June 3, 2025 • 17 mins
Lions legend Lomas Brown joins the show to discuss the impact of All-Pro center Frank Ragnow announcing his retirement from football.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yesterday ran into a good friend of mine. Love him.
Covered him as a player. He's a seven time pro bowler,
he is a Super Bowl champion. He is Lomas Brown.
He does a great job and I mean a great
job on the lines broadcast and with his broadcast in
general in the city of Detroit as well. And he
joins us. And I only got him for a few moments,
but I really wanted his professional perspective on the loss
(00:23):
of Frank Ragnow Low. I appreciate it very much, buddy. Thanks,
how are you, Bud?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Oh, I'm great man. Anything for you.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
I appreciate that very much. Tell me, I mean, as
an all Pro tackle multiple all protect the importance of
the center. And then we'll get into the loss of
Frank Ragnow But what is the center responsible for and
how vital is he to keeping everybody on your offensive
line unit together?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yeah, Matt, I think the first thing people need to
know is that the center touches the ball, probably more
than the quarterback does. I mean, the play doesn't start
without the center. He's also the quarterback of the offensive line,
so he's the guy that's making the adjustments, he's making
the mic call, he's sliding the line left or right.
(01:10):
He's kind of putting guys in position and letting guys
know where they have to be at just by his calls. So, man,
he's so vitally important.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Man.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I'll tell you what. Losing an All Pro center. I
played with one and Kevin Glover, and when you lose
an all Pro center, man, that's a big knock to
your offensive line, and it's going to be a big
absence for the offensive line of the Detroit Lions this year.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Yeah. I love offensive lineman. And I don't say that
because you're with us. I've said this on my show
for a long long time. But you could literally see
and you see this team every day in practice, in
every game calling it with Dan Miller. Tell me the
challenges that Dan Campbell and his staff will have him
(02:00):
possibly replacing three If you saw Graham Glasgow go to center,
you've already got to replace Kevin Zeitlert right guard. You
would have to replace the left guard, and you would
have a new center. What kind of challenge is.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
That, Man, It's gonna be huge. I mean, the thing
about it, what people need to know is that your
offensive line works like a hand in the gloves everybody
got to be on the same page. Well, for that
to happen, Matt, you have to have a certain amount
of chemistry between that offensive line, and that's gonna be
(02:33):
the biggest thing those guys getting that chemistry back, those
guys being able to speak that unspoken language where you
just point or you do things like that where you
don't have to say certain things. So, I mean, it's
gonna be adjustment. Like you're saying, three go, You're gonna
have three moving parts that you got to kind of
(02:55):
fit back in, and that's gonna be a challenge. But
I do think he ain't freely being the offensive line
coach and being as good as he is. I do
think he's one of the guys that can kind of
help mesh this thing together sooner than later.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
He's an eighteen year pro. I don't know how you
did it, and he still looks great. His name is
Lomas Brown's seven time pro bowler. Joiners here on Exis
and Bros. Do you think Ragnow gave this team a
heads up before something about.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
I think so, man. I think he probably called them
and told them he didn't know where he was. And
I'm telling you anytime you hear NFL, especially an NFL
player saying he doesn't know or he's a little hesitant
about coming back or about doing it. Basically, they're done mentally,
(03:46):
they're done because this is such a tough game. Mentally,
you have to get yourself mentally ready to play this
game to absorb the punishment that you're going to take
for a whole season. So when you started saying things
like where, well, I don't know, maybe you know, then
you know it's time to really hang them up.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
This is not unique, right, We saw Aaron Donald do it.
You're a good friend, and your teammate Berry Sanders didn't.
Guys like Calvin Johnson have done it, Andrew Luck has
done it. This is not unique. But this is a
guy who is so well respected within that locker room.
