How Competitive Will Lions be in 2021?

[LKP]

Saw this question on another site. Thought I would ask here

If, health of course, like top 10 health in league
Goff plays like 2017/2018 (pre Super Bowl or when Patricia figured him out)
Swift plays like 2020 only with more touches or becomes a Kamara
Hock plays like 2020 with a few more targets and better blocks
Decker and Ragnow play like 2020, maybe slight increase
Jackson takes a small step improve at LG
Crosby is solid or day 2 rookie OT plays solid early
Vaitai plays like he did in Philly days
Tyrell Williams plays like Raiders pre injury days
Perriman plays like 2019
Find a good slot WR in draft (pick 7 or day 2)


If
Flowers plays like Patriot days or 2019 (sans first 4 games)
Hand plays like 2018 and finally stays heatlhy at least 12 games
Nick Williams 2019
Okwara 2020
Brockers normal self
J Okwara stays healthy and shows us why many consider him a 1st round talent
Collins Patriots days or even 2020 was solid but up and down
Anzalone stays healthy (tough for him)
Add an impact LB in the draft (pick 7 or day 2)
Okudah takes a big step improved with health and new scheme
AO takes a decent step improved
Marlowe plays like he did in Buffalo with more snaps
Walker 2018/2019 returns
Dunbar 2019
Add day 2 safety

Then we can be competitive. But I think that still means 7-10 with a couple close losses/refs doing refs things against Lions. Way worse if injury bug hits.

NFC West 1-3, NFC North 1-5 (gettings swept by Vikings and Packers), AFC North 2-2
Beat Broncos, Eagles and Falcons

 

[Mitchrapp]

That's a lot of ifs. Lol.

 

[detroit1811]

Saw this question on another site. Thought I would ask here

If, health of course, like top 10 health in league
Goff plays like 2017/2018 (pre Super Bowl or when Patricia figured him out)
Swift plays like 2020 only with more touches or becomes a Kamara
Hock plays like 2020 with a few more targets and better blocks
Decker and Ragnow play like 2020, maybe slight increase
Jackson takes a small step improve at LG
Crosby is solid or day 2 rookie OT plays solid early
Vaitai plays like he did in Philly days
Tyrell Williams plays like Raiders pre injury days
Perriman plays like 2019
Find a good slot WR in draft (pick 7 or day 2)


If
Flowers plays like Patriot days or 2019 (sans first 4 games)
Hand plays like 2018 and finally stays heatlhy at least 12 games
Nick Williams 2019
Okwara 2020
Brockers normal self
J Okwara stays healthy and shows us why many consider him a 1st round talent
Collins Patriots days or even 2020 was solid but up and down
Anzalone stays healthy (tough for him)
Add an impact LB in the draft (pick 7 or day 2)
Okudah takes a big step improved with health and new scheme
AO takes a decent step improved
Marlowe plays like he did in Buffalo with more snaps
Walker 2018/2019 returns
Dunbar 2019
Add day 2 safety

Then we can be competitive. But I think that still means 7-10 with a couple close losses/refs doing refs things against Lions. Way worse if injury bug hits.

NFC West 1-3, NFC North 1-5 (gettings swept by Vikings and Packers), AFC North 2-2
Beat Broncos, Eagles and Falcons

That's a lot of ifs. Lol.

That's what I thought. If fairness you don't need quite a few IF's there. I think you expect good players to stay playing good assuming no other major variables. Hank Fraley is backas O-Line coach , I would expect Decker, and Ragnow to still play very well and Jackson to take that natural next step since he is no longer a rookie. Same with Swift and Hockenson.

I think Goff is the main factor in whether this offense is good or not.

On defense we have tons of IF's, no getting around that.

 

[LKP]

That's what I thought. If fairness you don't need quite a few IF's there. I think you expect good players to stay playing good assuming no other major variables. Hank Fraley is backas O-Line coach , I would expect Decker, and Ragnow to still play very well and Jackson to take that natural next step since he is no longer a rookie. Same with Swift and Hockenson.

I think Goff is the main factor in whether this offense is good or not.

On defense we have tons of IF's, no getting around that.

Agreed lots of ifs on defense. It does show alot of defensive players have done well in past. They need to reach their potential they already showed. Or in Okudahs case, reach his talent level to match his production.

