September 4, 2025 • 17 mins
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press joins the show to talk Lions and the NFL, from a potential comeback campaign from Marcus Davenport, the impact of Micah Parsons on the NFC North, the job security lock of Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell, and much more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:14):
Thirty five after the hour, Welcome Back Exues and Bros.
Throughout the state of Michigan every Monday through Friday, six
until nine. There's a part of me that feels bad
for a lot of Lions beat writers, especially Dave Briquet,
because he is constantly being tugged at, please can you
join us? Can you talk Lions? He's kind enough to
pick up the phone today and do it with us
here on Exues and Bros. On a Tullymore Thursday. Dave
(00:36):
appreciate it very much. I know your time is valuable,
and man, you've got to be just almost at wits
end because all people are doing is asking you about
the Lions. So I appreciate the time very much. When
you see this team put together in Dan Campbell and
Brad Holmes saying it's the best roster they've assembled since
they've been together, why do you think they are convinced
(00:57):
of that?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
My first instinct when Brad said that the other day was, well,
you only kept fifty guys, so that can't be the
case if you didn't have three guys as you felt
worthy of making the team. But no, look, I think
you know the roster is clearly one of the handful
of best in the NFL, and you know the reason being,
like the playmakers at every level at every position. You know,
(01:21):
they have top line players at virtually every position on
the field and decent depth at most of those spots.
I mean, you look at the linebacking corps, right it's
it's Jack Campbell, who's in a you know, I think
an emerging player. Alex ads has only been good for
a long time. Derek Barnes, Grant Stewart, it was a
(01:42):
really good freeze and signing for them. And Malcolm Rodriguez
who was a starter as a rookie and is coming,
you know, back from a thorn. Acl will be ready midseason.
So there are a few teams I think that have
depth like that at not just linebacker, but running back,
at receiver, at some of the spots where we look
at and we say, man is Isaac Tesla, Where's he
(02:03):
going to play? How's he going to fit into the rotation? Well,
given the camp that he had, he might be a
starter on some teams, and he's the number four receiver
for the Lions right now.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Dave bri Kettle the Detroit Free Press joined us on
the Lindsay Hunter Foundation guest line. You can fall him
on Twitter. I know you do already. Ed Dave Burkette,
what's the biggest concern you feel this team should have
this season.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
It's still the interior offensive line to me, and you
know it's it's not a slight on those players. I
think all the players are good players. Christian mahag and
either new starting left guard, Tate Ratley's the rookie starter
at right guard. You know, Braham Glaska moving over to center.
But the reality is this team has been really good
(02:46):
offensively for a couple of years now because that offensive
line was one of the best in the NFL. And
you know, as they're currently constructed and given they haven't played,
you know, any snaps together, I don't know that anyone
would say they're one of the best in THEFL. Maybe
they still have that potential. You know, they've got an
elite right tackle and a pretty good left tackle, but
(03:06):
the need to protect Jared Goff, the reliance on the
offensive line to get this running game going and unlock
the explosive plays, of the explosive ability they have on offense,
I think there are still some concerns about that offensive
line heading into the season.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
I think the two are the two parts of the
Lions whole situation that has been not necessarily overblown because
I think they're important, but I think you're tired of it,
and so am I is the loss of two coordinators
and the Zadarius Smith saga. How do you deal with
both of those when people are constantly asking you about it?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Well, I think the coordinators, you know, that's real. I mean,
you know, you lose somebody like Ben Johnson and even
Aaron Glenn. You know, those are well respected coaches in
the league, and it's going to be a little bit
of change, even if a lot out of the playbook
is the same on both sides of the ball. So
I think that's something tangible that you know, could impact
(04:07):
the Lions, especially early in the season. You know, the
Zadarius Smith thing, I think it's more about the depth
or lack of death at the edge rush position than
it is not having Zadarius Smith. You know, Zadarius was
he was a rental when they got him, even though
he had a year left on his contract. You know,
he you know, the Lions are We're not We're never
(04:30):
going to count on him to start with Aiden Hutchinson
and Marcus Davenport there, and you know the way they
play that big end position. You know, I don't know
that Zadarius was the exact fit that they needed there.
