Get some facts and come back and seebe. Get some facts and come back
and seebe. Don't throw up salaries or other things. Get some facts and
come back and Seebee. You can't handle the true now told our players you
need a bit more like a dog. We don't need a bunch of cats
in here. Looking in the mirror, I look good. I got my
extra bands on, I got my other shoes. Be a doll. We
don't need no meals. We don't need no cats. We need more dogs.
Why not a detainer? Ah, you're not that detained. We weren't
good. There's no sense of asking me things about the game. I'm telling
you. We laid an egg. So I'm not gonna break it down for
you. He sucks. He sucked, but he laid an egg. That's
all I have to say. Guys, I'm sorry. I'm not gonna break
it down for you. Nothing went well for us. It's on us.
We have to figure it out, and we went all right. Lions will
try and figure out their schedule. We've got it set and we will talk
with our friend Colton Pouncing from in the athletic coming up at the bottom of
this hour. You could follow him on Twitter or on ex Colton underscore Pouncy
on Matt Sheppard. Welcome to Xues and Bros. Ben is our producer.
At times he gets a little loaly, so join him on the Myer Hotline.
Eight sixty six eight three eight forty eight forty three. Tigers lose to
zip to the Marlins yesterday. They've been shut out in back to back games.
They have today off and they're headed to Arizona next. What a weird
deal for Willie Castro boneheaded play against the Yankees in the New York for nothing.
When he was in center field, he didn't know how many outs there
were. This is what it sounded like field his hip, the line drafts
centerfield, coming on Castro, he'll make the catch and he thinks this two
men out coming home and scoring on the sac fly his torrees. Oh what
if boadheaded played by Castro? He was running to the dugout thinking that was
the third out and his two nothing eches. He made a blunder yesterday as
well, he misplayed a ball in center field. And this when you look
how he cadillacts it, thinks his two outs. I love that phrase.
He look how he cadillacts it. Yankees would go on and win it for
nothing, all right. In the NBA, Dallas beats OKC one oh four
ninety two. They shoot fifty two and a half percent. They're up three
games to two in the series. Luka Doncic was the best player on the
floor thirty one points, ten boards, eleven assists. The Thunder, one
of the best offensive teams in basketball, held to a season low ninety two
points. Meanwhile, Boston enns Cleveland season one, thirteen ninety eight, Jason
Tatum led the way, one of sishi of a triple double. Lion's schedule
is out. As we mentioned, we're going to talk with Colin Colton Palsey
of the athletic coming up. We do know this. They're on National TV
six times, five times on the Blank Night Football, Monday Night, Sunday
Night or Thursday Night Football. It's the eleventh toughest schedule in the league.
And in the NHL, Colorado upends Dallas five to three. They scored three
times in the third. They trail three games to two. They had to
have it, all right. Golf, one of the majors is taking place.
It's the PGA Championship in Valhalla. That is in Louisville, Kentucky.
Right now, Luke Donald, Doug gimm and Matt Wallace are all at one
under par on a course that is seven thousand, six hundred and nine yards.
The quote unquote favorites with Tief A little bit later on today the Meyer
hotline eight sixty six eight three eight forty eight forty three. Ben, let's
go there. Yeah, we got Trucker B listening on ninety six point won
the game. Nice Trucker B. How are you today? Frustrated? Just
two days in a row? You got me riled up on these Tigers because
right I, you know, I no, well no, because it's the
same thing that goes through my mind. Why do we not have? This
is what bugs me is a lineup? Why do you not have a set
lineup? He moves people from bat and first that and forth ba and fifth
bat and third, you know, and he keeps shuffling him around, and
that just to me brings inconsistency and continuity. It's just that there's no cohesiveness
set away, and the same with the with the field who's playing every day.
Like you said, why do we not have they set stable lineup and
a set stable defense? It's just frustrating to me. And the thing too,
is like the other day I was getting ready to leave. I had
I got to leave by certain times to the laws and stuff, but and
I was empty r and I had another driver text me and it was with
the results from this pitching. He said he leave them in for the night.