And not every IF has to come true for defensive improvement. Like 75% could and the defense could be average.

But even with all those IFs, I still had a 7-10 record due to tough schedule. Not enough game changers yet on the team. Coaching would have to be amazing plus many good/solid players.

 

[mhughes0021]

The WRs are on cheap 1 year deals for a reason...they arent very good. And have NEVER been consistently good. The offense is in serious trouble if we cant find a way to become more balanced. Every year we have this plan that were going to rnu more and be balanced....then stafford would sling it 40 times a game. If that happens with Goff were toast....he'll lead the league in INTs.

Defense is terrible.

Being cautiously pessimistic has never steered me wrong being a lions fan. 3 wins. Anymore ill be pleasantly surprised.

 

[LKP]

The WRs are on cheap 1 year deals for a reason...they arent very good. And have NEVER been consistently good. The offense is in serious trouble if we cant find a way to become more balanced. Every year we have this plan that were going to rnu more and be balanced....then stafford would sling it 40 times a game. If that happens with Goff were toast....he'll lead the league in INTs.

Defense is terrible.

Being cautiously pessimistic has never steered me wrong being a lions fan. 3 wins. Anymore ill be pleasantly surprised.

Williams has several solid seasons. He can have a good season. His problem is injuries not production/talent. Perriman was just the one year really under Randle El as his WR coach. So hope he can tap that potential again. And they will draft a WR at 7 or day 2. So it's not a finished product yet but that rookie will have some bumps in the road too.

Agree they need to run the ball really well. Swift becoming a Kamara would be a dream come true.

Sewell or Slater would do wonders too. Will they be a run first team and take the tackle or will they add a weapon or defense. Or can they get all 3 with Holmes hitting on day 2 as well as pick 7.

Contract year can also be a good thing. Some players just tend to do better in those years and are hungrier. It's how it is unfortunately

 

[detroit1811]

Agreed lots of ifs on defense. It does show alot of defensive players have done well in past. They need to reach their potential they already showed. Or in Okudahs case, reach his talent level to match his production.

And not every IF has to come true for defensive improvement. Like 75% could and the defense could be average.

But even with all those IFs, I still had a 7-10 record due to tough schedule. Not enough game changers yet on the team. Coaching would have to be amazing plus many good/solid players.

There is a very small margin between teams in the 5-27. You have your select teams at the top of the food chain and the few that are clearly at the bottom. Doesn't take that much to go from 22 to 12. Read the other day we were three plays away from the PLAYOFFS last year.

The D?Andre Swift dropped TD
The Marvin Jones no TD vs. the Vikings
The Hail Murray

The Lions, Bears, and Cardinals would?ve all been 7-9. Lions win the tiebreaker and make the playoffs.

That team with one of the worst defenses in history. That team with what might go down as the worst Lions HC in team history and one of the worst defensive staffs ever assembled. THAT team really wasn't that far from nabbing the final wild card spot. If Goff can play well it isn't that far fetched that this years team will be better then last years. A few lucky bounces can make the difference between 5-12 and 9-8.

I personally think this is looking like a 5-6 win team in 2021. We will see if the draft and the whatever else is done over the rest of the off-season changes that. We still have a lot of cap space left to use if we want to add a few players like Jadeveon Clowney, Richard Sherman, Mitchel Schwartz, Trai Turner, KJ Wright, Melvin Ingram, Alejandro Villanueva, Aldon Smith, Brian Poole, Steven Nelson, Casey Hayward, and Justin Houston.

I would feel much better if we added Steven Nelson, Mitchell Schwartz, and KJ Wright. Throw is JaMar Chase/Jabril Cox/Richie Grant/D'Wayne Eskridge and we would have added a lot of nice pieces for this upcoming season. The question becomes how much do they still want to invest in free agents for this upcoming season.

 

[detroit1811]

The WRs are on cheap 1 year deals for a reason...they arent very good. And have NEVER been consistently good. The offense is in serious trouble if we cant find a way to become more balanced. Every year we have this plan that were going to rnu more and be balanced....then stafford would sling it 40 times a game. If that happens with Goff were toast....he'll lead the league in INTs.

Defense is terrible.

Being cautiously pessimistic has never steered me wrong being a lions fan. 3 wins. Anymore ill be pleasantly surprised.