It's one thing replacing the individual position. It's another thing
(04:32):
replacing the man and what he stood for. What a
Hawaiians losing in that.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Regard absolutely, Matt. Look your coaches, so you don't want
your coaches having the police your locker room. You want
your players to polish your locker room. And that's what
guys like Frank Rag Now, that's what guys like Tonay
Suel and your tail of deckers and you, Jared go,
that's what those guys do. That's what those veteran guys
(05:00):
doing them. When you lose a guy like it's in
your locker room, it's almost like a piece of the
team is lost. Yeah, and we do know that Frank
won't be there, but it's almost like an emotional piece
that you lose too, more so than the physical piece
that you lose. It's the emotion. This guy was a
(05:20):
part of that locker room. You spend so much time
with those guys in that locker room, way more than
you do with your immediate family. So they are family.
And when you have someone that leads your family, there's
gonna be a void there and that boy definitely has
to be chilled.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Who takes his place? Man?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
You know what, everybody keep talking about the rookie, but
it's gonna take a while, I think for the rookie
to get up and going. I think it's a prime
situation for maybe a gram Glasgow to take that place.
Hopefully you got a Christian Mahogany, Cory's Kobe Sarasdal, you
know you hoping that Kyoe Alaska, those guys you hope
(06:04):
that those guys are able to up their game and
be able to step into that role at least filling
in one, because we're gonna have three. Like you say, Matt,
it's gonna be three. Both departs in the middle of
your offense, and that's where you don't want move in
that you won't stability right there.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
It affects everybody, man, but it's gonna affect Jared Goff too, Timing, rhythm,
all those things. How long does it take to get
used to it? Because look, this is not picter and
catcher in baseball, where you work every day inn bullpen
sessions and so on and so forth, and you've got
a long time in spring training to get used to it.
This is a finite period of time where you're trying
(06:43):
to get adjusted to one another. How's it going to
affect Jared Goff?
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah, And don't forget. Don't forget, Jared has a new
voice and his year when you talk about dodnth Forrton,
so he's going through that. And I heard Jared say
the other day in the interterview, if somebody ask him
how that is going with the new offense coordinator and
Jarret simply said it's going. So that's letting you know
that the adjustments that are going to have to be
(07:09):
made with Jared and just him dealing with John Morton
and the new offense that they're going to run. So
now you add getting a new center, you know, on
top of that. So yeah, man, it's gonna be a
trying all seasons of these guys. The good thing about
is that they get that extra week of practice because
(07:29):
of the Hall of Fame game, So hopefully that'll help.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
The team out last thing before we let you go,
because you know, I know a lot of people are
tugging at your time, and we appreciate it very much.
I guess the positive is this team's got a lot
of leaders, and I know sometimes leadership is overused. I
was in that locker room at the Silver Dome when
you were playing, and you were a leader. You made
yourself available a lot of offensive linemen don't mind saying,
(07:53):
you know what, go talk to all these other guys.
We can scoot. You know, it doesn't matter to us.
Is that the ultimate positive? Think the fact that there
are a number of guys who have worn that captain's hat,
if you will, and there's a certain culture built by
Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah, I think we have built that in the locker room. Matt.
That was the one thing I thought was a big
glare knee doing the Matt Patricia days. Yeah, things that
work out. I didn't think they had enough leadership in
that locker room. The key thing is to flow. I
think they have plenty of leadership in the locker room
now when you even look on the defensive side of
(08:30):
the ball and you see Alex Angelonian, you see Kim Kirby,
Joseph and some of the guys that they have over there.
So yes, I do think the ship can get floated, right.
I just think, like you say, with those guys in
that locker room, it's gonna build challenge for them this year,
it really is. But I do think they can get
(08:50):
it done.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Love seeing you yesterday, Always loved talking football in life
with you. Keep up the great work on the radio,
keeping the great work in the booths, and we'll talk soon.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
I help my friend take care.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
We'll do all right. That's Lomas Brown, the seven time
Pro Bowl or the Super Bowl champion, the eighteen year veteran.
What a good dude and what a great perspective, it
does show you, right, Trent. I mean, it shows you
just how valuable that position is. You know, I bring
up the easy thing to do, like Lomas has forgotten
more football than I'll ever know, But the easy thing
(09:25):
to do is sit there, well, you know the center checks.
You know, he make looks at the mic. Can he
make sure he's got the you got the middle linebacker?