I said, heck, yeah, he deserved it. But they're too
concerned about pitch count. And I gets frustrating that they just keep shuffling pictures
in and out like that, even if they're having a good game. And
I just I don't understand it. I just don't know what the logic is.
And I understand the left on right and the right on left. I
get why he's doing that, but like you said, why do they not
all that's not always why he does it, all right, He doesn't always
go lefty righty. He goes based on the type of pitchure you're getting against
the type of hitter he's facing in the situation. So, for example,
if he wants a ground ball pitcher, so Jason Foley is that guy to
induce possibly a double play. It's not necessarily right on right or lefty on
left. That's not how he that's not what his mindset is. He he
looks at the numbers, he looks at the tendencies and things of that nature.
But let me let me ask you this, and I think you bring
up a really interesting point. Do you look at their unwillingness to commit to
a specific batting order with guys in certain spots as a weakness or a strength?
I think it can be a strength when you have a set lineup,
because like what call it earlier was talking about no protection, Well, you
aren't going to have that protection if you have let's say, Hiamayas behind Torkosen,
I just all throw three fighters outside and he's gonna swing them while they
know you pitch to tarcleson or Green. Okay, but here's the only thing
I would say there, trucker By, is this, if your team isn't
very good offensively, and you would agree with me right that they are not
very good offensively, is that fair to say? No? Not? Okay,
not at all? Okay, Yeah, zero's two days so well,
but it's not just the two days. Last year there are only two teams.
Last year was only two teams that scored fewer runs. This year,
there's a handful of teams at Seattle, it's Washington, Miami, Pittsburgh,
Saint Louis, Toronto, and Chicago, who have scored fewer runs than the
Tigers. So you would admit. So if they don't have that team,
what do you do as a manager. You can't keep doing the same thing
every day. You have to try to find something that will ignite your offense,
if that requires moving guys around in the lineup. Look at the beginning
of the year, Spencer Truckolsen was hitting in the top four. When you
struggle and you don't go hit a homer until game number thirty five, you're
not going to keep hitting him third or fourth. You Truck or b would
go crazy. Ran No, I understand that, don't know, but I
mean, but he hasn't started out that way. Now, Yeah, you
reward those, you know, like Perez. Okay, he comes up,
you don't know what the heck he's gonna do. You just got him in
propelling all of a sudden. Oh, this kid is shown more than what
we understand. So you rewarded and moved on. Yesterday had a couple of
bonehead swings of loaded but anyway, yeah, yeah, and that's and That's
what frustrates me is I sit there and I look and I watch his team,
and it seems like when there's guys in scoring position that are just putting
the bat on the ball, try to create something, they're out there to
try to be heroes and fling for the fences, and I get so frustrated
with that exit velocity. You hit the ball hard. You hit the ball
hard. To me, I don't care if you hit a bloop single or
a dribbler down the line or whatever. I hit as a hit, as
a hit, as a hit, Yeah, you gotta move the runners along.
I get it. Exit the exit filo, the exit velo. I'm
sorry to had to cut you off because we got to go to a break.
The exit velo is important because it means you're squaring the ball up.
But yeah, I hear what you're saying. It's it's it's difficult when you've
got guys betting one seventy one, two sixty seven, two fifteen, and
you know two forty one, you're not finding a lot of pop there.
Our quick time out Colton Ponce at the bottom of the hour, back with
more of your thoughts on the other side. On exies and bros in the
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One of the things missing from the Tigers offense is power. Going into
Wednesday Night's game, Detroit's thirty seven homers ranked twenty second in baseball, They're
slugging percentage ranked the same, and they're on base plus slugging or ops is
even worse, ranking twenty fifth in the game. They need power. Spencer
Torkolsen is key to that. He had gone hormerless in his first thirty seven
games before drilling homers and back to back games. Now. Some overreacted to
his homeless slump, but as he said, it was too small a sample
size to get down. He needed to get the feeling and then it's repeatable.
