Lions Dealing With a Laundry List of Injuries

This week the team discusses the outcome of Game #2 and review the up coming game against Atlanta Falcons. While Rhonda gives Dave a big slice of "Humble Pie"

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
Knock us down, We're gonna getup and on the way up, we're
gonna buy a kneecap off for long? Where's it going to be the last
room standing? This is what's thegreatest thing about pursy. Can you play
who win the game? That's whywe took the damn field. So if
you want to drown them, theycrown your hand. But they are when
we thought they were and we gothim on the club. Welcome to the

(00:26):
same old podcast. I'm ron toMoss with iHeart Sports Network along with daper
Cat from the Free Press, broughtto you by You don't have to go
to Kentucky for the best bourbon inthe country. It's made right here in
Detroit. Butcher's Cut Bourbon, fourgreen bourbon and home grown rye. It's
not bragging if you have the goldto back it up. Detroit City Distillery,
get yours, now, what's yourfavorite Detroit City distillery retailer? I

(00:49):
could have used a Butcher's Cut bourbonafter that game gave yeah, maybe they'll
have to start serving that in theFord Field press box. That wasn't a
I mean, look, you knowthe Lions weren't going to go undefeated,
right, but it was a Itwas a heartbreaker, I know for a
lot of Lions fans to lose theSeattle the way they did. Of course
they lose in overtime. Well,what I found interesting and we'll get to

(01:11):
it, because there were there area lot of injuries, and the biggest
one to me is what you tweetedC. J. Gardner. Johnson could
be done for the season. Hetore his pack. But he came out
early. This was early in thefirst quarter. In fact, it was
after his personal foul, if I'mnot mistaken, right, So it was

(01:33):
the opening drive. I think hestayed in the first play after that maybe
on the goal line, didn't evencontact anyone. And after that play he
was down on the ground getting medicalright on the sidelines. And then he
was back in and played the restof the game. And he talked after
the game. Let's and okay,so let's explain. Found out he has

(01:53):
a torn pack, right, sohe came out Monday night, torn pack.
Could be done for the rest ofthe sea. He's in funny because
after the game, this was ourconversation, and you are you okay?
Because I know you went out.I'm fine. He said he was fine.
No torn pack there. How doyou play the whole game with a

(02:14):
torn pack? Yeah? Look,I mean you know a lot of times
it's you're you're playing on adrenaline,right, And I don't think he or
the Lions knew the extent of theinjury until and Dan Campbell said this Tuesday,
until he had further evaluations Monday evening, and when those came back and
they showed a torn pack. Andlook, let's let's be clear, this

(02:34):
does not mean that he's out forthe season. Does not guarantee he's out
for the season, certainly a possibility, but the type of injury will certainly
dictate, you know, his returnto play protocol. JJ Watt came back
a little over two months after hesuffered a torn pack. T J Watt
last year missed about eight weeks witha torn pack. He did not have
a torn tendon in the pack.So it's it's we don't know the exact

(02:58):
nature of c. J. GardnerJohnson injury yet, but it'll be a
big loss while he's out. Andlook, let's give him credit for playing
Ronda. I mean seven, Essentially, I break a nail and I'm down
for the count. I mean it'swell, and then the game was so
physical. And yes, football isphysical, but that game in particular was
so physical. Guys were dropping likeflies like a mom ros Saint Brown went

(03:23):
out with cramps. Obviously they gavehim some might all he was good to
go back in. You have TaylorDrecker, who was a Taylor Decker,
who was out anyway with an ankle, and who knows when he's going to
be back. David Montgomery, that'sa big one, suffered a thigh injury.
He's out because they're calling up fromnight from the press. Montgomery,

(03:44):
Look, that's that's a thigh bruisers. I saw him limping in the locker
room after one. He told me, probably take a couple of weeks,
so I would expect that he's outthis week. James Houston on IR with
a fractured fibula. He's down Viti. What about him? Go miss a
couple of weeks? Probably, Lookinjuries they pile up. And you're right,
this was but the second game,physical game. The Seahawks are a

(04:06):
physical team. They kick their ass. I mean, look, see I
didn't necessarily think so, I meanwe'll talk about that. Let me just
finish up with the injuries real quick. Okay, this is part of life
in the NFL, right, likeinjuries mount? Yes, and would you
rather be the Cincinnati Bengals where JoeBurrow, your star quarterback, is dealing