And he's he's sliding the line certain places. So the
people who think that it's just going to be easy
for Tate Rattledge or Miles Frazier or maybe even Christian
Mahogany to just slide in there and go, all right,
(09:47):
we'll just pick up where we left off, not thinking
it through. That's why perhaps I'm not saying and I
don't think Lomas is either, but perhaps having a guy
like Graham Glasgow is so important because of his ability
to play the three positions. And you know me, I've
been one of those guys who've constantly said, here's what
I really want. I want a guy at one position
(10:09):
be the best at that one position. There are certain
guys you have to have who can at least fluctuate
and be versatile, right, Graham Glasgow is that guy. He
has good proven he was really good for Detroit, goes
to Denver, comes back, He's been pretty damn good too.
He's not going to be a pro bowler. Okay, you're
not getting the same effective play out of that position
(10:34):
from the guy you just lost. I don't care who
you put there, You're not because that dude was one
of the best at what he did. It's unrealistic to
think I'm going to just fill in the blank and
I take his place. Wrong answer. But what you can
do is you can get a guy effective in us
who have two really good guards on each side of him,
(10:56):
perhaps and then helping him be as effective as the
previous guy was. Here's what scares the living hell out
of me, all right, because, whether you like it or not,
and now you'll start to recognize it, the lifeblood of
your offense is that offensive line. I know you get
(11:16):
caught up in fantasy points, and I know it's great
to watch the highlights of touchdown passes and touchdowns runs
and laterals and all this other stuff to go for six.
I know it's awesome, But the heartbeats, the lifeline of
your team is that offensive line. You have to replace
three fifths of that. I'm not great at math, but
that's sixty percent on top of that without if it
(11:39):
weren't Glasgow. Okay, because people are like, I'm tired of
seeing this guy, all right, I mean, I want Christian Mahogany,
three brand new basically rookie players. Mahagan, he's not a rookie.
But can you imagine if you had Frasier and you
had Ratledge and you had Mahogany. That is a daunting task. Yeah,
trying to do that. Ye, and you only think it's
(12:00):
going to affect a certain part of the game or
one play, You're wrong. That affects everybody. The timing has
to be so precise. It's I can't blame Frank Rag.
Now when a person has this many injuries and I
don't know, we don't know what their daily is, but
we see them on Sundays, man, I mean reporters, anybody
(12:22):
going down to Allen Park will see them for a
couple of hours. We don't know what's like with him
trying to get in and out of a car, in
and out of a chair, in and out of bed
in the morning, especially after a game or a practice
where it's just wearing on you. We don't live with them.
We don't know that, we don't talk to them and
(12:43):
get their secrets on the challenges that it has living
in life. It's very simple. My wife was in a
head on accident in twenty nineteen. She and my son
were in a head on accident. She had to go
through seven surgeries. She's got rods and screws in her back.
It's lucky that she can walk okay, let alone, you know,
(13:05):
bend over and sweep something up or pick something up
off the floor. Never sleeps well. The neck is constantly
bothering her. People wouldn't know. People are constantly asking, hey,
how's your wife is? She had one hundred percent. She's
never going to be one hundred percent. Frank Raagano is
never going to be one hundred percent, all right. He
understands that. He recognizes that a lot of football players
(13:27):
know that. Going in Okay. I saw Rob Simms, the
former Lions offensive lineman le guard at the Jalen Rose
golf outing last month, and he looks fantastic. He knows
he's not one hundred percent. Lomas isn't one hundred percent.
He may look good, he may sound good, he may smile,
(13:48):
and he may give you a hug and all that
other stuff like he did yesterday. But I know he's
not one hundred percent. None of us really are as
we get older, right, But the toll that that support
takes on a player's body we don't always see, even
at the collegiate level. Okay, my son played college lacrosse,
and he even tells me that my knees and hips
(14:11):
and my elbows are just because it's constant pounding. Right.
The toll that it takes when you play something for
that long is something that we can't appreciate nor do
we always recognize. So I'm not going to blame Frank
rag noow, and I don't think anybody should. You can
be pissed off about the timing all you want, but
(14:31):
to know Lomas's point, And I think Brett called in earlier.
