* Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press Lions' Beat Writer

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Jack Kevlin here with my good friend Matt Sloan a
graph of oochemists. Big summer here, Matt.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
That's right, Jack. We got the summer savings going on
right now at Graft Nissan and Graft Chevy of Okamists.
Great deals. We're offering zero percent financing on select vehicles
up to sixty months if you're a Casto member. We
got extra rebates for that. We're getting fresh inventory every day.
It's been a great summer. We got great deals for.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
You zero percent. Can't get much flower than that.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
That's exactly right.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Papacy, Matt in the gang here on West Grand riverd Okamitz.
They're making Fred appreciate every minute we get. With Dave Brikette,
you talk about the best in the business covering the
Detroit Lions. What about Detroit Lions?

Speaker 3 (00:41):
Dave?

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Are they Did they do anything today that helps their
chances to win the Super Bowl?

Speaker 4 (00:49):
No? They didn't. I mean, there's no other way to
say it. Really they you know, they stood pad it
the deadline, and I don't think that was a huge surprise.
You know, the when you when you look at what
they needed, an offensive lineman probably being the most important thing.
They've got a bunch of pieces coming back on defense.

(01:10):
Those those pieces are rare to be traded at the deadline,
especially impactful ones. And I just don't know that the
Lions wanted to, you know, give up anything for you know,
another backup guard or swing tackle that may or may
not be an upgrade from what they already have on
the roster.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Well, how long is Christian Mahogany going to be out?
And is this something that you're confident that when we
come to the end of the season and the playoffs
he'll be back and functional.

Speaker 4 (01:40):
Look, I'm not confident in the Lion's offensive line right now.
With or without Christian Mahogany. He's going to be out.
You know. Dan Campbell said Monday that he'll be out
until maybe he said it's Sunday after the game. He'll
be out until late December, and that's probably at the earliest.
You know, he broke a bone in his leg. You know,
I saw him after the game. He was in a

(02:01):
walking move. He had couldn't even get upstairs. He had
to take an elevator up and you know he he
had just been okay. The Lions have a couple of
veterans that they're going to figure out what to do
here in the next few days. But that offensive line
hasn't been great this year. They haven't been running the
ball great, and they haven't been protecting Jared Goff grade
and so I think they have they've got some work
that they need to do to get that thing right

(02:22):
for when they played good teams in the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
How much of the problem Sunday and the upset by
the Minnesota Vikings at Fortfield was attributable to the offensive line?

Speaker 4 (02:31):
Dave Yeah. I mean, look, maybe it's a simplicit the
view I have, but you know, oftentimes when when an
offense struggles, I think it's you know, your your best
places to look at the quarterback or the offensive line.
And Jared Goff is playing at a pretty high level.
And that's not to say that he couldn't have been
better against the Vikings, but I think the problems were

(02:54):
it wasn't just the offensive line. You know, Gibbs struggled
in pass protection, handling some of those blitzes too, But
you know, the line wasn't great. And again, you know,
just look at the numbers check they've you know, Jared
goftmpace to take a career high in sacks. That's not
just what the Lions, that's in his career. Uh. And
you know the Lions are averaging their few as the
rushing yards per play under Dan Campbell. And you know,

(03:18):
so there's there's a lot of issues up front right now.
And that's not you know, they've been good in some games,
they really have. And communication was an issue in Week
one against Green Bay and really was handling some of
the blitzes and identifying some of the blitzes. And you know,
some communication issues is past week, so it's not like
all hope is lost. But and you know, frankly, you
play at Washington team this week that doesn't have a

(03:39):
great pass for us. I wouldn't expect that to be
as much of an issue. But you know, you played
Vic Fangio in two weeks that that's another one that's
going to raise the my eyebrows because that's another coach
that'll get after you.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
What do you think the chances are that the Lions
are unbeaten the rest of the way at home?

