Your current grade for the Lions 2015 off season is...

[tpaulus_2]

If you are going to make a statement that you call factual, and the extent of your evidence to that point is the standard rhetoric that all players give after they leave, then the factual quality of that statement is zero.

Mayhew was going to tag Suh if I remember correctly. Then they were "very likely" going to sign him. Both of those statements offer the same level of factual evidence that you've offered with regards to him wanting to be here, and both of them proved to false as well. They are merely statements, no facts support them.

You won't get an argument from me that the front office fucked it up, but there is absolutely nothing supporting the statement that Suh wanted to be here.

#Fact

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

At this stage in FA I think we should jump on signing the former Oakland center. I am simply going to call him W because I don't know, or care, how to spell his name.

What I read was that he was looking for a contract in the $3m/yr range. It that's true then just plain do it. He would be the perfect interior back up if he didn't win a starting job because we could roll Swanson into a G spot if injury required it.

Its not the ideal situation with regards to the o-line but we are simply going to have to take on some risk there. At the same time I almost think we have to at least throw out a low ball offer on a two year deal to Jake Long. This is the ideal type of player you throw a third year option on the contract. Call it a three year $15m deal. Now don't go nuts yet guys, its all about how you structure the deal. Signing bonus $3m (very little dead $ risk). Salary in year one $2m, year two $4m, year 3 $6m. Easy to walk from for both parties. If he stays healthy and plays well he's in line to be a FA again in two years after voiding that third year. If he sucks Lions dump him after one year with $2m dead or $1m if he stays for two years.

He's a $3m cap hit this year and would at a minimum be expected to compete, and if healthy win the RT job, if not the left. Now you have the versatility to see if the "possibility" of Reiff inside at LG offers more value than keeping him at LT, or moving him to RT and letting Long, Lucas, and Waddle battle out the LT spot. If Reiff does look better inside and then you have the better of W or Swanson at center. The ability to examine that grouping of lineman at different positions to find the ideal mix is exactly the same thinking I had last year in wanting Zach Martin.

Get that done and you can move onto the needs at DT, RB, and CB.

 

[Thruthefog]

Truth be known, I thought ol' Rusty was doing a pretty good job as GM until he was told to make the playoffs or else. Since then, he's had two monumental fuck-ups. Drafting Jimmy Graham Jr. with the tenth pick in the draft. And not having a clue how to retain Suh's services.

If you're going to fire someone, then do so when you deem it is time. But don't put someone in a state of fear, then expect them to make good decisions. So in my mind the owners bear some responsibility in this.

But these kind of fuck-ups are something I'd expect from someone running my local football team, the Amarillo Venom. Not from someone in the big show.

 

[Thruthefog]

At this stage in FA I think we should jump on signing the former Oakland center. I am simply going to call him W because I don't know, or care, how to spell his name.

What I read was that he was looking for a contract in the $3m/yr range. It that's true then just plain do it. He would be the perfect interior back up if he didn't win a starting job because we could roll Swanson into a G spot if injury required it.

Its not the ideal situation with regards to the o-line but we are simply going to have to take on some risk there. At the same time I almost think we have to at least throw out a low ball offer on a two year deal to Jake Long. This is the ideal type of player you throw a third year option on the contract. Call it a three year $15m deal. Now don't go nuts yet guys, its all about how you structure the deal. Signing bonus $3m (very little dead $ risk). Salary in year one $2m, year two $4m, year 3 $6m. Easy to walk from for both parties. If he stays healthy and plays well he's in line to be a FA again in two years after voiding that third year. If he sucks Lions dump him after one year with $2m dead or $1m if he stays for two years.

He's a $3m cap hit this year and would at a minimum be expected to compete, and if healthy win the RT job, if not the left. Now you have the versatility to see if the "possibility" of Reiff inside at LG offers more value than keeping him at LT, or moving him to RT and letting Long, Lucas, and Waddle battle out the LT spot. If Reiff does look better inside and then you have the better of W or Swanson at center. The ability to examine that grouping of lineman at different positions to find the ideal mix is exactly the same thinking I had last year in wanting Zach Martin.

Get that done and you can move onto the needs at DT, RB, and CB.

Do you really believe Rusty is capable of wrapping his head around all that?

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

Do you really believe Rusty is capable of wrapping his head around all that?

Hard for me to answer that question. I have no idea who the hell Rusty is.