Do you think he gave him a heads up, not
saying get my replacement? But there is a feel there
when you're talking to somebody, Are you all in? Can
you be all in? I don't know, man. I mean
there are certain signs right that you hear and you
pick up on while talking with people, and noticing how
(14:55):
they go about their business. Perhaps they were the first
ones in and now it just can't be that. It's
really really challenging. We'll talk with Mitch Lions at eight eighteen.
He knows what we're referring to here, because he's a
guy who went through it as a pro in Atlanta,
in Pittsburgh, playing seven years in the league. He gets it.
(15:18):
He probably still feels it. So I can't necessarily blame
Frank ragnow, and I hope people don't either. I don't
think they will. I just want people to know this
is going to be one of the biggs, isn't it interesting?
Yesterday we were talking about the storylines for the Lions.
I'm so tired of hearing about the new coordinators in
Aiden Hutchinson. Yeah, this is already like I'm not sky rocket. Yeah,
(15:40):
I'm not saying it's not appropriate. It is. People want
to keep bringing up the coordinators. That's fine, you know.
I mean John Morton has a proven track record in Denver,
I think, and Kelvin Shephard was on Aaron Glenn's defensive staff.
He's been promoted from within. I'm wishing them both well.
I think the transition is going to be there. It's
going to take some time, but I think the transition
(16:02):
will be fine. Aiden Hutchinson, I get it. The best
defensive player on the team and was arguably one of
the best defensive players in all the NFL before we
got hurt last year. This is now, I think the
number one storyline for the Lions. And it's not just
because you're replacing one position. You may have to replace
two and really you're already having to replace or you
(16:24):
may have to replace three, but you're already replacing two.
Because not many think about it. When you talk to
a national writer or you read these national write ups,
they talk about the coordinators and Aidan Hutchinson. Does anybody
say anything about vin Zeitler. This is a hell of
a player. Now that you're losing, you're losing a Pro
Bowl player at the right guard position. Now you're losing
(16:46):
a Pro Bowl player at the center position. They just
don't fall out of the sky for you. You don't
just go into your fifty fifty three man roster and go,
I'll just take this Pro bowler in place here. They're
not waiting in line for you.
Yesterday ran into a good friend of mine. Love him.
Covered him as a player. He's a seven time pro bowler,
he is a Super Bowl champion. He is Lomas Brown.
He does a great job and I mean a great
job on the lines broadcast and with his broadcast in
general in the city of Detroit as well. And he
joins us. And I only got him for a few moments,
but I really wanted his professional perspective on the loss
(00:23):
of Frank Ragnow Low. I appreciate it very much, buddy. Thanks,
how are you, Bud?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Oh, I'm great man. Anything for you.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
I appreciate that very much. Tell me, I mean, as
an all Pro tackle multiple all protect the importance of
the center. And then we'll get into the loss of
Frank Ragnow But what is the center responsible for and
how vital is he to keeping everybody on your offensive
line unit together?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yeah, Matt, I think the first thing people need to
know is that the center touches the ball, probably more
than the quarterback does. I mean, the play doesn't start
without the center. He's also the quarterback of the offensive line,
so he's the guy that's making the adjustments, he's making
the mic call, he's sliding the line left or right.
