After toying with us, and appearing to be on the march for a wild card spot (and with help, they could have won the division if they’d had even one more win in the first half of the season), then choking right at the moment of truth, they’re now doing that really annoying thing they do, coming on late and giving us hope for next year.
There is no hope for next year.
Accept that, and you’ve got a shot at being pleasantly surprised.
Calvin Johnson is obviously quite near the end of his career. Given the need for room under the salary cap, the Lions may try to deal him out while he still has perhaps one more season in him. What team that may be a Superbowl contender next season needs a future hall of famer receiver and/or has room in their budget?
Dealing Suh to the Dolphins was a great move for the Lions and not such a good move for Miami. Remember years ago, the A.C. Carter NFL draft pick? Kiss it, Dolphins.
The Lions still need an O-line. Simply put, they don’t have it. They’ve always tried changing QBs in such situations, and that hasn’t worked. They need to put together a mixture of early round draft picks and experienced but aging veterans. Give Stafford the time, and rid the team of the ruse of maybe-he’ll-throw-to-Calvin (because no one is buying it anymore), and they’ll get a dozen or so more first downs and win some games.
from 401:
> Calvin Johnson is obviously quite near the end of his career. Given the need for room under the salary cap, the Lions may try to deal him out while he still has perhaps one more season in him. What team that may be a Superbowl contender next season needs a future hall of famer receiver and/or has room in their budget?
Detroit Lions WR Calvin Johnson considering retirement
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/detroit-lions-wr-calvin-johnson-considering-retirement/ar-AAgrzls?ocid=ansmsnsports11
Monarrez: Lions’ Johnson continues to shock and awe
http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2016/01/06/carlos-monarrez-calvin-johnson-detroit-lions/78391332/
If Johnson retires, Lions get $11.1M in cap space
http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2016/01/06/detroit-lions-calvin-johnson-salary-cap/78371512/
[snip] It was a similar outcome in 2015: Team president Tom Lewand and GM Mayhew were axed midseason, and Caldwell was spared just long enough to shepherd his team to the butcher. Except a funny thing happened: Newly promoted offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter got Stafford playing the best football of his life. As shown in the highlighted stat line above, the Lions’ final eight games of 2015 were a quarterbacking masterpiece. The Lions averaged 26.1 points per game, over a touchdown more than the 18.6 points they averaged in the first half of the season, and they went on a 6-2 run that started with the Lions going into Green Bay and winning for the first time since 1991. [/snip]
(besides that, how can a coach named Jim Bob Cooter NOT be destined for great things in NFL coaching? Anything he does in Detroit that doesn’t involve burning down the stadium will probably result in improvement. And come to think of it...