So you're talking about maybe a designated pass rusher and
missing out on him and what was he going to
play twenty snaps of game? So I don't know that
(04:51):
Zadarius's absences is going to tangibly impact this season. But
I do think that they are still a little bit
sin at the defensive ends, and maybe that's a spot
that you know, we keep an eye on down the road.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
What have you seen from Marcus Davenport that's left you encouraged?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah, you know, I'll tell you this. I remember talking
to some guys last year just on the doing a
story early in the season ship about, you know, every
defensive lineman their favorite pass rush moves sort of how
they developed it. And I was talking to the defensive
guys this was before he got hurt and even some
of the offensive tackles, and there were two or three
(05:29):
linemen on the Lions team that said, Marcus Davenport is
as powerful a player as there is in the NFL.
Like his bull rush is just it's something that you
can't get used to, and I think we've we've seen
flashes of that this summer. You know, he only played
two games last year for the Lions, and he's never
had ten sacks in the season. I don't think so.
(05:49):
You know, it's not like you're expecting him to come
in and be a fifteen sack of year guy. But
the power that he plays with at the defensive end
spot opposite Aiden Hutchinson, he can be a force in
the run game. He can help Aiden and the rest
of that defensive line brack up some sacks. The big
question is going to be the health, and there's no
telling if that holds up for seventeen games. But I
(06:11):
do think he's a pretty good player when he's on
the field.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Why are more people, do you think, jumping on the
Green Bay and some Chicago bandwagon and doubting the Lions.
I am so tired of hearing about windows. I think
windows are a jerk, I really do. I think They're
an absolute farce. Where's the window with Kansas City? Where
was the window in New England and Indianapolis and Green
Bay and all the San Francisco Dallas's been They're not
(06:36):
windows for teams. There's windows for players. Good teams supplement
the loss of good players, and I believe Brad Holmes
can do that. When you see and hear about this,
does it surprise you? First and foremost and second of all,
why do you think people are feeling like Detroit has
missed their prime opportunity to win a Super Bowl?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Well? Look, I guess I would quivvalle with the window
thing a little bit because you know, Patrick mahomes elite
Hall of Fame quarterback, Tom Brady. You mentioned New England,
you know, elite Hall of Fame or Peyton Manning. So
I think when you have one of those guys, it's
like Joe Burrow said, you know, the window is as
long as I'm playing, you know. And I don't know
that Jared Goff is as well as he's played. I
don't know that he's you know, in that category that
(07:20):
you can say that. But I do believe I agree
with you sef that you know, the way that Brad
has built this thing would give me And this is
part of the reason I've you know, I if I
was running the team, I might be a little more
all in on some moves because the way that Brad
has built this through the draft. As good as he
is as a talent evaluator, I think he could do
it again. You know, you give him high fix, like
(07:41):
he's going to make the most of him, and that's
that's how good Brett Holmes is. So look, I don't
buy that the Lions window is closed, but I understand that.
You know, in the NFL, you only have so many
opportunities to win championships, and when you're red hot, like
the Lions weren't too twenty twenty two down the stretch
and just missed the playoffs because you started the season
(08:03):
so bad, and then you go to the NFC Championship
game and you come a half away from winning that thing.
You know, a couple of bad plays and you're going
to Vegas. It's not for those. And then last year
winning fifteen and watching it fall apart with the injuries.