(04:29):
with the calf injury and can barelywalk, or or the Cleveland Browns who
lost Nick Chubb, who's really theheart of their offense for the season.
Like the Lions, they're not ina good spot right now. Viti Decker,
who knows about Montgomery. Manuel Mosleyis not ready to come back yet.
They don't have c. J.Gardner Johnson. They have some injuries
piling up. Josh Pascal. Whatabout Aiden Hutchinson? Wasn't he There's some

(04:51):
undisclosed injury there. We'll see howmuch some of these guys practice this week.
Hutchinson came out on the last lastdrive, went back in Saint Brown.
Forget about the cramps like, hecame back right. They hydrated him.
I shouldn't even make fun of himbecause the catches that he makes are
unbelievable. He had a toe injury. I think that's the more pressing concern,

(05:15):
you know, so you know,if you're dealing with turf toe as
a receiver like like that's pain.Definitely have some injuries that are mounting,
and I would expect a lot ofthose guys mispractice time this week. Maybe
that doesn't bode well for Atlanta,but you know, everyone's dealing with injuries.
The Vikings are down too of startingoffensive linemen. Well so were the
Seahawks. And look what happened,right, So you can overcome some of

(05:36):
those injuries on a short term basis. It's just when they started getting into
the Nick Chubb realm where it becomesan issue and maybe the Cajar Gardner Johnson
injury will be something that the Lionswill have to navigate. You're listening to
the same old podcast, I'm ronto Moss with iHeart Sports Network along with
Dave ber Kata the Detroit Free Press. Now that game, the Seahawks just

(05:57):
have the Lion's number. I'm sorry, but they couldn't. Gino Smith was
so comfortable back there. He wasordering dessert, you know, I mean
it was they were chasing it.They couldn't touch him and the ANZELONEI sack.
Sorry, I don't even think itshould be credited because Geno Smith forgot
to throw it out of bounds.He had nowhere to go except into his

(06:18):
arms, Anzelonei's arms. So tome, that's a fake sack. So
they have no sacks first one ofthe season. And as we look at
what the Lions defense has done orfailed to do really through the first two
games. I mean that's a bigone is they've gotten some pressure. They
got some pressure on Patrick Mahomes,but they couldn't bring him down good in
the pocket. He stepped up.Gino did the same thing. The Seahawks

(06:40):
were good about making sure he gotrid of the ball quick with that offensive
line and getting him out on somebootlegs that they gave him a little more
space. But the Lions need tobe better with their pass for us.
They just they absolutely do. Youknow, Aiden Hutchinson, you know,
plays hard, He got pressure againthis game, still doesn't have a sack.

(07:00):
You know, Dan Campbell talking Mondayabout the Lions needing to be more
disciplined within the rush plan, andI think part of that is is on
Aidan upfront where maybe you're not alwayslooking for that sack. You know,
we saw one where Charles Harris Ithink overran Gino on his his long run.
You know, those guys on theedge off if they can hem the
quarterback in especially a guy like DesmondRitter. This week, you're just counting

(07:25):
on some of those guys on thein tier to clean up some of your
mess. Right, and also thethree turnovers didn't help, and of course
the jinks. Yeah, but JaredGoff with his first pick and what three
eighty three throws, that's why hedidn't want to talk about it last week.
Right, Hello, wait a minute. Our football players as superstitious as

(07:46):
hockey players, I doubt it.Or baseball players. They're really superstitious,
like have to you know, havethe same this, the same bat,
the same gloves, you have toeat the same food for every game.
Are they as superstitious? I don'tthink so. What my son came back
from his football game was like,hey dad, I gotta make sure I
wear this shirt from now on.So, but is it washed? I've

(08:09):
washed it, I know, butyou can't wash it because he doesn't.
Okay, but no, I don't. I don't think you know, are
they as superstitious? Because he probablydidn't want to Jared Goff probably didn't want
to talk about and you guys werejust hammering away and look what happened.
I don't care what Dan Campbell says. It was a bad throw, bad
route, everything was bad about it. You can't blame Jami Gibbs or without

(08:30):
blaming Goff. Sorry. Look,the bottom line, whoever's fault it was,
is that the Lions had three turnovers. You know, they're they're negative
four on the year, negative threein the year. Now, when it
comes to turnovers, you're not goingto win many football games that way,
and that was a big problem lastyear during the one and sixth start.
The defense started creating takeaways in thesecond half of last season, and they
haven't done a great job of thatthis year. You know, Gardner Johnson

(08:52):
had a pick that he dropped thatfirst game and Kirby Joseph had one last
week. The Lions need some ofthose breaks. They need to start creating
some of their own fortune when itcomes to that if they're gonna, you
know, have the season. Weall think that they're capable of having.
Well, now with all the injuries, is that kind of lost now?