(01:10):
He's kind of putting guys in position and letting guys
know where they have to be at just by his calls. So, man,
he's so vitally important.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Man.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I'll tell you what. Losing an All Pro center. I
played with one and Kevin Glover, and when you lose
an all Pro center, man, that's a big knock to
your offensive line, and it's going to be a big
absence for the offensive line of the Detroit Lions this year.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Yeah. I love offensive lineman. And I don't say that
because you're with us. I've said this on my show
for a long long time. But you could literally see
and you see this team every day in practice, in
every game calling it with Dan Miller. Tell me the
challenges that Dan Campbell and his staff will have him
(02:00):
possibly replacing three If you saw Graham Glasgow go to center,
you've already got to replace Kevin Zeitlert right guard. You
would have to replace the left guard, and you would
have a new center. What kind of challenge is.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
That, Man, It's gonna be huge. I mean, the thing
about it, what people need to know is that your
offensive line works like a hand in the gloves everybody
got to be on the same page. Well, for that
to happen, Matt, you have to have a certain amount
of chemistry between that offensive line, and that's gonna be
(02:33):
the biggest thing those guys getting that chemistry back, those
guys being able to speak that unspoken language where you
just point or you do things like that where you
don't have to say certain things. So, I mean, it's
gonna be adjustment. Like you're saying, three go, You're gonna
have three moving parts that you got to kind of
(02:55):
fit back in, and that's gonna be a challenge. But
I do think he ain't freely being the offensive line
coach and being as good as he is. I do
think he's one of the guys that can kind of
help mesh this thing together sooner than later.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
He's an eighteen year pro. I don't know how you
did it, and he still looks great. His name is
Lomas Brown's seven time pro bowler. Joiners here on Exis
and Bros. Do you think Ragnow gave this team a
heads up before something about.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
I think so, man. I think he probably called them
and told them he didn't know where he was. And
I'm telling you anytime you hear NFL, especially an NFL
player saying he doesn't know or he's a little hesitant
about coming back or about doing it. Basically, they're done mentally,
(03:46):
they're done because this is such a tough game. Mentally,
you have to get yourself mentally ready to play this
game to absorb the punishment that you're going to take
for a whole season. So when you started saying things
like where, well, I don't know, maybe you know, then
you know it's time to really hang them up.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
This is not unique, right, We saw Aaron Donald do it.
You're a good friend, and your teammate Berry Sanders didn't.
Guys like Calvin Johnson have done it, Andrew Luck has
done it. This is not unique. But this is a
guy who is so well respected within that locker room.
It's one thing replacing the individual position. It's another thing
(04:32):
replacing the man and what he stood for. What a
Hawaiians losing in that.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Regard absolutely, Matt. Look your coaches, so you don't want
your coaches having the police your locker room. You want
your players to polish your locker room. And that's what
guys like Frank Rag Now, that's what guys like Tonay
Suel and your tail of deckers and you, Jared go,
that's what those guys do. That's what those veteran guys
(05:00):
doing them. When you lose a guy like it's in
your locker room, it's almost like a piece of the
team is lost. Yeah, and we do know that Frank
won't be there, but it's almost like an emotional piece
that you lose too, more so than the physical piece
that you lose. It's the emotion. This guy was a
(05:20):
part of that locker room. You spend so much time
with those guys in that locker room, way more than
you do with your immediate family. So they are family.
And when you have someone that leads your family, there's
gonna be a void there and that boy definitely has
to be chilled.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Who takes his place? Man?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
You know what, everybody keep talking about the rookie, but
it's gonna take a while, I think for the rookie
to get up and going. I think it's a prime
situation for maybe a gram Glasgow to take that place.
Hopefully you got a Christian Mahogany, Cory's Kobe Sarasdal, you
know you hoping that Kyoe Alaska, those guys you hope
(06:04):
that those guys are able to up their game and
be able to step into that role at least filling
in one, because we're gonna have three. Like you say, Matt,
it's gonna be three. Both departs in the middle of
your offense, and that's where you don't want move in
that you won't stability right there.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
It affects everybody, man, but it's gonna affect Jared Goff too, Timing, rhythm,
all those things. How long does it take to get
used to it? Because look, this is not picter and
catcher in baseball, where you work every day inn bullpen
sessions and so on and so forth, and you've got
a long time in spring training to get used to it.
This is a finite period of time where you're trying
(06:43):
to get adjusted to one another. How's it going to
affect Jared Goff?
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah, And don't forget. Don't forget, Jared has a new
voice and his year when you talk about dodnth Forrton,
so he's going through that. And I heard Jared say
the other day in the interterview, if somebody ask him
how that is going with the new offense coordinator and
Jarret simply said it's going. So that's letting you know
that the adjustments that are going to have to be
(07:09):
made with Jared and just him dealing with John Morton
and the new offense that they're going to run. So
now you add getting a new center, you know, on
top of that. So yeah, man, it's gonna be a
trying all seasons of these guys. The good thing about
is that they get that extra week of practice because
(07:29):
of the Hall of Fame game, So hopefully that'll help.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
The team out last thing before we let you go,
because you know, I know a lot of people are
tugging at your time, and we appreciate it very much.