You know, I get why people say, man, we've had
a couple shots of this thing and it hasn't come
through yet. And oftentimes you do see teams slip. But yeah,
(08:27):
I think the Lions roster is still complete enough and
good enough that they are still well within their window
to win a Super.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Bowl here Dave Brikett Free Pros joining us here on
exis and bros on the Lindsay Hunter Foundation guest Line
fam on Twitter. Ed Dave Burkett, what do you expect
when you go to Green Bay on Sunday? And a
really good early season matchup between these two teams.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Might be the game of the week. I mean, it's
you know, it really is an excellent, you know game
to start the season here. And look, I say, you
know everyone's going to be watching Michah Parsons right and
how the Packers use him, and naturally you know what
that means for their defense. I don't know that we're
going to get the full Micah Parsons experience, just because
(09:12):
you know, he's new to Green Bay and he wasn't
doing anything all preseason. But yeah, I'm I'm anxious to
see what that does to green Based defense. You know,
that's a that's a unit that last year you know
they won with with four. You know, they dropped seven
into coverage and they rushed for and Micah shouldn't help that.
You know, he's a he's an elite pass rusher. So
(09:33):
I think this is I think these are the two
best teams in the NFC North. I don't know that
I'd read anything into who wins or loses in that team,
being the you know the team, there's a long you know,
there's a lot of season left, but I do expect
a really good entertaining game.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
What will it take to win the North? Do you
think because they're not winning fifteen games, right, they're not
going undefeated on the road, and they're not going undefeated
in the division, you wouldn't think anyway will it be?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
No, I'm with you there. I think you know, eleven
might get it done. I mean, everybody talks about the
Lions schedule being so difficult, and you know, at virtually
everyone else in the division has to play a similar schedule.
I mean they all play the you know, the AFC
North with you know, Baltimore and Cincinnati and those teams,
and they're all playing the nc SO with Philadelphia and Washington.
(10:24):
So there's no cake walks for anyone, you know. From
the Lions standpoint, I think it's a matter of chip.
You mentioned, you know, the coordinators. I talked about the
offensive line earlier, like those really are the two biggest
concerns for this team and for the Lions to get
to that eleven or maybe twelve just to feel safe.
(10:44):
I think it's the quicker they can solve whatever problems
pop up at those two spots. The the you know,
the the easier it will be for them to get
to that eleven or twelve win mark. Right if they
if that offensive line is an issue here in week
one or two and they get it solved by week four,
great for the Lions. They're going to go and win
a lot of games. If it takes into mid season
(11:05):
to get it solved, that might be enough that you know,
gives Green Bay or Minnesota and opening to win the division.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
What team do you think will be the biggest surprise
in which team will be the biggest disappointment this year.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Across the league? Yes, let's see biggest disappointment. Let's start there.
You know, I'm a little bit I guess I picked
Washington to make the playoffs. But I know some people
just based on you know, Jake Daniels, the amazing murky
(11:39):
season that he had, kind of some of the moves
that they made this offseason, you know, some people are
thinking that they could rise up and be the Kaream
of the the NFC. I don't really see it. I
think there's going to be sort of a natural step
back because we see with a lot of year or
two quarterbacks, and so while I think Washington's going to
make the playoffs, I think they're they're much closer to
(11:59):
be in a ten win team that maybe has to
you know, scrape their way in if they're going to
get there. And then, you know, uh, trying to think
of my other playoff picks for the most pleasant surprise, Well,
you know, I'll say this, it could be a team
that's uh, you know, you look at some of these
divisions that don't have a lot right the NFC South
(12:21):
where everybody thinks Tampa Bay is the team to beat,
and I'm included in that group, you know. I think
a team like Carolina with Bryce Young, or a team
like the New England Patriots and the a c So
with Drake May maybe a young quarterback that takes a
step forward. I could see those teams challenging for a
playoff spot this year when you know they're coming off
pretty bad seasons.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Yeah, I don't disagree with that. I think Mike Rabel
might have a really good shot at being Coach of
the Year because I think New England is going to
be that much better.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
I put them in the playoffs. So I'm with you,
like I just and you look at like Dolphins aren't
very good. We saw them here in Allen Park that
some still I don't think they're going to be that
good this year. So you know, there's a couple there's
a couple of wins or a couple of easier games
built into your schedule for both of those teams.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
What gives you confidence with the new coordinators?
