs): 264/185/2100/10
 
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Just to point out... nowhere has he actually said retirement.

Ownership may have already told him that it's restructure or be cut, and he's "mulling" the options for his future.

I'm just saying that based on his actual comments, assuming retirement is understandable, but it's not the only thing he could have been referring to.

this is true...but aren't those types of conversations you would have with a GM in place? To me this sounds like it is coming from Calvin...not management.
 
Read between the lines. He's asking for a trade or to be released, if not, he may retire. The guy is tired of LOSING!

And I don't blame him!
 
Why do I feel his agent might be involved in Calvin's post season "assessment?"
 
Read between the lines. He's asking for a trade or to be released, if not, he may retire. The guy is tired of LOSING!

And I don't blame him!

I don't think he's doing that at all. Personally I think he'll play one more year and retire. His name has been on the injury list every game since about his second season. That's why he would end it.
 
Maybe just talk but they don't seem surprised..

Corey Fuller, Johnson’s teammate for the last three years, said he was not surprised by Johnson’s announcement, which came as a shock to many fans.

“I think that’s just a personal decision for him and his family,” Fuller said. “He’s done a lot in his career, so if he feels it’s time for him – he’s gone through a lot, too. His body is beat up. Of course he wants to be able to run around and play with his kids.”
For those reasons, several of Johnson’s current and former teammates said they believe he is serious about retirement.
 
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Read between the lines. He's asking for a trade or to be released, if not, he may retire. The guy is tired of LOSING!

And I don't blame him!

Nate Burleson just threw your opinion in the garbage.
 
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