I guess the positive is this team's got a lot
of leaders, and I know sometimes leadership is overused. I
was in that locker room at the Silver Dome when
you were playing, and you were a leader. You made
yourself available a lot of offensive linemen don't mind saying,
(07:53):
you know what, go talk to all these other guys.
We can scoot. You know, it doesn't matter to us.
Is that the ultimate positive? Think the fact that there
are a number of guys who have worn that captain's hat,
if you will, and there's a certain culture built by
Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah, I think we have built that in the locker room. Matt.
That was the one thing I thought was a big
glare knee doing the Matt Patricia days. Yeah, things that
work out. I didn't think they had enough leadership in
that locker room. The key thing is to flow. I
think they have plenty of leadership in the locker room
now when you even look on the defensive side of
(08:30):
the ball and you see Alex Angelonian, you see Kim Kirby,
Joseph and some of the guys that they have over there.
So yes, I do think the ship can get floated, right.
I just think, like you say, with those guys in
that locker room, it's gonna build challenge for them this year,
it really is. But I do think they can get
(08:50):
it done.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Love seeing you yesterday, Always loved talking football in life
with you. Keep up the great work on the radio,
keeping the great work in the booths, and we'll talk soon.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
I help my friend take care.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
We'll do all right. That's Lomas Brown, the seven time
Pro Bowl or the Super Bowl champion, the eighteen year veteran.
What a good dude and what a great perspective, it
does show you, right, Trent. I mean, it shows you
just how valuable that position is. You know, I bring
up the easy thing to do, like Lomas has forgotten
more football than I'll ever know, But the easy thing
(09:25):
to do is sit there, well, you know the center checks.
You know, he make looks at the mic. Can he
make sure he's got the you got the middle linebacker?
And he's he's sliding the line certain places. So the
people who think that it's just going to be easy
for Tate Rattledge or Miles Frazier or maybe even Christian
Mahogany to just slide in there and go, all right,
(09:47):
we'll just pick up where we left off, not thinking
it through. That's why perhaps I'm not saying and I
don't think Lomas is either, but perhaps having a guy
like Graham Glasgow is so important because of his ability
to play the three positions. And you know me, I've
been one of those guys who've constantly said, here's what
I really want. I want a guy at one position
(10:09):
be the best at that one position. There are certain
guys you have to have who can at least fluctuate
and be versatile, right, Graham Glasgow is that guy. He
has good proven he was really good for Detroit, goes
to Denver, comes back, He's been pretty damn good too.
He's not going to be a pro bowler. Okay, you're
not getting the same effective play out of that position
(10:34):
from the guy you just lost. I don't care who
you put there, You're not because that dude was one
of the best at what he did. It's unrealistic to
think I'm going to just fill in the blank and
I take his place. Wrong answer. But what you can
do is you can get a guy effective in us
who have two really good guards on each side of him,
(10:56):
perhaps and then helping him be as effective as the
previous guy was. Here's what scares the living hell out
of me, all right, because, whether you like it or not,
and now you'll start to recognize it, the lifeblood of
your offense is that offensive line. I know you get
(11:16):
caught up in fantasy points, and I know it's great
to watch the highlights of touchdown passes and touchdowns runs
and laterals and all this other stuff to go for six.
I know it's awesome, But the heartbeats, the lifeline of
your team is that offensive line. You have to replace
three fifths of that. I'm not great at math, but
that's sixty percent on top of that without if it
(11:39):
weren't Glasgow. Okay, because people are like, I'm tired of
seeing this guy, all right, I mean, I want Christian Mahogany,
three brand new basically rookie players. Mahagan, he's not a rookie.
But can you imagine if you had Frasier and you
had Ratledge and you had Mahogany. That is a daunting task. Yeah,
trying to do that. Ye, and you only think it's
(12:00):
going to affect a certain part of the game or
one play, You're wrong. That affects everybody. The timing has
to be so precise. It's I can't blame Frank Rag.