(09:13):
Is that I'm not saying they can'tmake the playoffs, but when you have
injuries this early, and I don'teven want to talk about the playoffs right
now. I don't think you canright now with the injuries. Is the
season done? I know? Isit too early? Is it? Do
you lose momentum? Will you talksome sense into her? Please? I'm

(09:35):
not I'm just asking, this isour year. This is the lion's ear?
Is it what? I'm sorry?What did you say? This is?
Oh, this is our year?This is our Every time you say
we, you get the blowhorn.It's not we, It's it's not us.

(09:56):
You're right, No, all right? Let me bring some sense?
Yes, please? Do I knowthat's that's silly, it's stupid to say,
is that? But that's the doomand gloom, right That's how people
view it. It's like, oh, oh god, CJ. Gardner,
Johnson, David Montgomery, James Houston, who had what eight sacks last year?

(10:18):
Who else? Taylor Decker? Yeah? You know why that they do
that because they see their team Zac'spoint, They see their team, you
know, having these injuries and theydon't realize that's happening to thirty one other
teams across the league. Right now. Every team is dealing with injuries,
maybe not to the same extent asthe Lions in Week three, but they
will throughout the course of the seventeengame season, and you know, the

(10:39):
Lions will get healthy at some pointtoo, right, Dan Campbell does a
pretty good job of you know what, maybe Taylor Decker played that first week
with an injury, and maybe hewas close that second week, but we're
not going to push him because westill have fifteen games to go. And
I you know, I got atext from a friend last night when the
CJ. Gardner Johnson news broke thissaid, oh man, you know what

(11:01):
was us right? The Lions fans, we can't have anything nice? And
I know that was sort of thetheme on my Twitter feed too, is
fans commiserating really about the injuries.But these things happen, and the Lions,
you go back to what we talkedabout before the season that you know,
maybe they don't have the best defenseand maybe they have some questions on

(11:22):
offense, but you know what they'rethey've done a really good job of is
building depth on their team. Andso CJ. Gardner Johnson's out. But
Tracy Walker, who started, youknow, most of the past four seasons
until he got his torn achilles,is going to step in and start,
and so that's a pretty good backupto have. And on the offensive line,
vite is not going to play thisweek, but Graham Glasgow was going
to start, and so that's whyyou sign Graham Glasgow. That's why you

(11:46):
still have you know, Tracy Walker, that's why you keep Really why the
Lions when they set their roster,why they kept Julian Acquire and placed them
on ir and why they kept FatuMelifonu And not that these guys are going
to be difference makers, but whenJay Houston is out in mid October and
you need a backup, you know, outside linebacker, well you still have
Julian Aquia who can go in andbe better than signing someone off the street.

(12:09):
So look, this is something thatevery NFL team deals with, and
it certainly doesn't doom the Lion season. They will, they will be thin,
they'll be behind the eight ball alittle bit this week, but nothing
that they can't overcome and still winten games. Okay, may I'm gonna
rephrase, I'm gonna take back.I'm gonna take it back. I'm gonna
say, could they overcome these injuries, these the plethora of injuries to win

(12:39):
on Sunday against the Falcons, whocame back to beat the Packers scored twelve
unanswered points in the fourth quarter.I think they can. I mean,
you know, or being twelve down. Yeah, it's early in the week,
you know, I want to seehow some of these injuries play out
maybe before I make a prediction.But I still think the Lions are a
better team than the Falcons. TheFalcons a couple of things. Really Well,

(13:01):
you know they run the ball.Well, well, they got Bijean
Robinson who is early out playing JamirGibbs. Well he should he was.
He was a higher draft pick,right, Hello, weren't the Lions?
They would have taken him? Well, I don't know. Would they have
taken him earlier? They would havetaken Jimmir Gibbs or As my point,
I'm just saying, there's gonna becomparison those right, aren't they? There