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Yeah, I mean, you know, with Kevin Shephard, the defensive coordinator,
I mean then here everyone knows them what we saw
from him in the summer, and look, it's training camp.
You don't want to read too much into it, but
the blitz is that he dialed up you know, the
difficulty the Lions had blocking those at times, I do
(13:38):
think and the Lions that pointed at him for a
while as being someone who you know, was a rising assistant.
You know, maybe I'm a fast track to be a
head coach. And you know, he definitely exudes that type
of energy and you can tell how much the players
enjoy playing for him just by watching what they do
on the field. And the excitement and the energy they have.
So I think the Lion's defense is chance to be
(14:00):
pretty good this year if they can stay healthy. You know,
Johnny Morton's a little little different. You know, he's older, right,
he was here before a couple of years ago, but
he spent the last two years in Denver, so he's
keeping a lot of things in place, but also you know,
getting getting acquainted with the personnel again and calling plays again.
But you know, I'll say this, the the reason the
(14:21):
Lions wanted him was because you know, he did so
well when he was here, helped Ben Johnson put the
playbook together. Ben Johnson. You know, Johns told his story.
He said when he was went to Cabo after the
season and just for a little location, he's checking into
his hotel and Dan Campbell called him to talk about
the offensive coordinator job, and you know, the minute he
(14:41):
hung up the phone, Ben Johnson called to talk to
him about the offensive coordinator job with the Chicago Bears.
So yeah, Tom Peyton was there too, and he was
trying to keep him. So he's a respected mind. And
then the more important part of that, I think is
that Jared Goff really stumped for him and bringing him
back to be to be the caller. So when you
have that relationship or at least that respect among the
(15:06):
quarterback and the offensive coordinator, you know you got to
think that that faced evidence for their offense as a whole.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Hey, last thing from you, because I know you got
to go your friend, my friend, Carlos Monterrez, good dude.
Don't always agree with him, and that's what I like
most about I'm the willingness to debate. Had an article
on the Free Press today free dot com and that is,
if if the Lions don't go deep, yeah, they could
be on the hot seat. I can't think of anything
(15:32):
that could be further from the truth. Although I liked
his article the other day about why the Lions couldn't
have been in on Parsons, I would like to have
brought up the percentage of the cap hit, which is
something that I've tweeted out. But I thought it was
a really interesting article the other day. This one I
can't get on board with. Do you think there's any
validity to that?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Okay, let me preference prefer this by saying I have
not read it. I saw the headline this morning, but which.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
You guys don't write the headlines. You guys don't always
do that, right, Writers don't write the headline, So that's
not necessarily fair to him, But go ahead.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Well, but I think Carlos is off as rocker, okay,
because there's no way that Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes
are in any jeopardy whatsoever. I mean, they have built
this thing from the ground up, and you ask anyone
in the league, and they have an elite talent evaluator
at the general manager when it comes to the draft,
and they have an elite coach in Dan Campbell, a
(16:24):
motivator as somebody who players love to play for. Who
you know, I would think that ninety percent of the
teams out there would jump at if he was available.
So yeah, Carlos is wrong on this. Clearly. There is
no way that you know, Dan and Brad are in
any jeopardy. And maybe he's talking about people start to
get a little bit, you know, agitated that we're getting
close and we can't quite you know, get there. But
(16:47):
you look at the teams that have had the most
success in this league and the longevity that they've had
at those key leadership positions of head coach and general manager,
and there's no chance the lines are doing anything with
those guys. No matter what.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Happens this year, I agree, agree to one hundred percent. Dave.
Always good to visit with you. Thanks, my friend. I
know your time is valuable. We appreciate it very much.
Have safe trip to Green Bay. We'll keep reading your
stuff because it's great stuff, both on Twitter at Dave
Briquette and in the Free Press. All the best, my friend.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
You gotta che up. We'll talk to again.