I don't know if he'll duplicate his thirty one home or ninety four RBI
numbers from a year ago, but he's got to be close if this team
hopes to contend. We're teeming off our tenth year at the Meyer LPGA Classic
for simply gives. Get ready for the best who are yet to help neighbors
in need while enjoying golf, food and family fun. Join us June thirteenth
through the sixteenth at Blakefield Country Club for fabulous food, discoveryland for kids,
and of course, elite women golfers from around the world competing to help feed
our neighbors. Get your tickets now at Meyer LPGA Classic dot com. Looking
forward to the conversation with Colton Pouncey of the Athletic He covers alliance and he
will join us. How about twenty minutes from now here on exus and Bros.
Throughout the great state of Michigan. Glad you're around on this Thursday.
The Meyer hotline eighty six eight three eight forty eight forty three and the text
line is Sports Radio to twenty one thousand. I know we got some texts
I've been waiting on and Ben, my apologies want to get to those texts.
But we had some good callers and we had some important content that I
thought needed to be mentioned. Let's get to some of those texts right now,
Ben go ahead, all right. If the Tigers don't win this division,
aj Hint should be fired. He has allowed the rest of the season
to wake up these bats in any way possible. Maybe starting with some passion
would be a good start. Managers and coaches are always going to be the
first people to be ridiculed and have those poignant fingers pointed at. You can
only do so much with the roster you've been given. I'm not sure about
the passion. I don't get that. I would love to know what you
need in passion, Like do you where's the passion you see in Dave Roberts,
Mike Shilt, San Diego, Stephen Vote in Cleveland? So far?
I think sometimes we misidentify passion or the lack thereof in this regard. And
I've said this time and time again. If you're going to a game,
can you see the manager in the dugout? Depending on where you sit,
what is It's the expectation. It's not like he hasn't been has shown passion.
He's been ejected from games in his managerial career and in his Tigers managerial
career. If that's what you think is passion, do you want him chewing
out guys in the dugout? Are you hoping to read about closed door meetings.
Just because he's not screaming and yelling on the field of play doesn't mean
that there is a lack of passion. He's the same manager who is highly
successful in Houston. He's one of the best managers in baseball. There's no
doubt about that. Now, you can disagree with Moves. I get that.
I think every fan base is going to disagree with their manager and their
coaches at some point, even if that manager is successful. But the passion
thing, I think you need to leave at the door because you're not seeing
him. There's no camera on him showing him. I should say, for
the entire game. Game last three hours, two hours and forty minutes.
You're not seeing him for two hours and forty minutes. You're seeing him on
cutaway shots. If you're at a ballgame, are you only watching him?
Are you watching him try to set things up, talk to his bench coach,
talk to his pitching coach, talk to certain players. Just because you're
not losing your mind doesn't mean you're not passionate, but I do under so
I completely disagree with that aspect of it. I do understand how your frustration
boils over if this team doesn't win the division and points toward the manager.
I wonder how much that is pointed toward the front office. The front office
is the one who put this team together, gave you the choices. Is
there a player who is not currently on this twenty six man roster who you
think should be on the roster and it's aj Hinch's fault. The other question
I would ask you how many I've always felt this as false. How many
games do you think a manager wins or loses for a baseball team, Because
if you talk to the baseball elite, they'll tell you five or six where
they make a difference, which I think is bull crap. I think it's
more than that, much more than that, especially in baseball, because pitching
changes rosters, pinch hitting situations, and so on and so forth. If
this team doesn't win the division, some thing's got to change drastically. We've
said this for years now, that this division is winnable. You have to
ask yourself first, is this team underachieving based on what are there players so
good that you think the manager is getting in the way, and then you
can then you can debate on whether or not the manager should be fired.