(13:24):
are going to be comparisons on Sunday. Absolutely between those two running backs.
But Bijean was thought to be thebest running back to come out of this.
Okay, if that was the case, and why did the Lions take
it? Oh wait, he wasgone. Sorry. Falcons to the Falcons
twelve to the Lions. For theLions straighted down. Look two different type

(13:46):
running backs if you're putting both ofthem out there. And I don't know
that the Lions have said they wouldtake Jamir over Bijean. I know Jamir
was a target for them, butmaybe, you know, if you go
back to what Brad Holmes said insome of the video captured by the Lions,
right, they were hoping to getJamir at eighteen and maybe trading up
for him after taking Devin Witherspoon atsix, like that was their ultimate draft
plan. So you know, Ithink they figured Bijan would be gone by

(14:11):
then. And you know, Gibbsfits what they want and what they need
in their backfield, and now he'sprobably gonna have to play a bigger role
than they even anticipated with David Montgomeryside, probably sooner than what they expected.
Right, Yeah, you're listening tothe same old podcast. I'm Ron
de Moss with iHeart Sports Network alongwith Dave Briquette Jimmy Buckets of the Detroit

(14:33):
Free It was the original, itwas you are the original. Obviously you're
older than he is, so youare the original. Okay, So I
think I think we could put tobed. The villain the ski masks,
which I didn't really see except whenJareck Reid put it on and walked out

(14:54):
off the field Seahawks Jareck Reid Mottwas mocking H. J. Gardner Johnson
with the blue ski mask into thelocker, into the Seahawks locker room.
So I think we could put thatto bed. You know, that was
a short lived celebration obviously, theblue ski mask. And when you don't

(15:15):
win the ski mask game, andwhen the guy who who invents it creates
it, you know, pas suffersa potentially season ending injury, it's certainly
probably time to put it to bed. But you know, rand I will
say, I think these are alllike you know, new heights that were
scaling for lack of a better term, you know, like because the Lions
are pretty good, Like some ofthese things are going to pop up where

(15:37):
all of a sudden, it's likeblue ski mask, Like that was nothing
that ever would have entered the discussion, you know a few years ago when
the Lions were in the state thatthey were in, and now it's like
we're the villains and we got totake care of this. We lost sold.
Maybe it's maybe this, this doesn'tthis doesn't fit us anywhere. We
gotta find something. I think ifa player would have said it and said

(15:58):
I need all the fans to come, they would have done it. Nobody
they didn't have They didn't have thatpersonality, although yes they did because what's
his face? Well they were whowent to fill the Eagles. Say yes,
if he would have done that,if he would have said we got
to be villains a blue ski mask, people would have. Slay was more

(16:22):
fun loving, like I know,but if he would have brought it up
or set it, they would have. The fans would have definitely worn the
blue ski mask. I although thecoach, who was a coach at the
time, would have nixed it anywaybecause he's gross. Well, I think
you mentioned previous I think you mentionedthis in the previous podcast. Is you

(16:45):
have to do something to be consideredsomething. What have they done this?
What did James Gardner Johnson do?But big play Slay like yeah, people
would be behind him if he startedwearing a thing, if any player would,
if Stafford would have easily, Iwould have worn up a manage.
He would never do that. Imean I wore a bag when he was
the quarterback over face. No.But that's the point with the bag is

(17:07):
that you know, for years andyears and years, the Lions were trying
to become this team that was takenseriously in the NFL. You know,
even when you go back to twentyfourteen, even when they won eleven and
five and they had defense. Yeah, well everybody was kind of like,
ah, but you didn't beat anyonegood. And you know, the Packers
still won the division. And noweven though they haven't won anything, and
we all agree with that, likethey are being taken seriously by everyone,

(17:30):
like they're a big game for theiropponents. The Seahawks came in here knowing
they needed to have this, thisreally special effort to beat them. And
so I think that's when, hey, as a fan base, you're not
worried about and can my team reallycompete anymore? Now you're confident that,
yeah, my team's pretty good,and so I'm willing to ride for my
guys and throw a ski mask onand show up and be the villain and

(17:52):
really take on this. I didn'tsee anyone really wearing a skid. I
gotta be honest. It was solike the fans showed up. It was.
I couldn't hear myself think it toobad. The Lions didn't, but
the fans did. The fans showedup and did what they had to do.
Then they went home and drank thatButcher's cut bourbon exactly exactly because that