Thirty five after the hour, Welcome Back Exues and Bros.
Throughout the state of Michigan every Monday through Friday, six
until nine. There's a part of me that feels bad
for a lot of Lions beat writers, especially Dave Briquet,
because he is constantly being tugged at, please can you
join us? Can you talk Lions? He's kind enough to
pick up the phone today and do it with us
here on Exues and Bros. On a Tullymore Thursday. Dave
(00:36):
appreciate it very much. I know your time is valuable,
and man, you've got to be just almost at wits
end because all people are doing is asking you about
the Lions. So I appreciate the time very much. When
you see this team put together in Dan Campbell and
Brad Holmes saying it's the best roster they've assembled since
they've been together, why do you think they are convinced
(00:57):
of that?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
My first instinct when Brad said that the other day was, well,
you only kept fifty guys, so that can't be the
case if you didn't have three guys as you felt
worthy of making the team. But no, look, I think
you know the roster is clearly one of the handful
of best in the NFL, and you know the reason being,
like the playmakers at every level at every position. You know,
(01:21):
they have top line players at virtually every position on
the field and decent depth at most of those spots.
I mean, you look at the linebacking corps, right it's
it's Jack Campbell, who's in a you know, I think
an emerging player. Alex ads has only been good for
a long time. Derek Barnes, Grant Stewart, it was a
(01:42):
really good freeze and signing for them. And Malcolm Rodriguez
who was a starter as a rookie and is coming,
you know, back from a thorn. Acl will be ready midseason.
So there are a few teams I think that have
depth like that at not just linebacker, but running back,
at receiver, at some of the spots where we look
at and we say, man is Isaac Tesla, Where's he
(02:03):
going to play? How's he going to fit into the rotation? Well,
given the camp that he had, he might be a
starter on some teams, and he's the number four receiver
for the Lions right now.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Dave bri Kettle the Detroit Free Press joined us on
the Lindsay Hunter Foundation guest line. You can fall him
on Twitter. I know you do already. Ed Dave Burkette,
what's the biggest concern you feel this team should have
this season.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
It's still the interior offensive line to me, and you
know it's it's not a slight on those players. I
think all the players are good players. Christian mahag and
either new starting left guard, Tate Ratley's the rookie starter
at right guard. You know, Braham Glaska moving over to center.
But the reality is this team has been really good
(02:46):
offensively for a couple of years now because that offensive
line was one of the best in the NFL. And
you know, as they're currently constructed and given they haven't played,
you know, any snaps together, I don't know that anyone
would say they're one of the best in THEFL. Maybe
they still have that potential. You know, they've got an
elite right tackle and a pretty good left tackle, but
(03:06):
the need to protect Jared Goff, the reliance on the
offensive line to get this running game going and unlock
the explosive plays, of the explosive ability they have on offense,
I think there are still some concerns about that offensive
line heading into the season.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
I think the two are the two parts of the
Lions whole situation that has been not necessarily overblown because
I think they're important, but I think you're tired of it,
and so am I is the loss of two coordinators
and the Zadarius Smith saga. How do you deal with
both of those when people are constantly asking you about it?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Well, I think the coordinators, you know, that's real. I mean,
you know, you lose somebody like Ben Johnson and even
Aaron Glenn. You know, those are well respected coaches in
the league, and it's going to be a little bit
of change, even if a lot out of the playbook
is the same on both sides of the ball. So
I think that's something tangible that you know, could impact
(04:07):
the Lions, especially early in the season. You know, the
Zadarius Smith thing, I think it's more about the depth
or lack of death at the edge rush position than
it is not having Zadarius Smith. You know, Zadarius was
he was a rental when they got him, even though
he had a year left on his contract. You know,
he you know, the Lions are We're not We're never
(04:30):
going to count on him to start with Aiden Hutchinson
and Marcus Davenport there, and you know the way they
play that big end position. You know, I don't know
that Zadarius was the exact fit that they needed there.