Are they underachieving or is this team just not good enough structurally from a roster
standpoint, which is what I think it is so far this year. Are
players underachieving? Certain players? Absolutely, but when you look at the roster
you didn't think it was that good anyway, if you're being honest. All
right, what's another text there, Ben, Yeah, it says an insert
and former Allion's head coach. Over the years, and after four years for
most of them, if they underachieved, they were shown the door. Aj
though flowers are thrown his way and fans think he has no say in these
moves and hires are delusional. That's from fat Yeah. Freddie's right. I
don't know who in the world thinks that he's not having to say that's ridiculous.
He and Scott Harris have a saying just about everything. Absolutely. On
the other hand, the difference Freddy with the Lions, bad example, they
never had a winner four years of Jim Schwartz. You're damn right X amount
of years with Rod Mayornelly you're damn right X amount of years with Steve Mariucci.
You're damn right. I mean, come on, Freddy, Wayne Fatz
is the all time winning his coach in Lion's history, also losing coach in
Lion's history. They weren't winners, dude, They never won anything. A
J. Hinch has won something. He won a world championship. In addition
to that, he took over a team that was god awful, absolutely horrid.
You know that he gets to Detroit. Look at the lineup, for
crying out loud, It's not that hard to figure out. He comes in
in twenty twenty one and he won seventy seven games that nobody thought that they
would win. And you did it with Eric has, Jonathan Scope, Willie
Castro, Nico Goodrum, Jammercandelario, Robbie Grossman, a Kill Badou, No
Mar Mazara, Harold Castro, Victor Reyes. Come on, man, I'm
not making excuse uses for him. And yes they took a turn for the
worst the following season and then last year with seventy eight wins. Look at
the lineup that they have, use like you could complain about certain guys absolutely
like Scott Harris trading for Nick Maton for crying out loud, Where's Nick Maton?
Now? Oh Wolfy? Let's all, let's all get fired up for
Wolfy right. Two of the three guys he traded for from Philadelphia for Greg
Risotto and Cody Clemens. Cody Clemens still playing for HM. Greg Risota is
still playing for You get one guy, Matt Feerling. It's a bad move,
But look at the lineups. As I said earlier in the show,
how many other managers you're the manager in the other dugout? How many other
managers are looking at the Tiger's lineup and going, Man, I'll tell you
what. I gotta have a Keel Bado. I gotta have Nick Mayton,
I gotta have your bias. I gotta have Zach McKinstry. On the other
side, Colton Pouncey of the Athletic he'll join us to talk Lyons in NFL.
Looking forward to this conversation coming up next on Exis and Bros. Huge
Here for the Michigan High School Athletic Association. You can stay up to date
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dot com after the hour. Throughout the Great State of Michigan. Welcome to
exes and Bros. Monday through Friday, six until nine. We're on in
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All those places can hear Exes and Bros. And the Huge Show in the
afternoon, and they can all read Colton pouncing in the Athletic. You can
follm on X as well. Colton underscore pouncy. He joins us now to
talk Lions in NFL. Colton, hope you and your family are well glad
that you've joined us here on Exes and Bros. When you looked at the
Lions schedule, what's the first thing that jumped out to you, besides the
national appearances that the Lions so rightfully deserve because they're a fun team to watch.
Yeah, I think you have to start with week one, and you
know, I think that's such a sign of respect to have a match like
that, you know, against the Rams, after what we saw in January
in that matchup. This is really the second year in a row that we've
seen the kind of get that respect right. Like last year they started with
the Chiefs on Opening Night. I thought that was really cool. I thought
that was sort of the next step for them, so, you know,
even the national games aside, just to get that match up, you know,
Sunday night football against the Rams in Detroit. Welcome Matthew Stafford back again.
I thought that was a great first week matchup and a sign that again
the Lions that are just continuing to get this sort of respect across country.
I read that they have the eleventh toughest schedule in the league that is based
on records from a year ago. Overall playing the teams that they're playing,
the AFC East, the NFC West, obviously within their own division. How
do you look at the schedule in general? I don't want you to pick
wins and losses. That's not fair because Colton Pouncy doesn't know who's going to
be on the Lions yet. He doesn't know what the teams that he's playing.