Williams consistently produced throughout his career on limited targets. He averaged 750 yards a year from 2016-2019. Only year he didn't produce was his rookie year which he barely played and last year which he didn't play a snap. The one year he received over 100 targets he cleared over 1,000 yards.

Williams is a proven WR who should do very well as our #2 IF he stays healthy. Perriman is a shot in the dark, but as long as he isn't being relied on as more then a #3 I think we are okay with him.

 

[LKP]

There is a very small margin between teams in the 5-27. You have your select teams at the top of the food chain and the few that are clearly at the bottom. Doesn't take that much to go from 22 to 12. Read the other day we were three plays away from the PLAYOFFS last year.

The D?Andre Swift dropped TD
The Marvin Jones no TD vs. the Vikings
The Hail Murray

The Lions, Bears, and Cardinals would?ve all been 7-9. Lions win the tiebreaker and make the playoffs.

That team with one of the worst defenses in history. That team with what might go down as the worst Lions HC in team history and one of the worst defensive staffs ever assembled. THAT team really wasn't that far from nabbing the final wild card spot. If Goff can play well it isn't that far fetched that this years team will be better then last years. A few lucky bounces can make the difference between 5-12 and 9-8.

I personally think this is looking like a 5-6 win team in 2021. We will see if the draft and the whatever else is done over the rest of the off-season changes that. We still have a lot of cap space left to use if we want to add a few players like Jadeveon Clowney, Richard Sherman, Mitchel Schwartz, Trai Turner, KJ Wright, Melvin Ingram, Alejandro Villanueva, Aldon Smith, Brian Poole, Steven Nelson, Casey Hayward, and Justin Houston.

I would feel much better if we added Steven Nelson, Mitchell Schwartz, and KJ Wright. Throw is JaMar Chase/Jabril Cox/Richie Grant/D'Wayne Eskridge and we would have added a lot of nice pieces for this upcoming season. The question becomes how much do they still want to invest in free agents for this upcoming season.

NFC has 5 good teams in 2020 and the rest were a mess. Bears and WFT just happened to make the playoffs and were shit because of QB issues. WFT QB issues also and need some more weapons. And yes we really beat them twice. I think the Vikings will be back in a big way. They have a good offense, need a LT but the defense was super banged up. Hunter, Barr, Kendricks, Michael Pierce all return plus they add Patrick Peterson and Dalvin Tomlinson. They will be a force this year.

I think they are waiting until after draft, maybe after June 1 to add FAs. So wouldn't hurt the comp picks. All teams basically stopped adding free agents right now. Richard Sherman mentioned that the other day.

Agree 5-6 wins right now with 7-10 at best even with all my IFs. But a stud draft where like 3-4 players are good right away (maybe 2 game changers) could change things quicker. Plus winning some close games.

That said the schedule is brutal. So could be competitive within the games but still only win 5-7 games or worse.

 

[Mitchrapp]

The Lions, Bears, and Cardinals would?ve all been 7-9. Lions win the tiebreaker and make the playoffs.

And? We need to win divisions, playoff games and compete for a SB. Everyone seems content with just making the playoffs.

 

[LKP]

And? We need to win divisions, playoff games and compete for a SB. Everyone seems content with just making the playoffs.

He wasn't saying he was content. Just saying the margin is thin between top 10 pick and playoff team. Playoff team doesn't have much meaning these days. It used to have a little more meaning that you were a solid/good team.

Consistent playoff team and then start winning games to be a good to great team.

 

[tomdalton22]

There is a very small margin between teams in the 5-27. You have your select teams at the top of the food chain and the few that are clearly at the bottom. Doesn't take that much to go from 22 to 12. Read the other day we were three plays away from the PLAYOFFS last year.

The D?Andre Swift dropped TD
The Marvin Jones no TD vs. the Vikings
The Hail Murray

The Lions, Bears, and Cardinals would?ve all been 7-9. Lions win the tiebreaker and make the playoffs.

That team with one of the worst defenses in history. That team with what might go down as the worst Lions HC in team history and one of the worst defensive staffs ever assembled. THAT team really wasn't that far from nabbing the final wild card spot. If Goff can play well it isn't that far fetched that this years team will be better then last years. A few lucky bounces can make the difference between 5-12 and 9-8.