So you're talking about maybe a designated pass rusher and
missing out on him and what was he going to
play twenty snaps of game? So I don't know that
(04:51):
Zadarius's absences is going to tangibly impact this season. But
I do think that they are still a little bit
sin at the defensive ends, and maybe that's a spot
that you know, we keep an eye on down the road.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
What have you seen from Marcus Davenport that's left you encouraged?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah, you know, I'll tell you this. I remember talking
to some guys last year just on the doing a
story early in the season ship about, you know, every
defensive lineman their favorite pass rush moves sort of how
they developed it. And I was talking to the defensive
guys this was before he got hurt and even some
of the offensive tackles, and there were two or three
(05:29):
linemen on the Lions team that said, Marcus Davenport is
as powerful a player as there is in the NFL.
Like his bull rush is just it's something that you
can't get used to, and I think we've we've seen
flashes of that this summer. You know, he only played
two games last year for the Lions, and he's never
had ten sacks in the season. I don't think so.
(05:49):
You know, it's not like you're expecting him to come
in and be a fifteen sack of year guy. But
the power that he plays with at the defensive end
spot opposite Aiden Hutchinson, he can be a force in
the run game. He can help Aiden and the rest
of that defensive line brack up some sacks. The big
question is going to be the health, and there's no
telling if that holds up for seventeen games. But I
(06:11):
do think he's a pretty good player when he's on
the field.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Why are more people, do you think, jumping on the
Green Bay and some Chicago bandwagon and doubting the Lions.
I am so tired of hearing about windows. I think
windows are a jerk, I really do. I think They're
an absolute farce. Where's the window with Kansas City? Where
was the window in New England and Indianapolis and Green
Bay and all the San Francisco Dallas's been They're not
(06:36):
windows for teams. There's windows for players. Good teams supplement
the loss of good players, and I believe Brad Holmes
can do that. When you see and hear about this,
does it surprise you? First and foremost and second of all,
why do you think people are feeling like Detroit has
missed their prime opportunity to win a Super Bowl?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Well? Look, I guess I would quivvalle with the window
thing a little bit because you know, Patrick mahomes elite
Hall of Fame quarterback, Tom Brady. You mentioned New England,
you know, elite Hall of Fame or Peyton Manning. So
I think when you have one of those guys, it's
like Joe Burrow said, you know, the window is as
long as I'm playing, you know. And I don't know
that Jared Goff is as well as he's played. I
don't know that he's you know, in that category that
(07:20):
you can say that. But I do believe I agree
with you sef that you know, the way that Brad
has built this thing would give me And this is
part of the reason I've you know, I if I
was running the team, I might be a little more
all in on some moves because the way that Brad
has built this through the draft. As good as he
is as a talent evaluator, I think he could do
it again. You know, you give him high fix, like
(07:41):
he's going to make the most of him, and that's
that's how good Brett Holmes is. So look, I don't
buy that the Lions window is closed, but I understand that.
You know, in the NFL, you only have so many
opportunities to win championships, and when you're red hot, like
the Lions weren't too twenty twenty two down the stretch
and just missed the playoffs because you started the season
(08:03):
so bad, and then you go to the NFC Championship
game and you come a half away from winning that thing.
You know, a couple of bad plays and you're going
to Vegas. It's not for those. And then last year
winning fifteen and watching it fall apart with the injuries.