Now when a person has this many injuries and I
don't know, we don't know what their daily is, but
we see them on Sundays, man, I mean reporters, anybody
(12:22):
going down to Allen Park will see them for a
couple of hours. We don't know what's like with him
trying to get in and out of a car, in
and out of a chair, in and out of bed
in the morning, especially after a game or a practice
where it's just wearing on you. We don't live with them.
We don't know that, we don't talk to them and
(12:43):
get their secrets on the challenges that it has living
in life. It's very simple. My wife was in a
head on accident in twenty nineteen. She and my son
were in a head on accident. She had to go
through seven surgeries. She's got rods and screws in her back.
It's lucky that she can walk okay, let alone, you know,
(13:05):
bend over and sweep something up or pick something up
off the floor. Never sleeps well. The neck is constantly
bothering her. People wouldn't know. People are constantly asking, hey,
how's your wife is? She had one hundred percent. She's
never going to be one hundred percent. Frank Raagano is
never going to be one hundred percent, all right. He
understands that. He recognizes that a lot of football players
(13:27):
know that. Going in Okay. I saw Rob Simms, the
former Lions offensive lineman le guard at the Jalen Rose
golf outing last month, and he looks fantastic. He knows
he's not one hundred percent. Lomas isn't one hundred percent.
He may look good, he may sound good, he may smile,
(13:48):
and he may give you a hug and all that
other stuff like he did yesterday. But I know he's
not one hundred percent. None of us really are as
we get older, right, But the toll that that support
takes on a player's body we don't always see, even
at the collegiate level. Okay, my son played college lacrosse,
and he even tells me that my knees and hips
(14:11):
and my elbows are just because it's constant pounding. Right.
The toll that it takes when you play something for
that long is something that we can't appreciate nor do
we always recognize. So I'm not going to blame Frank
rag noow, and I don't think anybody should. You can
be pissed off about the timing all you want, but
(14:31):
to know Lomas's point, And I think Brett called in earlier.
Do you think he gave him a heads up, not
saying get my replacement? But there is a feel there
when you're talking to somebody, Are you all in? Can
you be all in? I don't know, man. I mean
there are certain signs right that you hear and you
pick up on while talking with people, and noticing how
(14:55):
they go about their business. Perhaps they were the first
ones in and now it just can't be that. It's
really really challenging. We'll talk with Mitch Lions at eight eighteen.
He knows what we're referring to here, because he's a
guy who went through it as a pro in Atlanta,
in Pittsburgh, playing seven years in the league. He gets it.
(15:18):
He probably still feels it. So I can't necessarily blame
Frank ragnow, and I hope people don't either. I don't
think they will. I just want people to know this
is going to be one of the biggs, isn't it interesting?
Yesterday we were talking about the storylines for the Lions.
I'm so tired of hearing about the new coordinators in
Aiden Hutchinson. Yeah, this is already like I'm not sky rocket. Yeah,
(15:40):
I'm not saying it's not appropriate. It is. People want
to keep bringing up the coordinators. That's fine, you know.
I mean John Morton has a proven track record in Denver,
I think, and Kelvin Shephard was on Aaron Glenn's defensive staff.
He's been promoted from within. I'm wishing them both well.
I think the transition is going to be there. It's
going to take some time, but I think the transition
(16:02):
will be fine. Aiden Hutchinson, I get it. The best
defensive player on the team and was arguably one of
the best defensive players in all the NFL before we
got hurt last year. This is now, I think the
number one storyline for the Lions. And it's not just
because you're replacing one position. You may have to replace
two and really you're already having to replace or you
(16:24):
may have to replace three, but you're already replacing two.
Because not many think about it. When you talk to
a national writer or you read these national write ups,
they talk about the coordinators and Aidan Hutchinson. Does anybody
say anything about vin Zeitler. This is a hell of
a player. Now that you're losing, you're losing a Pro
Bowl player at the right guard position. Now you're losing
(16:46):
a Pro Bowl player at the center position. They just
don't fall out of the sky for you. You don't
just go into your fifty fifty three man roster and go,
I'll just take this Pro bowler in place here. They're
not waiting in line for you.
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