Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Morning Lions Links for Tuesday 1-5-21

Articles:

Jeff Okudah dealt with ‘dysfunction’ during tough rookie season in Detroit:  https://www.mlive.com/lions/2021/01/jeff-okudah-dealt-with-dysfunction-during-tough-rookie-season-in-detroit.html





Matthew Stafford's 5 Best Memories with the Lions:  https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/lions-matthew-stafford-5-best-memories



$.10 After NFL Week 17 (Marvin Jones isn’t a household name around the league, but the Lions wideout has quietly been one of the most productive receivers over the last few years. He’s a free agent and effectively said goodbye to Detroit this week. Jones will make an excellent No. 2 receiver for the next couple of years, and expect it to be with a West coast team for the California native. I’d love to see him join the Chargers. Jones is also one of the best human beings in the NFL and someone you’ll want your team to sign.  Sunday was not a good one for the officiating crews. After completely botching two important calls in the Detroit-Minnesota game, enough that FOX officiating analyst Dean Blandino was openly chastising the crew, the next game featured the Packers having to blow a challenge on the opening kickoff because the crew blew the call. And the review also got it wrong. Bad, bad day for the officials.):  https://football.realgm.com/analysis/3341/$10-After-NFL-Week-17

PFF's 2020 NFL All-Pro Team: Aaron Rodgers, Derrick Henry and Aaron Donald highlight PFF's All-Pro roster (P JACK FOX, DETROIT LIONS - Few people know it, but there might be nothing PFF does better than punting grades, which reward players for a combination of hang time, location and distance, all according to where they are kicking from on the field. Detroit’s Jack Fox has been the best punter in the league all season long by PFF grades and conveniently has the net and gross averages to back it up, however easily those can be manipulated to not actually tell an accurate story.):  https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-pff-all-pro-team-aaron-rodgers-davante-adams-aaron-donald-and-t-j-watt-highlight-pffs-all-pro-roster

Best landing spots if Eagles trade Carson Wentz (5. Detroit Lions:  This one depends almost entirely on what the new regime looks like, but it's reasonable to assume Detroit could look to pivot from the "defensive" focus of the Matt Patricia era and restart the entire offense, complete with a trade of Matthew Stafford. Is Wentz an upgrade over Stafford? That's very debatable, but he's at least five years younger and might benefit from the change of scenery. At worst, he'd make for an intriguing bridge/reclamation project a la Teddy Bridgewater in Carolina.):  https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/carson-wentz-landing-spots-eight-potential-destinations-if-eagles-trade-former-pro-bowl-qb/

Ranking open NFL head coaching jobs (5. Detroit Lions:  The question surrounding the Lions is simply how ownership wants to approach these next few seasons. They could continue to build around Matthew Stafford -- signed through 2022 -- or look to trade him and go into a total rebuild. If they are simply looking for a culture change and want to keep this core together, that could change the scope of candidates that they are looking for.  Detroit does own the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 draft so it is in range to get one of the young quarterback prospects if it so chooses. That high selection is a key piece going forward regardless as whoever they pick should be an instant-impact type of talent. In terms of cap space, the Lions are in the bottom half of the league for 2021, which does hurt their chances of revamping the roster quickly.):  https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ranking-open-nfl-head-coaching-jobs-here-are-the-key-reasons-why-jaguars-take-the-top-spot/

NFL head coaching vacancies, ranked: Jaguars, Chargers jockey for best available gig (6. Detroit Lions (General manager: Vacant.  Projected cap space: ~$40,000,000.  2021 NFL Draft picks: Five) - The Lions are in a tricky spot as an organization: Matthew Stafford is reaching the back 9 of his career, they've got a nice chunk of cap space to work with and some key free agents to re-sign entering the offseason.  Stafford is the biggest question for the Lions heading into 2021: Will Detroit move on? Will they keep him around? Some would argue that Stafford's best football is behind him, and should there be suitors for him, they could trade him or cut ties and endure a pretty hefty dead-cap number.  The Lions have the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 draft and could target any number of needs depending on that Stafford situation. The next head coach (and GM) is going to have his hands full trying to decide whether they're coming or going in an NFC North that could go either way, too, in the coming years.  The Lions have more questions than answers, and while they have some key cogs in the machine, it's probably the least appealing job on the market.):  https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/nfl-head-coaching-vacancies-ranked/h2lf587rssxy10v2l4adfgs8l

NFL's six open coaching jobs ranked worst to first (5. Detroit Lions - Pros: They're the only team that's existed for the entirety of the Super Bowl era yet never appeared on Super Sunday – meaning there's a unique opportunity to plant your flag by revitalizing one of the league's most downtrodden franchises ... if one considers that a plus. Pro Bowl TE T.J. Hockenson, CB Jeff Okudah, RB D'Andre Swift and a solid offensive line project as building blocks. Detroit will pick seventh in the upcoming draft.  Cons: The Lions have an occasionally spectacular quarterback in Matthew Stafford. But he'll be 33 next month, is often battered by injuries and has never led this team to a playoff win in his 12-season tenure. The next regime must decide whether to reboot the position and move on from Stafford, who has two years remaining on his contract, or otherwise hope he can suddenly spark a winner in the midst of a philosophical makeover from the Matt Patricia tenure.  Defensively, Detroit surrendered the most points and yards in the league, so little reason for near-term optimism on that front. And it won't be easy to buy an influx of help given there's only projected to be $12.2 million in salary cap space available this year.):  https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/nate-davis/2021/01/04/nfl-2021-six-head-coaching-jobs-ranked-jets-jaguars-chargers/4124456001/

2021 NFL Draft:

NFL draft winners and losers: Ohio State's Justin Fields completely changes outlook with one heroic outing:  https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-draft-winners-and-losers-ohio-states-justin-fields-completely-changes-outlook-with-one-heroic-outing-211024195.html

Texas QB Sam Ehlinger declares for 2021 NFL draft:  https://draftwire.usatoday.com/2021/01/04/sam-ehlinger-texas-2021-nfl-draft/


Video:


Peter King evaluates NFL's top head-coaching vacancies for 2021 (He discusses the Lions at around 2:45):  https://www.nfl.com/videos/peter-king-evaluates-nfl-s-top-head-coaching-vacancies-for-2021
Posted by LionsFan at 6:07 AM

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