You know, I get why people say, man, we've had
a couple shots of this thing and it hasn't come
through yet. And oftentimes you do see teams slip. But yeah,
(08:27):
I think the Lions roster is still complete enough and
good enough that they are still well within their window
to win a Super.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Bowl here Dave Brikett Free Pros joining us here on
exis and bros on the Lindsay Hunter Foundation guest Line
fam on Twitter. Ed Dave Burkett, what do you expect
when you go to Green Bay on Sunday? And a
really good early season matchup between these two teams.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Might be the game of the week. I mean, it's
you know, it really is an excellent, you know game
to start the season here. And look, I say, you
know everyone's going to be watching Michah Parsons right and
how the Packers use him, and naturally you know what
that means for their defense. I don't know that we're
going to get the full Micah Parsons experience, just because
(09:12):
you know, he's new to Green Bay and he wasn't
doing anything all preseason. But yeah, I'm I'm anxious to
see what that does to green Based defense. You know,
that's a that's a unit that last year you know
they won with with four. You know, they dropped seven
into coverage and they rushed for and Micah shouldn't help that.
You know, he's a he's an elite pass rusher. So
(09:33):
I think this is I think these are the two
best teams in the NFC North. I don't know that
I'd read anything into who wins or loses in that team,
being the you know the team, there's a long you know,
there's a lot of season left, but I do expect
a really good entertaining game.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
What will it take to win the North? Do you
think because they're not winning fifteen games, right, they're not
going undefeated on the road, and they're not going undefeated
in the division, you wouldn't think anyway will it be?
Speaker 2 (10:01):
No, I'm with you there. I think you know, eleven
might get it done. I mean, everybody talks about the
Lions schedule being so difficult, and you know, at virtually
everyone else in the division has to play a similar schedule.
I mean they all play the you know, the AFC
North with you know, Baltimore and Cincinnati and those teams,
and they're all playing the nc SO with Philadelphia and Washington.
(10:24):
So there's no cake walks for anyone, you know. From
the Lions standpoint, I think it's a matter of chip.
You mentioned, you know, the coordinators. I talked about the
offensive line earlier, like those really are the two biggest
concerns for this team and for the Lions to get
to that eleven or maybe twelve just to feel safe.
(10:44):
I think it's the quicker they can solve whatever problems
pop up at those two spots. The the you know,
the the easier it will be for them to get
to that eleven or twelve win mark. Right if they
if that offensive line is an issue here in week
one or two and they get it solved by week four,
great for the Lions. They're going to go and win
a lot of games. If it takes into mid season
(11:05):
to get it solved, that might be enough that you know,
gives Green Bay or Minnesota and opening to win the division.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
What team do you think will be the biggest surprise
in which team will be the biggest disappointment this year.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Across the league? Yes, let's see biggest disappointment. Let's start there.
You know, I'm a little bit I guess I picked
Washington to make the playoffs. But I know some people
just based on you know, Jake Daniels, the amazing murky
(11:39):
season that he had, kind of some of the moves
that they made this offseason, you know, some people are
thinking that they could rise up and be the Kaream
of the the NFC. I don't really see it. I
think there's going to be sort of a natural step
back because we see with a lot of year or
two quarterbacks, and so while I think Washington's going to
make the playoffs, I think they're they're much closer to
(11:59):
be in a ten win team that maybe has to
you know, scrape their way in if they're going to
get there. And then, you know, uh, trying to think
of my other playoff picks for the most pleasant surprise, Well,
you know, I'll say this, it could be a team
that's uh, you know, you look at some of these
divisions that don't have a lot right the NFC South
(12:21):
where everybody thinks Tampa Bay is the team to beat,
and I'm included in that group, you know. I think
a team like Carolina with Bryce Young, or a team
like the New England Patriots and the a c So
with Drake May maybe a young quarterback that takes a
step forward. I could see those teams challenging for a
playoff spot this year when you know they're coming off
pretty bad seasons.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Yeah, I don't disagree with that. I think Mike Rabel
might have a really good shot at being Coach of
the Year because I think New England is going to
be that much better.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
I put them in the playoffs. So I'm with you,
like I just and you look at like Dolphins aren't
very good. We saw them here in Allen Park that
some still I don't think they're going to be that
good this year. So you know, there's a couple there's
a couple of wins or a couple of easier games
built into your schedule for both of those teams.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
What gives you confidence with the new coordinators?