Speaker 4 (03:53):
Dave, Well, that's a good question. I mean, you know
you're right to at least two of the three biggest
games are on the road, you know, Philadelphia in two
weeks in the Rams before Christmas. You know that that
Packers game is a huge game because you know division
and the Lions lost to them, obviously.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
Is that a division championship game?

Speaker 4 (04:14):
Yeah? I think so. I mean, well, at least at
a minimum, if the Lions lose it, they're not going
to win the division, you know, so they have to
win it to stay afloat. And you know, look, the
Packers they've got to I think they they play the
Eagles here too, so there's you know, they've got some
difficult games left on their schedule.

Speaker 1 (04:31):
Where is that game? Is that in Green Bay or
is that in Philly? The Lions are in Philadelphia, right.

Speaker 4 (04:36):
Yeah, Lions are in Philly. I believe Green Bay is
hosting the Eagle because the Lions and Bears schedule matchup and.

Speaker 1 (04:44):
Packers lost at home to Carolina, so they could certainly Philly.
Are you surprised that at this point of the year
we would be talking about the Lions tied with the
Chicago Bears.

Speaker 4 (04:57):
I'm surprised that the Bears have been has got up,
they take a step forward, but I didn't think they'd
be quite as competitive as they've been, you know, and
they how much of that has Ben John a lot
of it. I mean you look at some of their
offensive stats and the strides that he's taken, and I mean,
you know, again, let's be honest. You know, some of
their wins right at Cincinnati against the Saints, the Commanders

(05:18):
haven't been good. So it's not like they're they're beating
the best of the NFC. You know, they've lost the
best teams they've played, the Lions and the you know,
the Ravens when they know, I guess they didn't even
have Wmar back. But you know, it's still a pretty
good roster over there, so you know, the other teams,
I think all those the teams they've played have losing records,
so you know, but look, give Ben Jonson credit. You
know that that that offenses is playing well. Cable Williams

(05:41):
has taken some strides, even if he's not perfect. You know,
they can be problematic for for some teams. But they
give up a lot of points on defense. Fifty two
to the Lions, I think it's forty two to the
Bengals last week. So I think there they're still a
year away from you know, really being a playoff threat.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
Lions are one and two in the vision. We talk
about the Green Bay game at Ford Field. The Lions
do have to go to Chicago and Minnesota. Do you
think Detroit would win both of those games?

Speaker 4 (06:11):
Well, you know, I was surprised they lost the Vikings here.
You know, it's a Christmas Day game, and you know,
you never know who wants to be away from home
who doesn't. Right, I would think the Lions would win that.
But you know they're gonna have to figure out a
way to solve you know, Brian Flores's blitz packages. You know,
and I do think the Lions are a better team
than the very same same thing. Though it's the last

(06:31):
game of the season and it's outdoors, and you know,
there's some other factors that could come into play. Look,
I think the Lions, I think they probably still have
you know, maybe three more losses in them, two to
three more losses. Right, Eagles Rams Packers, You're probably gonna
lose two of those. You know, there's a couple of
them on the road. Maybe there's one other one in there.
Maybe they got that extra one out of the way

(06:53):
this week, so you know, if they end up going
twelve and five, eleven and six, that's probably enough to
win the division. Anything less than that you might miss
the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (07:02):
Right right, we're talking with Dave Briquette, four time Michigan
Sports Writer of the Year from the National Sports Media Association. Dave,
who won the trade deadline. You look at what the
Colts did trading the two first rounders and receiver to
get Sauce Gardner native detroiter. Would you like to see

(07:25):
the Lions have made a move like that for a
lockdown corner or do you think there's another team that
really impressed you this week?

Speaker 4 (07:34):
Yeah? I mean, look, I guess I always lean towards
the aggressive, right, like when the Eagles were making all
those moves, even if you know they're they're mostly bit players.
But I just like the approach of the GM willing
to deal a lot of those extra picks. So yeah,
I would have liked to see the Lions make a
move for a pass rusher or for an offensive lineman.
You know, defensive back would have been third on my list.