(18:17):
game, like like Dan Campbell said, this is good. You know,
we'll get a little humble pie here. That's right, little humble pie.
It certainly wasn't necessary. I thinkfor the Lions to leak. It's too
early for a humble pie. Don'tyou think what he's what umble pie?
I think the point is goes backto what Dan said this summer, where

(18:38):
the hype train had gotten out ofcontrol. And I don't even think it
was in the locker room. Youknow these if you talk to NFL players,
you know these guys are very muchfocused on the one week at a
time thing. And that doesn't meanthey don't get big headed and they read
the clippings. But I don't thinkthat's why they lost. So I don't
know that they needed this to getback on track, but it does temper

(19:00):
expectations externally a little bit, becauseyou listen to fans. Even you said
it, Rondick can they win astheir season over. No, it's not
over. It's week three, buta lot of people are feeling that way
after that loss, and given theinjuries that they've had, well, I
think it does put a damper onthe hype, right, Yeah, the
hype train has stalled temporarily, itcould stall. I think outside looking in

(19:25):
with all the injuries, I'm gonnaput them aside for a minute. Well,
let's see what they do against theFalcons, because I think it's the
third game, but it's it's apretty big game because it can kind of
go off the rails if they losethis one and then you know, you
have all these injuries and what doyou do? And I mean, you
better put golf and bubble wrap hugegame, because you know, the Falcons

(19:48):
are a pretty good team. Ithink they're the best team in the NFC
South, and that's not a greatdivision. But they're two and oh right
now. The Bucks are two andoh, the Saints are two and o,
so maybe it's a little better thanthan we thought. But I think
they're the best team in that visionbecause they run the ball well and their
offensive skill talent Jean Robinson, firstround pick Kyle Pitt's tight end first round
pick Drake London, wide receiver firstround pick. They're one of two teams

(20:11):
in the NFL right now that havefirst round picks at the wide receiver,
tight end, and running back positions. So they're a dangerous team that's playing
pretty well right now that runs theball, which is something the Lions,
even though they did a decent jobthe first two weeks a good job the
first two weeks of shutting it downhave not historically done well at and then
on top of that, you havea short week Thursday night game at lambeau

(20:33):
Field the following week, so it'ssort of a big stretch of four or
five days here. I totally forgotthat's right. They played then the following
Thursday, no time to really rest. You're hoping you can keep guys healthy.
You don't need any more injuries,and the injuries could carry over because
it is a short week, sosome of the things they're dealing with right
now could impact them on that shortThursday night game against the Packers. You're

(20:57):
listening to the same old podcast doneRondo Moss with iHeart Sports Network along with
day per Katta the Detroit Free Press, so you had your predictions at the
beginning of the season, did youknow? I mean I'm owing two on
my I am losing to the Chiefsand beating the Seahawk. Do they Does
it change now? I mean you'reyou're total now. You can't change.

(21:21):
You can't change what do you have? Ten and seven? Right? Yeah?
I had him ten and seven?And you know as people that email
me sometimes and say, look,you think you got these wrongs. So
it's not the last time I'm gonnabe wrong either, So get used to
it. No, I still thinkthis is going to be a ten or
eleven win team. And I lookat you know, the talent that they
have. What else is in theirdivision? Right? The Vikings and the

(21:42):
Bears are both of them? Rightnow? The Bears are god awful.
What's justin fields? They need aquarterback? He has get one at the
top of the draft. Next hehas regressed. Not a great passer,
doesn't have a great offensive line infront of him, not surrounded by great
skill player. I don't know.I don't think he knows how to read
defenses. It's a tough road declinefor him. Yeah, right, So

(22:04):
you think about that. That's fourgames and not that the Lions are guaranteed
to win all those four, butthat's four games. You know, they
still play the NFC South, whichwe just talked about, maybe better than
we thought. I need to seethe books, you know, do this
for an extended period time before it. I'm sorry. The Cowboys, good
boys are good. But we knewthat ahead of time. We knew they
were going to have a good deal. Yeah, so this nothing that's happened

(22:27):
so far, you know, theloss to Seattle last week, the injuries
that they're dealing with. But it'sthe way that they opinion, it's the
way that they lost. And Iwant to get into something about Dan Campbell.
And you don't like the time managementthe gambler, Okay, I don't.
First of all, if you're goingto go for it three times,
some fourth and two, fourth andfive whatever it is, right, isn't