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Yeah, I mean, you know, with Kevin Shephard, the defensive coordinator,
I mean then here everyone knows them what we saw
from him in the summer, and look, it's training camp.
You don't want to read too much into it, but
the blitz is that he dialed up you know, the
difficulty the Lions had blocking those at times, I do
(13:38):
think and the Lions that pointed at him for a
while as being someone who you know, was a rising assistant.
You know, maybe I'm a fast track to be a
head coach. And you know, he definitely exudes that type
of energy and you can tell how much the players
enjoy playing for him just by watching what they do
on the field. And the excitement and the energy they have.
So I think the Lion's defense is chance to be
(14:00):
pretty good this year if they can stay healthy. You know,
Johnny Morton's a little little different. You know, he's older, right,
he was here before a couple of years ago, but
he spent the last two years in Denver, so he's
keeping a lot of things in place, but also you know,
getting getting acquainted with the personnel again and calling plays again.
But you know, I'll say this, the the reason the
(14:21):
Lions wanted him was because you know, he did so
well when he was here, helped Ben Johnson put the
playbook together. Ben Johnson. You know, Johns told his story.
He said when he was went to Cabo after the
season and just for a little location, he's checking into
his hotel and Dan Campbell called him to talk about
the offensive coordinator job, and you know, the minute he
(14:41):
hung up the phone, Ben Johnson called to talk to
him about the offensive coordinator job with the Chicago Bears.
So yeah, Tom Peyton was there too, and he was
trying to keep him. So he's a respected mind. And
then the more important part of that, I think is
that Jared Goff really stumped for him and bringing him
back to be to be the caller. So when you
have that relationship or at least that respect among the
(15:06):
quarterback and the offensive coordinator, you know you got to
think that that faced evidence for their offense as a whole.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Hey, last thing from you, because I know you got
to go your friend, my friend, Carlos Monterrez, good dude.
Don't always agree with him, and that's what I like
most about I'm the willingness to debate. Had an article
on the Free Press today free dot com and that is,
if if the Lions don't go deep, yeah, they could
be on the hot seat. I can't think of anything
(15:32):
that could be further from the truth. Although I liked
his article the other day about why the Lions couldn't
have been in on Parsons, I would like to have
brought up the percentage of the cap hit, which is
something that I've tweeted out. But I thought it was
a really interesting article the other day. This one I
can't get on board with. Do you think there's any
validity to that?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Okay, let me preference prefer this by saying I have
not read it. I saw the headline this morning, but which.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
You guys don't write the headlines. You guys don't always
do that, right, Writers don't write the headline, So that's
not necessarily fair to him, But go ahead.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Well, but I think Carlos is off as rocker, okay,
because there's no way that Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes
are in any jeopardy whatsoever. I mean, they have built
this thing from the ground up, and you ask anyone
in the league, and they have an elite talent evaluator
at the general manager when it comes to the draft,
and they have an elite coach in Dan Campbell, a
(16:24):
motivator as somebody who players love to play for. Who
you know, I would think that ninety percent of the
teams out there would jump at if he was available.
So yeah, Carlos is wrong on this. Clearly. There is
no way that you know, Dan and Brad are in
any jeopardy. And maybe he's talking about people start to
get a little bit, you know, agitated that we're getting
close and we can't quite you know, get there. But
(16:47):
you look at the teams that have had the most
success in this league and the longevity that they've had
at those key leadership positions of head coach and general manager,
and there's no chance the lines are doing anything with
those guys. No matter what.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Happens this year, I agree, agree to one hundred percent. Dave.
Always good to visit with you. Thanks, my friend. I
know your time is valuable. We appreciate it very much.
Have safe trip to Green Bay. We'll keep reading your
stuff because it's great stuff, both on Twitter at Dave
Briquette and in the Free Press. All the best, my friend.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
You gotta che up. We'll talk to again.
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