(07:55):
I don't know that. I you know, Sauce is a
good player, I don't know that the you know how
big the need was to give up two first round
picks there. But you know he's a heck of a player,
so I wouldn't I wouldn't say it wasn't isn't going
to be worth it either. Look, I mean the Jets,
if you just look at it on paper, they're the winner.
I mean, they were going nowhere this year with Sauce Gardner,
with Queinel Williams, you know, Quinn Williams. But they they

(08:19):
you know, got three first round picks in a second
in those deals, and they should be able to replenish
their the Coffers a little bit. But you know, I
don't really trust the Jets draft either, so I don't
know if i'd make them a clear winner. And same
thing with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys. You know, they're
they're pretty excited about getting I think, the best player
that moved at the deadline, and Williams, you know, he's
a really impactful interior lineman. But you only have to

(08:42):
do that because you traded away Michael Parsons and you
didn't hit on Mazzie Smith when you traded to the
Jets in that deal. So you know, I don't know
that the Cowboys are going anywhere either. Still, though, when
the Lions, you know, host them in December, that that'll
be a good game because you know the Cowboys now
all of a sudden might be stop the run and
they can certainly put up points.

Speaker 1 (09:02):
All right. When we talk about the season thus far
and you have votes and a lot of the individual awards,
you know, we were hearing Dak Prescott's name for a
while and then Patrick Mahomes, Jonathan Taylor. Even for those
who believe that a quarterback isn't guaranteed to win, I'm
looking at a guy out in so far right now,

(09:25):
and what Matthew Stafford has done pretty impressive. Do you
have an MVP at the midway point?

Speaker 4 (09:34):
Well, do you have an MVP vote? I haven't you know,
thought about or looked really at the numbers to see
kind of how those guys stack up. You know, I
guess I've I've learned over the years. It's things changed
so much for two months less in the season that
I haven't put a whole lot of stock in it.
But you're right, Jack, I mean, you know last week
I wrote, you know, after the game, I read a
little lead inside the Lions column free dot Com, and

(09:54):
you know, one of the things I did last week
was sort of look at the other NFC contenders and
kind of who the line have to go through to
get the number one seed. And man, I mean, I
think the Rams are as good a team as there
is in the NFC right now, and a lot of
that is because you know, Matthew Stafford, and go back
to the beginning of the year, Like I think, I
don't think I picked them to make the playoffs because

(10:15):
I thought Stafford's back would would be such an issue.
I could be wrong about that. I don't remember exactly
what I picked, but you know, I know there were
some big concerns about that and the way that he's played.
You know, obviously he's got a really, really good receiver
in Puka, That defense is playing excellent ball, they get
after the quarterback. You know, they're as good a team

(10:36):
as there is, I think in the the NFC right now,
you know, maybe even the NFL. And I don't think
there are any great, great teams in the league right now,
but I do think the Rams have a chance to
go a long way. In Matthew Stafford, he keeps playing
the way that he is will certainly be an MVP
conversation at the end of the day, and Jack just
a side note on that. You know, that might be
the thing that he needs to put him over the top,

(10:59):
as you know, a hall of in his career. Right,
he's got a ring. You know, he's going to have
the stats. He just has never quite had the all
pros or the individual accomplishments like that, and so if
he gets that, maybe he's looked at a little bit
differently when he retires.

Speaker 1 (11:13):
Yeah. I was poll for Matt Stafford. I think he
gave Detroit everything he had, played hurt and didn't have
a lot of help sometimes. But I was happy he
got a Super Bowl and I wouldn't mind if he
got another one unless the Lions had a chance to
get there. Last thing for you, Dave, I always like
to give authors a chance to talk about their work.

(11:37):
I know what that can be like, having done eight books.
It's kind of like childbirth for a sportswriter. Detroit Lions,
an illustrated timeline looks like an unbelievable Christmas gift and
something that you would want to have for the playoff run.
Can you talk a little bit.