That's just strictly for editors and for people to try and you know,
try to read too much into a crystal ball. But overall, when you
look at the schedule, what do you notice about it? And then you
know, maybe kind of get you jacked up a little. It about the
eleven toughest schedule. Yeah, you know, it does look like a tough
schedule on paper. Obviously, when you finish first place the year before,
you're going to have a first place schedule next year and play some of those
teams, So yeah, you're gonna play some tougher teams. At the same
time, I think the Lions are a better team than they were a year
ago, and they went twelve and five with a second place schedule, you
know, last season, so I think it kind of bounces out when you
look at the additions they made this offseason, you know, revamping the cornerback
room, replacing Jonah Jackson with the Pro Bowl guard and Kevin Zeitler adding defensive
tackle with JJ readers. So I look at the pieces they made, I
think they can still compete with pretty much anyone on their schedule. There's gonna
be some tough games, of course, you know, they go to San
Francisco late in the season. That could be a game that decided the one
seed potentially in the NFC. They've had a lot of tough games on the
road. They play the textans of Cowboys on the road, so not could
be easy by any stretch. But I do think they've shown they can compete
with some of the better teams on their schedule, and they're not gonna be
a fait to take on any team that they play. Yeah, you mentioned
Zeitler, Carlton Davis really big. What about Marcus Davenport. How much of
an impact can he make at the defensive end spot. Yeah, to me,
it's all about he can stay healthy. You know, this coaching staff
kind of you know, saw him up close in New Orleans and Campbell there
and Glen they're part of the vigne that drafted him back then and when he
was really playing his best football in twenty twenty. I believe this twenty twenty
one season a high passless win rate, was getting guys one on one,
was set in the edge, was stopping the run, just getting some pastorless
shoots on the outside. He's kind of this do it all defensive end and
the Lions haven't had a player like that opposite of Aiden Hutchinson. And so
to me, the question is can he stay healthy. He really hasn't since
that twenty one season. Even back then, I believe he only played eleven
games, so he's really never proven that he can do it over the course
of a full season. If he can even get like twelve games out of
him, then you supplement maybe some time this with some other guys stepping up.
You know, you can get a productive season out of him. It's
just aboutter can you stay healthy? Can he rediscover that magic from a few
years ago. I think it's easier said than done. You know a lot
of people want to plugging him in as that guy, but I still think
we need to see it first before we kind of you know, write that
in Stone Colton pounce from the athletic joining as you can follow my ex Colton
underscore pounds. He check out his stuff in the Athletic It's always great stuff.
Jared Goff, we know has got the contract extension. He's earned it.
Whether or not the price tag you think is warranted really doesn't matter right
now because he's going to be a Lion for at least the next five years
and he's the highest paid player in franchise history. What was your overall feeling
on the contract extension in terms of timing and cost from alliance perspective. Yeah,
otherwise, I think it makes sense and I was maybe a little bit
surprised they didn't get it done around the same time they did, you know,
Saint Brown and Sewell, you know, around the draft. But I
know, you know, these things take time, and quarterback contracts a little
bit tougher to figure out. But yeah, I mean in terms of the
money they gave him, like, yeah, I think that's sort of the
going rate for an NFL quarterback that's playing on a high level these days.
And you know, this is the organization that really values Jared Goff and the
contributions he's made to this this froster, this franchise. You know, he's
helped them win two playoff games, He's want a division title for them.