I certainly don't expect anyone in The Clown Show to figure it out though. I am still in disbelief that we haven't made a serious effort to get Mathis re-signed. Especially given that he has said he wants to come back, and Millenhew has said he wants to sign him.

So of coarse the best way to handle that apparently is to do nothing and let other teams get involved and try to sign him. That's definitely the best strategy when the second cupboard is completely bare at the position.

Go Millenhew!!! You rock buddy, NFL executive of the year 2015!!

 

[Thruthefog]

Rusty Hubcap. Our GM.

 

[RobBase]

If you are going to make a statement that you call factual, and the extent of your evidence to that point is the standard rhetoric that all players give after they leave, then the factual quality of that statement is zero.

Mayhew was going to tag Suh if I remember correctly. Then they were "very likely" going to sign him. Both of those statements offer the same level of factual evidence that you've offered with regards to him wanting to be here, and both of them proved to false as well. They are merely statements, no facts support them.

You won't get an argument from me that the front office fucked it up, but there is absolutely nothing supporting the statement that Suh wanted to be here.

I write "facts" just cause I know it annoys you guys.

 

[RobBase]

No, that's common sense that I came up with all on my own.

See, what I did was look at Suh's comments about "always wanting to stay in Detroit" and then I looked at the offers made, and factored in his decision to play on a lesser-roster for more money. I came to the obvious conclusion that he's a liar, because what he said he wanted to do was the opposite of what he did.

It's amazing what the human mind is capable of when not clouded by sheer anger...

The Lions having the better roster is your opinion. And it can be both. He can want to play here AND want to be paid the most he can. Doesn't make him a liar. But it does prove Mayhew could have kept him.

 

[RobBase]

I still think Suh is a great player and the best DT in the league, no doubt about it.

That being said how a Lions fan can not be pissed at Suh for walking away from an offer that would have made him the highest paid defender in the league is beyond me. Your bias towards him is pretty astounding, imo. It's as if he really is your own, personal Football Jesus.

It's always fun to see you astounded.

 

[broncosmitty]

At this stage in FA I think we should jump on signing the former Oakland center. I am simply going to call him W because I don't know, or care, how to spell his name.

What I read was that he was looking for a contract in the $3m/yr range. It that's true then just plain do it. He would be the perfect interior back up if he didn't win a starting job because we could roll Swanson into a G spot if injury required it.

Its not the ideal situation with regards to the o-line but we are simply going to have to take on some risk there. At the same time I almost think we have to at least throw out a low ball offer on a two year deal to Jake Long. This is the ideal type of player you throw a third year option on the contract. Call it a three year $15m deal. Now don't go nuts yet guys, its all about how you structure the deal. Signing bonus $3m (very little dead $ risk). Salary in year one $2m, year two $4m, year 3 $6m. Easy to walk from for both parties. If he stays healthy and plays well he's in line to be a FA again in two years after voiding that third year. If he sucks Lions dump him after one year with $2m dead or $1m if he stays for two years.

He's a $3m cap hit this year and would at a minimum be expected to compete, and if healthy win the RT job, if not the left. Now you have the versatility to see if the "possibility" of Reiff inside at LG offers more value than keeping him at LT, or moving him to RT and letting Long, Lucas, and Waddle battle out the LT spot. If Reiff does look better inside and then you have the better of W or Swanson at center. The ability to examine that grouping of lineman at different positions to find the ideal mix is exactly the same thinking I had last year in wanting Zach Martin.

Get that done and you can move onto the needs at DT, RB, and CB.

It's my opinion that W has no interest in signing somewhere where he'd be in the mix. He wants to start.

And is prolly tired of playing for a shitty franchise already anyways.

 

[LPinSLC]

To blame anyone but Suh for leaving is just weird. To blame Suh for signing that contract is just fans hoping for loyalty. It's a business and Suh did what was best for himself. If you were the one being offered that kind of money, how could or why would you turn it down? There are players that show a franchise loyalty and want to help the team that drafted them win a Superbowl. That's the minority though. I wouldn't turn down much better money to stay with my company and the company I work for wouldn't blame me.

I'm bitter that he left but I understand completely. If Suh wanted to stay In the D, he would have.

 

[LPinSLC]

The brass is only responsible for kicking the can down the road too often which resulted in the Lions being unable to hold Suh hostage for another year. After that hostage year, he still would've fled for the highest bidder...