I personally think this is looking like a 5-6 win team in 2021. We will see if the draft and the whatever else is done over the rest of the off-season changes that. We still have a lot of cap space left to use if we want to add a few players like Jadeveon Clowney, Richard Sherman, Mitchel Schwartz, Trai Turner, KJ Wright, Melvin Ingram, Alejandro Villanueva, Aldon Smith, Brian Poole, Steven Nelson, Casey Hayward, and Justin Houston.

I would feel much better if we added Steven Nelson, Mitchell Schwartz, and KJ Wright. Throw is JaMar Chase/Jabril Cox/Richie Grant/D'Wayne Eskridge and we would have added a lot of nice pieces for this upcoming season. The question becomes how much do they still want to invest in free agents for this upcoming season.

they were only a few plays from having the #3 or #2 pick as well. How nice would it have been to get that Trade from the 49ers. Picking 12th, have the picks from the Stafford trade and the 49ers picks over the next 2 drafts. 3 first round picks 2 years in a row.

 

[mhughes0021]

Williams consistently produced throughout his career on limited targets. He averaged 750 yards a year from 2016-2019. Only year he didn't produce was his rookie year which he barely played and last year which he didn't play a snap. The one year he received over 100 targets he cleared over 1,000 yards.

Williams is a proven WR who should do very well as our #2 IF he stays healthy. Perriman is a shot in the dark, but as long as he isn't being relied on as more then a #3 I think we are okay with him.

But now he may be asked to produce like a #1. Hes never done that. We're asking him to do something hes never done with Jared Goff and no run game.

Good luck...

 

[Mitchrapp]

He wasn't saying he was content. Just saying the margin is thin between top 10 pick and playoff team. Playoff team doesn't have much meaning these days. It used to have a little more meaning that you were a solid/good team.

Consistent playoff team and then start winning games to be a good to great team.

Sounded like that to me. Apologize if it wasn't but ownership down it seems down it seems like we're just happy to be playoff competitive.

 

[detroit1811]

But now he may be asked to produce like a #1. Hes never done that. We're asking him to do something hes never done with Jared Goff and no run game.

Good luck...

I think he has proven before he is overmatched in that situation. I think he profiles very similarly to what he just lost in Marvin Jones. Jones could step up for 4-5 games and be a solid #1, but when asked to do it for longer periods he tended to disappear. Thankfully I think Hockenson is our true #1 this year regardless of whether we draft a WR at #7 or not. This offense should flow through him. I also believe Swift is going to catch a lot of balls this year.

 

[zyxt9]

The thing we often lose sight of when thinking about how much better the Lions will be next year is that all of the Lions opponents will be better teams as well due to their FAs and Draft.

Detroit has to improve at a higher rate than the other teams. I am not sure that is happening. I am thinking the opposite is more likely and they have a top 5 pick next year.

 

[zyxt9]

An equally important question is how competitive will the Rams be in 2021. Will the Lions luck out and the Rams will implode, resulting in a top 15 pick from the Rams? With Stafford's injury history, could the Rams completely collapse and Lions get a top 10 pick?

Could the Lions have their first pick in the top 5 and a second pick in the top 10?

 

[boogerlovejoy]

The thing we often lose sight of when thinking about how much better the Lions will be next year is that all of the Lions opponents will be better teams as well due to their FAs and Draft.

Detroit has to improve at a higher rate than the other teams. I am not sure that is happening. I am thinking the opposite is more likely and they have a top 5 pick next year.

How can every team get better?

 

[boogerlovejoy]

An equally important question is how competitive will the Rams be in 2021. Will the Lions luck out and the Rams will implode, resulting in a top 15 pick from the Rams? With Stafford's injury history, could the Rams completely collapse and Lions get a top 10 pick?

Could the Lions have their first pick in the top 5 and a second pick in the top 10?

I wish Stafford all the best.....I think he got a bad deal getting drafted here.

That being said.....anything that gets us a better pick is OK with me.

 

[mhughes0021]

I wish Stafford all the best.....I think he got a bad deal getting drafted here.

That being said.....anything that gets us a better pick is OK with me.

How many more people does Aaron Donald need to beat up before he gets suspended? 2 or 3?...lets root for that.