He's sort of been the glue to all of this and kind of the face
of their rebuild as a guy that was you know, cast aside and left
the bed in Detroit, so people said years ago. And he's bounced back
in ways that a few people thought was imaginable. So, you know,
Brad Holmesold was every step of the way, like we doesn't see him as
a bridge. You know, it's it's easier to get worse at quarterback than
it is to get better, and so he kind of telegraphed these moves like
years ago, and so for it all to come full circle. You know,
this past week I thought was really cool. He's a third of that
you know, Big Trio that they want to get done this offseason, and
you know they're ready to go forward with him as a quarterback. And I
don't think that's surprising help our audience with how this shuts up for this team
long term. Everybody wants sustainability. It's not easy in the NFL. So
that's what makes it really impressible what Kansas City has been able to do,
or Buffalo or Pittsburgh in the past, or even San Francisco to a certain
extent. What does this mean for this team financially moving forward with key pieces
due up at some point in the near future. Yeah, it certainly makes
it tougher, right. I think I wrote that they're kind of moving past
the hunt and phase and things are getting real now. Because we all knew
this day was coming. They're going to have to get all these big money
extensions to their core players to keep these guys around and keep their window open
as long as possible. So it was really a matter of time. But
now that we're here and these contracts are real. It does make sort of
the cap math a little bit tougher going forward, and you have to kind
of pick and choose guys you want to keep around the guys you've already paid.
So that means, you know, Carlton Davis is the free agent in
twenty twenty five, you just drafted two young quarterback cornerbacks, you know,
early in the draft class. Maybe you let him walk and save some money
there. You know, Taylor Decker, I know he's been, you know,
such a figure and a force in the city, but he's probably gonna
want some big money, you know, next offseason when he's a free agent.
So it's like you kind of got to you can choose your spots.
I'm not saying that they're not going to bring him back, because I think
they've had conversations with him, but those are decisions you have to kind of
kind of make when you're giving out the big money four hundred and forty four
million dollars to three players over the next few years. So it's they're always
going to get here. It was an inevitable position for a team like this
that's been drafting well to a point where you can resign your own guy if
that's what you want to do. But it does make it more real and
those decisions are gonna be tougher for Brad Holmes moving forward for sure. Going
back to Jared Goff, this is the reaction I got from some people who
disagreed with the financial commitment. I think it's more about the fact that Joe
Burrow is the only other quarterback who makes more money on an annual basis than
Jared Goff, which you know, I've tried to tell people it's going to
fluctuate. I mean, it's all about timing in sports in general. But
Colton went People say anybody could step in and do what Jared Goff did for
the Lions offense because he's not mobile like Patrick Mahomes for example, doesn't have
that massive arm like CJ. Stroud for example. What do you say to
those people when they say, just about anybody, I'd save the money,
spend it elsewhere. Anybody can go in there and set play action because you
have such a great offensive line in a solid running game. Yeah, to
me, I would say, why this was with what's working right now?
You know, like the Lions haven't been this good in a very long time.
We know how hard it is to get to this point to where they
are now. I think Jared Goff has kind of earned the right to kind
of see this through and see how far he can take this team. You
know, he has taken a team to a super Bowl before in his career,
He's taken this team you know, you know, you're talking thirty minutes
away from a Super Bowl last year and the way it ended. So I
give him a chance to kind of see it through with this group and see
how far he can go. I get everyone wants the chief quarterback and you
know, the shining new toys always with neck, you know, Hennon Hooker.