 

[jdwills126]

Suh leaving was business. Plain and simple.He can say he thought he was going to stay all he wants and Mayhew can say he thought the Lions would resign Suh. The fact of the matter it made more business sense to go to Miami.

I do believe Miami will be regretting that contract in 2-3 years by the way.

If Mayhew would have signed Suh for over 18 million half the board would have called him a dumbass...me included. The other half would have said it was a great move...in total as a fan base we are bipolar and probably manic.

Suh leaving doesn't change the fact this offseason has sucked and Mayhew has pretty much did the one move that has the majority of Lions fans pissed.... he fuclked up the off season. No Suh and no money wisely spent in crucial upgrades so everyone is unhappy.

Congratulations Mayhew you have achieved something this off season!

 

[LPinSLC]

I'm satisfied with the off-season moves as yet. Lose Suh, Add Ngata. Losing Fairley wasn't a big loss to me. I'd prefer to run the draft and fill holes after. Last year they filled holes and their BPA approach left me with question marks as to the re-signing of Petigrew as well as others. If they are going to take BPA regardless of position, I'd prefer to see what holes remain and add mid tier FA/stop gaps accordingly. Spending big in FA is rarely beneficial.

 

[gandydancer]

The brass is only responsible for kicking the can down the road too often which resulted in the Lions being unable to hold Suh hostage for another year. After that hostage year, he still would've fled for the highest bidder...

Which is one reason I can't understand the debate going on here?

The ones screaming Mayhew is a idiot( he is) and the Lions are a laughing stock(they are) they always suck(they don't) ...Blah blah blah how the fuck was keeping Suh on a tag, even if they did it right(no restructures) mean they would win? Some loathe every move made(drafts/FAmoves) ,but are insane thinking Suh meant a SB if they were able to keep him one more year. how does one guy cover up a complete horrific staff in their minds.

This is predicated on my opinion he was never re-signing in Detroit.

 

[Rollingthndr]

I'm holding out Judgement as well. I'll wait until the draft is over.

If that fucker pick Arik Armstead in the first round. He will definitely get an F for the off-season.

Right now he is floating at D+. Mathis should of been re-signed awhile ago. Dr. Eviler made a great point about signing the C from Oakland on the cheap. Especially since Interior O-line was a trouble spot last year.

Just a couple small moves like that and a good draft can move this into a B-/B. MM will never get an "A" when you lose Suh, however.

 

[gandydancer]

I was at a I for I complete. It is D+ at the moment. They're still some decent FAs out there who's prices are dropping by the minute. IMO they need to sign Ngata to a extension now and drop his cap hit in half, and be able to get some decent talent at a discount now.

Then need to see the draft. I can not see my grade going above a B-, and that only be after hitting back to back to back jacks in the first three rounds.

 

[tpaulus_2]

Comp Picks > Free Agents.

Let the other teams throw big $$ at free agent while we shop the bargain bin and rack up the comp picks.

It's no coincidence that we're following the Baltimore model this year, since they're the undisputed kings of the comp pick system, and we've imported a head coach and defensive coordinator from Baltimore recently.

What's interesting is that, even though they've proven their system to work, there's still Ravens fans ripping their front office apart for not signing "player-x" or player-y" even though the Ravens almost never sign other team's free agents. So apparently it's not just here where the fans think they know better than the GM, it's a league-wide phenomenon.

 

[gandydancer]

I do agree comp picks can be better than FAs if you can develop said comp pick. That is the difference IMO of Ravens/Packers and the Lions. They develop kids and can do next man up. Lions have not yet proven this.

My example is Jennings walks and Cobb steps in. Now if you think Reynolds(UDFA) although in imaginaryville he is not. Will develop and step in to say let a Warford walk to a bigger contract for around 5th or 6th comp pick. You're fooling yourself IMO.

Suh is the first Lion in forever to gain a high comp pick also. These comp pick machines you speak of are getting value in return from 3rd and 4th rounders as where Detroit is not with the late round comp picks they have been receiving. I feel you are assuming this is a new direction Mayhew is heading based off one off-season? Not sure that is correct? We can pick this debate up in 3 years. As of know not enough data to prove or disprove either of us.

 

[gandydancer]

Another issue is... Not every bargain pickup will be Digs and George Johnson. As Tate was not by any means a bargain pickup. The production was well worth the investment, but not a bargain.

IMO again after one seasons acquisitions, you are making a claim. I need to see repeated seasons to say he is a good bargain shopper.