Speaker 4 (11:55):
About this, sure? Yeah, no, you know it's a book
actually came out last season. So but it's it's the
coffee table book. You know, every moment, you know, I
think there's one hundred and fifty or so of the
greatest you know, games, players, moments, and franchise history, good
and bad, sort of everything you you remember as a

(12:16):
Lions fan, you know, And it was it's something that
you know goes takes you through the twenty twenty three
season and into the Dan Campbell are. It didn't include
all the injuries last year because it came out, you know,
last last fall, but it's really a pretty comprehensive history
of everything that went on with the Lions. And I
will say, Jack, that's that's what the feedback I got

(12:37):
last year was that, you know from Lions fans was, oh,
this was a great gift for my dad, who's a
Lion fan. It's a great gift for my brother, you know,
for my my father in law. So I think that's
kind of what it was is that you know, people
were just looking at it as like the completion to
their Lions den or the little coffee table and their
their living room that people can flip through and reminisce

(12:58):
about all the moments that they enjoyed as Lions fans,
you know, with with those family members that they're.

Speaker 1 (13:03):
Given in to Rob, I should buy you one of
these for Christmas. And then instead of watching the Tampa
Bay Bucks lose to the Lions, you can just read
about some Lions greatness. How about that?

Speaker 4 (13:15):
Or not greatness depending or you've seen some of those two.

Speaker 1 (13:19):
Yeah, Dave, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate your
time and we'll see you back down at Fortfield.

Speaker 4 (13:25):
Sorry sounds good and Jack.

Speaker 5 (13:27):
Dean Transportation is looking for compassionate people to join our
team of school bus drivers and attendants. Visit Dean jobs
dot com to see all openings. Dean Transportation provides paid
training to obtain a commercial driver's license, increased starting pay,
comprehensive benefits, and flexible schedules with no weekend shifts, no

(13:48):
experience needed. Apply today at Dean jobs dot com and
train for back to school season. That's d e a
n jobs dot com.

Speaker 1 (13:58):
Jack Ling here with my good friend Matt Slaughter Graph
of Ochemists, Big summer air Matt.

Speaker 2 (14:03):
That's right, Jack, we got the summer savings going on
right now at Graph Nissan and Graph Chevy of Ochemists.
Great deals we're offering zero percent financing on select vehicles
up to sixty months. If you're a Casto member, we
got extra rebates for that. We're getting fresh inventory every day.
It's been a great summer and we got great deals for.

Speaker 1 (14:21):
You zero percent. Can't get my flower than that.

Speaker 2 (14:24):
That's exactly right, Dopathy Matt.

Speaker 1 (14:26):
In the gang here West Grand River, Okamez. They're making friends.

Speaker 3 (14:31):
So it's been a while since you've had your jewelry
clean and inspected? Right, where will you go and who
will you trust with your most valuable and treasured heirlooms
At Meadowar Jewelers for locations in Lansing Okeemist, Jackson and Portage.
Jewelry isn't just our job, it's our passion. Each and
every piece interrusted in our care is thoroughly inspected by

(14:54):
our trained staff against damage or normal wear, and we
offer you, our customer, we're the highest level of quality
on repairs and custom designs. Whether it's worn out throngs,
channels or shanks, it's all handled with incredible care. Meatowhile
Jewelers and Lansing Okamis, Jackson and Portage want to help
you preserve your memories and offer you options on creating

(15:17):
new ones coming today for the cleaning and inspection of
your jewelry. We continue to work hard every day to
earn your confidence and trust. Man Why Jewelers.

Speaker 1 (15:31):
Game Day in East Lansing just got taste here. One
North Kitchen the Bar is your go to for unbeatable
tailgate packages, perfect for fueling up before kickoff. Sink your
teeth into juicy burgers, hardy wraps, or warm up with
our famous one Nor chili, a fan favorite on crisp
fall days by the Red Seed. Ordering is a snap.
Just call David at five one, seven and nine hundred

(15:53):
four MSU to get your crew game ready. Open at
ten am on weekend so you can grab your spread
and go One North Kitchen and Bark, where great food
and spartan spirit collide.

Speaker 3 (16:03):
Go Green m