2023 Detroit Lions

[401don]

This team will learn from their mistakes and will probably go all the way next year. Dan Campbell will probably not take risks in the 4th down as he had done this season. Defense will tighten things up. Goff will improve at scrambling. This will be a more experience team next season

Or......like the 2011 Tigers they blew their chance and don't see the playoffs for the next 10 years. It's sports. You can't count on the future so you don't blow your chance when the game is in your lap.

[401don]

Yep. Those 3 points would have been nice to have at the end of that game. Overtime is a better chance to win than a offsides kick

Not sure if Campbell has zero faith in his kicker or his defense. Either way, turning away chances at a 3 score lead against a team like San Fran in that big of game is just nuts.

[jcole]

It was a heartbreaker but we could second guess Campbell all day over his choices. Those choices are what got us as far as we got

[mkhopper]

It was a heartbreaker but we could second guess Campbell all day over his choices. Those choices are what got us as far as we got

Exactly. He's gone for it on 4th down more than any other team and it paid off well enough to get the wins that got the team this far.

It was obvious that SF made better adjustments at halftime to come out and take over the game the way they did. I also think that some of the Detroit players may have been looking to Las Vegas a bit early, started pressing and became sloppy. No matter how hard the coaches come out and say to their team, 'this is just another game', it's hard to shut down those emotions.

This was a heartbreaker for sure, for the team, the fans and the city, but in this instance, I like to look at the Wings back in '95, getting swept in the finals by NJ. They made some changes and came back hungry for the next season and look what happened.

I'm positive that the same will happen with the Lions. I don't think at all that this was a one-off good year. This team is being built to dominate in the future and in a way, it was good that this happened. Take this loss as a learning lesson and use it to feed the next seasons.

[Lowell]

Memo to Lions GM Brad Holmes. No. 1 on your shopping list. Get a place kicker that your coach has confidence in at 50+ yards.

[softailrider]

It was a heartbreaker but we could second guess Campbell all day over his choices. Those choices are what got us as far as we got

That’s is very true but the 3rd quarter of the title game to take you to the Super Bowl is a totally different situation. That 43 yard field goal would have brought them back to a 17 point lead. They would still have been in command - that 4th down stop turned the game around 180 degrees. It was a shockingly horrible call.

[stasu1213]

Memo to Lions GM Brad Holmes. No. 1 on your shopping list. Get a place kicker that your coach has confidence in at 50+ yards.

Memo to GM Brad Holmes. No. 1 on your to do list. Convince your head coach to trust in his place kicker.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Or......like the 2011 Tigers they blew their chance and don't see the playoffs for the next 10 years. It's sports. You can't count on the future so you don't blow your chance when the game is in your lap.

You're correct. They are going to lose players to FAgency, Ben Johnson and or Aaron Glenn are likely gone, they've got to re-sign Goff, Amon-Ra, and others to extensions, and possible injuries to key players. There are a lot of variables at play that will change this team. Their division will be improved as well. You have to capitalize on your opportunities when they're there. No guarantees they get back to the NFC title game.

[Lowell]

Interesting upbeat post I came across. He might have a future as a coach.

Wow. Star Detroit Lions Aidan Hutchinson — who can really write — posted this after last night’s loss:

“You won’t find tears in Detroit. If you want excuses, you won’t hear them coming from Ford Field. As hard as today’s loss was, it is not a definition of the Detroit Lions culture. It’s a testament to how far we have come and how far we can go.

“A city born in steel, diesel, and blood will not let a moment like this hold them back. In a city like this, in a culture like this, you learn that failure is just an opportunity to improve. A moment that Michigan men don’t shy away from. You take a look at those college boys down the road, it took them a couple trips to hell & disappointment, all to bring glory back to Michigan.

“Greatness is a journey — not a light switch, and it may take a few more days in the dark to see the light, but the Lions will get there. Together, we will Restore The Roar.

Romans 5:3-4 says: "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame."

[slick]

There was a few tough bounces in this one. You could watch 500 50 yard completions and not one of them would hit the defender square in the face mask and bounce up in the air for a completed catch dang it.

Curse of Bobby Lane ?

OR

Campbell's Gamble?

Wait till next year!

[CassTechGrad]

[softailrider]

You can laugh about that guy all you want. The won a playoff game with him - I'll bet he would have kicked the damm FG in the 3rd quarter.

[Henry Whalley]

...It’s a testament to how far we have come and how far we can go.

Agreed, I've no complaints about the season. But it's worth noting that later in the epistle Paul tells the Romans that Jesus would have kicked the field goal.

"Yeah, brethren I say thou shalt know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em..."

https://64.media.tumblr.com/4692dd66...29e2556ae1.jpg

[ABetterDetroit]

Looks like the band is staying together…

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...obs-stay-lions

[401don]

^^^
It's contingent on having control of 4th down calls.

[Hypestyles]

draft more defensive players. I saw guys bouncing off runners in that game.. ah well..
converting on plays is a must.. for a more consistent team, the 4th and go for it strategy might have worked.. but the Lions are always consistently inconsistent. Sheesh.

Ford Field should host an alternative to the Super Bowl on February 11th.
bring in local bands, singers, comedians. Have modestly priced tickets. flat $10 or something. Limit to six per order.

[Henry Whalley]

NFL Approves Major Changes To Kickoff Rules [[theonion.com)

[401don]

NFL Approves Major Changes To Kickoff Rules [[theonion.com)

Can you please stop posting this onion garbage? We're all capable of making up our own stupid stuff if we're so inclined.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Looks like Holmes is done with free agency, unless he makes a fringe signing. He lost Josh Reynolds to the Broncos, so I suspect he drafts another WR.