I know a lot of people are high in him, but you've got
a really good quarterback in jerick Off that has the full tention of this locker
room, the full respect of it. And if you were to move on
or try to rock about right now, I'm not sure how well that would
go over in that locker room. And you know, you probably make a
lot more enemies and friends with a move like that. So to me,
it's like, look, you're in a great position. See where you can
take it, you know, ride it out and then maybe make a decision
from there, but you know at this point they're locked into him, so
it's kind of just about say how far he can take them and kind of
letting the play out. You're around him and the team every single day,
especially during the in season. What makes him so amenable to his teammates because
you see it all the time. I'm on a russ Saint Brown set it
it at the draft night for crying out loud, people are cheering it at
Comerica Park. Why is he so likable within his locker room? Yeah,
I think he's just like this calming president. You know, he takes a
lot of criticism nationally even locally sometimes and he just kind of like lets everything
bounce off of him. Like it's really remarkable to see for a guy who's
been through what he's been through in his career. I think his teammates say,
see the way that he responds to everything that comes his way, and
you know they respect him for it. And you know, even during the
playoffs or about the playoffs, getting to the playoff run last year, the
regular season when they clinched, he saw a lot of young players on this
team kind of leaning on him as a guy that's you know, been part
of a deep postseason run, like what should we expect? And he was
sort of the calming veteran presence in that room. He really wasn't that when
he was in LA because you know, Sean McVay, he was always kind
of, you know, over his shoulder. He didn't really have you know,
sort of the freedom to act like this veteran. But he has that
now in Detroit, he has, you know, the playoffs experience that people
rely on him for. So he really captured this locker room. Then I
think that Rams game, you know, this whole team, I mean the
whole city really, but the team especially wanted that game for him. That's
why Alm and Rab was talking about it. Opening During that week, we
saw the Jared golf chance around the state and then even drafted and you know,
a couple of weeks ago. That was really cool to see. So
it's abundantly clear that he has the respect and attention to his locker room and
I see it on a daily basis, Like these guys rally around him and
they think that he's their guy and he's their leader. So yeah, it's
been really cool to see. He is Colton Pountcy of the athletic King fom
on ex Colton Underscore Pounty. He joined us here on Exes and Bros.
I know it's difficult to answer because of where this team is at. We
don't know what this team's going to look like exactly. But what do you
think it's still lacking, if at all. That's a good question because I
think this roster has done pretty well to kind of address their holes this offseason.
Like I mentioned, he that reader plugging that defensive tackle role. I
think he's going to get the best out of ly McNeil. The cornerback room
of Carlton Davis and Terry and Arnold nannas Rachsow, I think are really going
to help. If I had the point of something, you know, I
think it might be the edge position. I do like d Import, but
the question is always going to be healthy with him. You know. I
think they lost a few pieces this offseason, and you know they're counting on
James Houston to be healthy and for Josh Paston to making another leap. I
thought they could have used another body in that room. I know they added
a CFL DEFENSEI Player of the Year Matthew Betts, so maybe he could be
a rotational player that helps him out. But you know, relying on Marcus
Davenport for a full season, it's kind of a tricky deal. So maybe
they try to get that you know, edge by by mandy position across maiden
huts to send and hope for the best. But I did think they could
have us at least warmer body there. We'll see if they add them before
camp get started. But if Mark Stavinport goes down at any point during the
season, I think you feel a little a little you know, worrisome about
the edge position a little bit. We know what their strength was a year
ago is up front. I'm a big believer in the way Brad Holmes has
built this organization from the inside out. What do you think their strength is
going into the season in twenty twenty four days five? Yeah, I still
think it's the offensive line. You know, the way these guys talked about
it, it seems like they think they've gotten even better there, which is,
you know, pretty pretty impressive if true. Just the addition of Kevin
Zeitler. I think Allie McNeil, you know, the Lions obviously played the
Ravens last year. Allen McNeil was so impressed with Zeitler. He couldn't get
anything you want against him, and he was, you know, pretty happy
to have him on his team. Now, you know, he's a guy
that's respected across the league, great and pass pass protection. You know,
can can handle business in the run game. So you put him in a
mace with Pne Sewell and Frank Ragnow and Taylor Decker, you know, Grant
Glasgow and those guys. This offensive line is ready to go. I think
they're going to remain one of the best of football. That's gonna help Jered
Golf out and help the backs out, the receivers, the tight ends.