(22:49):
they held on the fourth and twoshort field? Right? Okay? So
then yet you go end of thegame too, okay? Do not?
Do they not? Prey does atwo minute drill? And why are you
like, what are you taking somuch time for? And if you're such
a gambler, you're at home,why don't you go for the win.
Hello, if I'm not mistaken,Ron Rivera went for the win at ford

(23:15):
Field. They didn't get it,but they went for it, So why
aren't you going for it? Andand I heard what he said, and
I respectfully disagree, Zach. Letme hear your opinion before I share mine.
What do you What do you thinkof the lions in the and the
way Dan operated at the end ofit? The lions very good? Then

(23:40):
I personally like it. Does hedo it quite often for my liking?
Yes, it's gonna come back tobite him in the ass if it continues.
And yeah, it's gonna come backand bite him in the ass.
That's kind of how I feel.Look, I know you're gonna throw out
the analytics. Look even taking thenumbers out of it. Okay, you
think they should have went. Theyto problem with the way that But what

(24:04):
he operated at the end of theokay, but earlier does he not like
his kicker go for the points?Go for the points? Yeah? Isn't
that normal? No? No,no, no, no, it's it's
I have to use math a littlebit. I mean it is it is
like you understand math? Yeah,it's it's speak for yourself. The right

(24:26):
move in the vast majority of thosesituations is to go for it on fourth
and short, like if you areanywhere according to the analytics above, like
the thirty yard line from the opponent, like, you should go for it.
That's just what the numbers say.And beyond that, this is a
game where let's take the end ofthe game for instance, right two minutes
left, a little lass thing.I just they should have been like more

(24:48):
hurry up, and they weren't.I don't think so. As a high
level coach myself from coaching all theseokay whatever, I always thought it was
coaching on party to save your timeoutsto the very end of the game,
which Dan was doing, because thatkeeps the whole field open. Okay,
he saved them, and they don'tcarry over. You can't take it to

(25:10):
the next game. Yeah, butif they convert a first down, if
that passed the amand Ross and Brownhits, if even if if Jamir Gibbs
on that last third down, youknow, if he somehow gets a first
down, well you still have twentyseconds in two timeouts, or you use
the time out there, so thenyou have three cracks at the end zone
and you can throw it anywhere onthe field. You can throw a steam
row, you can throw something youknow short and get to the five if
nothing is open in the end zone, and then take two shots from there

(25:33):
because you have time outs. SoI know a lot of people out there
are, you know, side withyou on this, because believe me,
I heard it from everyone after mygrades and online and you know, on
Twitter and email everything. But Ijust frankly didn't have a problem with the
urgency that they showed at the endor that because you're leaving it up to

(25:55):
a coin toss whether you're getting thatball. And that's why I'm trusting my
offense that, hey, my offenseis good enough that we're going to be
able to score in those situations.And now I'm talking about the end of
the game. No, I know, but but I don't think it's going
to get to that point even byI'm trying to keep the ball in my
offense's hands, and when I gofor it on fourth and two, I'm
trusting that I'm gonna make that play. I believe enough in my guys that

(26:18):
I'm going to be able to makethis play in during the score the game.
I get it. I don't havea problem with going for a fourth
and two, fourth and five,whatever. But it's the two minute the
end of the game that I hadan issue with. For some reason.
It bothered me. It's like,why, all of a sudden, are
you not going for it but towin the game? I don't. Yeah,

(26:41):
I think a lot of that is, you know, reactive to what
happened, because people look at itand they say, ah, you didn't
you know, you didn't throw tothe end zone. Well where do you
want Jared goff the throw to theend zone from? You know, they
start at midfield, not from therethe thirty eight. The next pass,
that's not his strength. He's notgoing to throw a forty yard pas into
the end zone. Then they getdown to the twenty four. And you

(27:02):
know what, I'll grant you this, maybe they could have run that play
a little bit sooner, right,So maybe you run it with forty seconds
instead of you know, thirty threeor whatever it was, So maybe you
do save a few more seconds.But I think they moved down field in
the manner that they should have.And those plays, you know, when

(27:22):
Golf checked that pass down to twoGibbs in the middle of the field.
He was looking for someone on theoutside that was covered. That was a
second read, that was his checkdown. So I think maybe the play calls
were slightly more aggressive than people aregiving them credit for, and Golf was
taking what was there and they stillhad enough time. In my estimation,
thirty five seconds is plenty of timeto go from you know, your twenty