I think this offense is ready to go again. And you know, honestly,
the defense has gotten there too. So this really looked like a complete
Lions team. And I'm sure a lot of people are happy about you know,
the roster Arad Holmes is going to go through. Yeah, you and
I would both agree that Ben Sue is one of the best at his position
and one of the best offensive linemen no matter the position, in all the
NFL. But Frank Ragnow is the key to that team's success up front because
of the responsibilities of the center. How do you think Dan Campbell has and
will continue to manage keeping one of the most important pieces in his team healthy
and fresh, knowing his injury history. Yeah, it's just kind of monitoring
the workload that he gets. I imagine there'll be a lighter offseason for him
just to kind of, you know, keep him first about the season.
You know, you know what you can do at this point, so you
don't need to push them in OTAs or even training camp really and during the
season, you know, there's usually a day off for him, probably earlier
in the week. Just let him rest and you know, fackt him in
the game plan later on. You know, they did that really well last
year, I thought. I know, he still got banged up and those
injuries are inevitable sometimes, but that's all you can do with the player.
Like Frank, I think he said his toe might be inoperable at this point,
so it's gonna be a thing that bothers him, you know, for
the rest of his career, as long as he eats slaying. So yeah,
it's just about work workload management, you know, keeping them fresh,
you know, picking them, choosing spots with him and at the end of
the day, you know what you can get from him. You want him
playing at a high level and you want him to be fresh. So that's
what it's all about to me. All right. Lastly, and you wrote
about this in the Athletic. What did you like about their draft most this
PASSA YEA yeah. I think they got some steels in the sixth round,
like Christian Mahogany and Makaia Wingo. Those are two dudes I think could be
either rotational pieces or starters within a year from now. For Wingo specifically the
defensive tausu, I think you can provide some pass row shoes. Those are
two top one hundred players on the Athletics board that fell to pick number one,
eight nine and two tens. So I think they got a couple of
steels there. I love how they addressed the cornerback room early. You know,
to me, it wasn't about like there's a lot of talk about all
the lines having drafts at the corner to the top one hundred picks. It's
Brad Holme's been here. But the way you listen to Brad talk, he's
not going to reach for a position just because he needs a position. He's
going to draft the guys that are high on his board the best player available.
It doesn't regardless of position really, so the fact that the two highest
players on his board I picked number twenty four when they traded up, and
then picked number sixty one second round the corners, I just knew that was
a perfect storm of need and BPA and it kind of worked out perfectly even
in the middle rounds. You know, Givan Manu, the British Columbia tackle,
Sioni Ivaki. Those are two guys that might have been unconventional picks,
but they just fit. What the lines are all about is these gritty,
hard nosed, high ethic guys. I think those guys will contribute sooner rather
than later. So I really like the draft last room. I think it
kind of fits what they want to do, you know, from a character
standpoint and town wise. Yeah. So well said, and it's what I
love and respect most about Brad Holmes. He drafts guys. He seems like
the guy who stays true to his board just because he may have a need
if that player is a lot further down his board than the guy he sees
he's taking the guy he sees, he stays true to it. I think
that's a big reason why he's so successful. It's obviously why you're successful with
the athletic. We appreciate the insight, we appreciate the time and the thoughts.
Have a great rest of your week and weekend. Don't be a stranger.
We hope to talk to you again. Thanks Colton Pouncy for all that
you do with the athletic. Absolutely thanks for having me on anytime you bet
all right, you can follow him on X Colton Underscore Pouncy. Great stuff,
man. I mean, that's what it's all about, right there.
The opportunity to get a guy and give you and reinforce what we've said for
a long time. And how good Brad Holmes is it what he does.
There's a reason they're on national TV is often they're fun to watch, but
they're a good football team because it's a good organization and he is at the
top of it. You follow your leader. The Lions have done that.
He stays true to his board. He picks the best player available. Our
thanks to Colton Pouncing, Our thanks to Ben our producer. Great job today
is always thanks to your phone calls and your text keep them coming. We'll
be back with you tomorrow. On a Friday. Exes and bros. Don't
forget Bill Simonson, the Huge Show Monday through Friday three to six later on
this many of these great network affiliates. We'll see you again tomorrow morning.
Have a great rest of your Thursday. Everybuddy, thanks for listening. We
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