(27:45):
five yard line, let's call itto the end zone. And it's just
when they didn't get in on thirddown, third and six, you know,
they get stopped a couple of yardsshort. Then all of a sudden,
well we didn't throw any we didn'ttake any shots at the end zone
while you were trying to pick upthe first down, so then you could
take shots at the end zone.So I get it. It's it's you
know, I understand why people wantthem to take shots. I just don't

(28:06):
think the Lions were in the bestposition to take shots on those first couple
plays. And then missing that seconddown pass the Saint Brown was a killer
because you know, that was oneof gossip very few bad throws of the
game, and that put them ina spot where, well, we have
to pick up this first down inorder to take shots at the end zone
rather than do that right after thatwould what would have been a could have

(28:30):
been a completion to Saint Brown.You know my other pet, Peeve and
I have a lot. But it'sthe well, if David Montgomery didn't fumble,
if the what if if this,I'm like, yeah, if I
was a size too, I'd bea supermodel. Not happening. Okay,
stop, I hate I hate it. Well, if he didn't do this,

(28:51):
we would have done this. Andthen it's just to me, it's
ridiculous. I cannot stand it.And every coach does it. It's just
lu I mean, did Dan doit? Yes, Lions fans do it.
He did it yesterday. Yeah,I mean I think if if if,

(29:11):
well, it'll be a drop.I think ultimately the reason why they
lost was because of turnovers. Ofcourse, it wasn't because of the late
gameplay calling in my estimate, No, it was the turnovers. It was
the lack of pass rush. Itwas the defense to me, did not
play well. And then you hadthe injuries, which I don't really think

(29:33):
affected now the outcome of the game. But here's the other thing. On
the defense, I mean, theygave up one touchdown on a long field.
That was it in overtime, youknow, But it's just the way,
you know what I'm saying, likenot getting to Geno Smith, and
I know Kenneth Walker had one longrun and then he was really shut down.
But it's just the whole the wholegame. It was not pretty.

(29:56):
I am not absolving the defense.They needed to be better in the secondary.
I don't think Jerry Jacobs had agreat game. Russ wasn't there,
but Kirby looked at what they didin Seattle. Missed a couple of field
goals, you know, they scoredone touchdown on a pick six, They
scored one touchdown on a short fieldafter the fumble. They scored another touchdown

(30:17):
on a short field after the failedfourth down conversion. So I mean,
the only real touchdown they allowed wasthe one in overtime, which crucial time.
You can't do that. But Idon't think the defense played as bad
as people came away from that gamefeeling. Again, just based on the
results of seeing oh man, theyscored thirty seven points. Well, if
you look at how they did itand what happened, I think the defense

(30:38):
actually did some decent things in thatgame. You're listening to the same old
podcast. I'm ron to Moss withI Hired Sports Network along with day Briquette
of the Detroit Free Press. Okay, so how do you see it on
Sunday against the Falcons. They arehome, so that you know home field
advantage, fans will be really loud. What do you as a win for

(31:06):
you? I think with everything,all the injuries, everything, it hasn't
changed your mind. You think yousee what happened with Seattle, right they
knew they were going to be withouttheir offensive tackles, so they constructed a
game plan that really took that intoaccount. And you know they mean Pete
Carroll probably out coached Dan Campbell inthat regard. The Seahawks operated within that
game plan and played well, andthey took care of the ball. And

(31:27):
I think being at home the Lions, even though the turnovers hurt them last
week, you know, turnovers shouldn'tbe an issue this week. Crowd noise,
that stuff shouldn't be an impact.I think they have enough time to,
you know, put together the rightgame plan to account for some of
the losses that they had that they'llbe dealing with from an injury standpoint,
and Frankly, I just think theyhave a better roster than than Atlanta.

(31:49):
Atlanta has a few first round picks. On offense, well, they have
a better quarterback. I mean,Derek Coff is better than Ridder, It's
better than Ritter. The Lions havea better offensive line even though well here's
the thing, let's see, becauseyou have Taylor Decker and Viti right,
so you have two offensive linemen theymay not play on Sunday if if Decker
can't play, I mean that that, you know, even the scales a

(32:10):
little bit there. So this isa This is not a slam dunk that
maybe people thought it was going tobe before the season. I do think
this will be a good game,just based on the way that Atlanta plays
and the way the Falcons can runthe ball. But being at home,
if you're a good team, likethe Lions think they are, you should
be able to overcome injuries in somesituations, and this is one of them

(32:32):
that I think the Lions should geta victory. Is this the kind of
game where they really have to becoached up and or the rookies now kind
of need to step it up becausethey were okay Sunday they weren't great.
Yeah, they were not as goodas they were against Kansas City. Let
me put it that way. Youknow, Dan said something Monday about,

(32:52):
you know, the lions most reliableguys need to be there, their most
reliable players on these sort of stages. Oh right, I think that's I
think ultimately that's what it is.Is whether it was Jared Goffe's fault or
not. You can't throw a picksix, you know, whether it was
David Montgomery's fault or not. Youknow, Samuel can't fumble, Yeah he
whipped on the block, right,You can't fumble and give them a short

(33:14):
field. You know, whether AidenHutchinson you got to deliver a sack at
some point here in the season.Is as much pressure as you've gotten on
your quarterback. So I think it'smore on those vets that the Lions are
counting on to be big time playmakersfor them, that they come through in
a game like this. All right, well, Zach, what do you

(33:35):
think I mean? We're going tothe Super Bowl one? That's the hype
horn right there? We do youuse we when talking about the Lions when
you're talking having conversation with your friends. No, absolutely not. The only
time I said, just say areporter thing or is it a or is

(33:59):
it just a fan thing? Likeour fans allowed to say we? Because
I find it gross. I don'tlike you. Don't play to me when
somebody says we, it's meaning doyou play for the team. I didn't
know you, but I blew blew. I bleed blue and silver. So

(34:20):
that's another drop. We had thisconversation Christal w JLB listeners, she's fabulous,
was was debating me, saying,I could I say we, I'm
a fan, I'm part of that'swe? And I said no and gave
her the horn. I think,Rhonda, we're in a different you know,

(34:44):
I would never say we, yeah, but you you know we're different
than most people out there because Idon't even use it with friends. I
don't like people, so I wouldn'thave to say. You know, people
ask me all the time like great, oh man, this has to be
great for you, right, likeyou're rooting for no. No, Do
you not understand my job like II mean, oh please, You've got

(35:05):
Homer always still the team. Imean sometimes it's a little offensive. It's
like I don't work for the organization. I'm not a cheerleader, and I
take that to heart. Sorry.Yeah, well, I think from a
fan standpoint, when they say we, they identify with the team so much,
right they some of these fans havebeen die hards for a long long
time, and ultimately so are theythey Is it right? Is that okay

(35:30):
for them to say we? Isit? Is that right? Or?
Do you still? I find Idon't like it. You're not we,
You're not the Lions. Jared Goffwould never come up to Zach and go
we hopefully will win on say that, Absolutely not, And I think he'd
be offended if you went up tohim and said we'll win. I will

(35:52):
go up to him and I'll belike, Goff, we win in this,
and He'll be like, yeah,we got this. He will ask
for he will ask me for thehorn. He will, you know,
saying we out their fans. Wemay roll our eyes at it, but
I think it's because of our lineof work more than anything. Right,
So that's fans that keep us inbusiness because of their their their passion.

(36:15):
They're passionate. They're passionate. SoI guess Ryan's fans because they've been so
desperate for a win, I willallow them this year to say we.
How's that They're only going to saywe if they keep winning? Because runs

(36:37):
right, if they go on thatlong losing streak, it's now they're three
and six. It's man, whatdid they do again? I was part
of the we when we were owingsixteen? So fine? Any who?
All right, Well, I thinkyou say they're going to win on Sunday.
I I don't know. You gotthem winning too? Come on,

(36:58):
I see you know I I willbe impressed if they win with all the
injuries. That will this will beif they do. To me, it
would be an impressive win. Well, I think we'll be talking about that
next week because I think the Lionsare winning this game. And you might
be right that for them to comeaway from all the injuries, maybe it

(37:20):
shows some growth from an organization,from a team that you know, we
wouldn't have seen from them in therecent past. So this is I do
think it's an important game, especiallywith what's coming up. But when I
look at the two rosters, Istill think the Lions are a better team
and I think they're gonna win.You're listening to the same old podcast I'm
Ron de Moss with iHeart Sports Networkalong with Dave Roguett, the Detrite Free

(37:44):
Press, and we're done by