Are The Lions Offensive Line Solutions On The Roster Already? | Karsch and Anderson

Are The Lions Offensive Line Solutions On The Roster Already? | Karsch and Anderson

for Tate Rattlage is steep and I think he’s shown enough good play to believe that he can be a solution in house this season. Glasgow, you know, hope he can do the job. You’re not going to have a a all Pro Bowler at every position. That’s clear. What you hope is that a guy can not be a weakness and then Mahogany. Mahogany is going to come back. Here’s the data that can help. First of all, everything is predicated on something you brought up already, and that’s that’s Penny Su and and and Decker staying healthy. They are It’s almost at a point almost at a point to me that they’re like golf that if they’re lost for the season, then you probably are done or close to done. But them being as close to healthy is one of the non-negotiables that I think we can have 100% agreement on. Question is, can they be good with what they have left? I went back and looked at the games some of their depth guys that might be counted on played last year and some of the big names are Coyote Aika and Dan Skipper. Oasa played in two games in 2024 where it looked like he played every offensive snap. So he either came in early or started and played. They were both against good teams, Seattle and Minnesota. and the Lions won both games with a Wasika starting and playing at guard. I believe he also started in the NFC Championship game. Um I’m not sure about that. I didn’t see that on his game log, but maybe I missed it. The other one’s Dan Skipper. Dan Skipper started and played the entire I don’t know if he started. It looks like he played the entire game or the bulk of the game at tackle in a win over a good Green Bay team last year. So, why do they believe in their guys in house? Well, those guys in house have started and played and in big games in the past, games that they won. Do I wish they upgraded? Sure. You can’t ever as a GM not look at every possibility to upgrade. But those guys have started and played in games that the Lions won big games, not over chump teams, big games. So, take it for what it’s worth. You can use that information and say, “Oh, that’s awesome, and I feel a little bit better.” Or you can blow it off and say, “No, they still suck.” I just I’m uh I’m encouraged by that. If you go back and look how those guys were used in the past, when called upon, when called up for duty, did the team have success? And the answer was yes. And I was think it did start against San Francisco in that NFC Championship game. Couple years ago. That’s why I didn’t see it because it was two years ago. So So he’s got experience. There’s no question. Like I said earlier, I mean, he he’s competing for that job with Mahogany um for the starters job this year. I don’t have much of an issue at all with with um Aasika. I think they clearly have confidence in Coyote to get the job done. I’m worried about the tackles. I’m And maybe I shouldn’t be worried at all about paneul. You mean their health? Yeah, that’s that’s where I’m worried about it because if there was an opportunity and this just answer my own question, if there was an opportunity to upgrade at at tackle, go do it. You know, and upgrading meaning on your roster. It doesn’t have to be upgrade over Taylor Decker necessarily because I think Decker’s really good. But if if he’s not going to be healthy enough to play, then I need somebody who’s better than the next option, which is, you know, Dan Skipper likely, is that is that there? Um, was that available in trade? And if it wasn’t, then it wasn’t. Fair enough. I can say that. Okay. Cuz that was really the number one priority for me. Yeah. That you had to find alignment of some kind that was going to be better than what your options were as as guys that have to step in and be next man up. The other thing and and touched on it briefly yesterday and and I know people want to compare what Philadelphia does to what the Lions do because Philadelphia has won Super Bowls and they’ve been ultra aggressive when it comes to trades and and and things of that nature and you know figuring out their salary cap and whatnot. And um I think there is something to when you move your picks. Philadelphia likes to move the draft picks. Yeah. At the trade deadline. The Lions like to move their draft picks on draft day. That’s true. And I wonder if that’s if that’s just a principle that Brad Holmes has or if it’s just a coincidence that’s when he does it or if this is just an everchanging and evolving uh philosophy that he has as a general manager. But there’s been an awful lot of movement that he’s done in the draft. Some of it really good and some of it very questionable. Um, and then when it comes to the trade deadline, when you see players that are dealt for third round picks or fourth round picks, the Lions don’t have them because they they trade them on trade dead on the uh on draft day. Then you he doesn’t have the ammunition to move as much on trade day because he likes to use it on draft day. But and until they win a Super Bowl, it’s going to be a criticism. Yep. Yep. And by the way, moving draft picks for Isaac Tesla was one of the most popular things throughout the preseason. It slowly lost steam because we haven’t seen Tesla do much. Right. Right. And and the one thing you’ll never know is, you know, how valued was Tesla from other teams uh did the Lions need to move up to get him? They they certainly felt like they needed to. And they’ve had a couple players they’ve drafted that they felt like they needed to that have been projects whether it’s Tesla or Javanni Manu. Um you know, I think they moved up to take Brick Martin as well. And so far the results are not very good on those three players. Not that I I think Tesla has a really bright future. I think he’s going to be a really good receiver. Um but he’s got to get on the field to do it. Feedback coming in. David Benton Harour says, “Let’s not act like we all know more than Brad or Dan. Just a few weeks ago, everyone was saying we were toast with our banged up secondary before the Tampa game and that Brad failed to address this more in the offseason. Well, they worked the backups into the system and had a week to get them ready. And how did that turn out? How about we do the same? How about they say, who says they can’t do the same rather with their offensive linebackers? And they have in the past with their offensive linebackers. They’ve won games with Oasa, big games with OA and Dan Skipper playing a lot of snaps, if not starting. I think they started all three of those games I mentioned. Kang, your thoughts on all this? Yeah, I’m not gonna lie. I’m very disappointed that the Lions didn’t do much or anything at the trade deadline because I thought there was plenty of areas where they could help improve this team, especially with all the injuries. Number one being the offensive line that you guys have spoken of. Trevor Penning, the trade to from the Saints, the guard tackle to the Chargers for a sixth round pick two years from now is a trade I definitely would have done on paper. Now, of course, Brad Holmes and his scouts have the film. They broke it down. Maybe they didn’t like Trevor Penning at all. And I I can, you know, understand that. He just seems to me like a guy on paper who’s now playing guard. He was drafted a first round pick in 2022 as a tackle, now playing guard. But to me, that tells me that he’s versatile enough to play inside out if they need to. You’re not going to get a clear upgrade out there unless you’re willing to give up the draft capital for it. And and clearly Brad Holmes is not going to do that. He’s not going to pull off a sauce gardener deal for a guard or a tackle. It’s just not worth it for him. And I get that. What you’re trying to do is get better backups, better depth, right? I thought Trevor Penning was a deal that we know that happened that maybe the Lions could have got involved in deals that we don’t know that could have happened or not. The guard Evan Neil from the Giants, he also drafted as a tackle. Hasn’t worked out, but he went untraded. Yeah, he he didn’t get traded though. So, I don’t know what the asking there was. And also, I don’t know if they just don’t like him. They saw the film said he’s not better than what we have on this team right now. We know the interior of the offensive line of the Lions is is in kind of disarray with the Frank Ragnel retirement, the injuries, and just young guys playing that position. And that’s why everyone’s really concerned that they didn’t do anything there. With all that being said, here’s my unpopular opinion. I trust Brad Holmes. I just do. And he’s not going to get a trade for a position just to trade for a position. Just like he doesn’t draft for positions. They trade and draft and acquire players. And if they don’t like the players that are out there compared to the players that have on their roster, they’re just not going to do it. I still think this team is one of the best teams in the NFL. And I still think they have a chance to win the Super Bowl. I know it sounds crazy people, but I do think they’re that good. They’ve got to sh up the middle of that offensive line though because Jared G needs protection. He needs time and because when he has it, we know how good he can be. Well, I I hope this I hope that the solutions that they have when it comes to the offensive line play, I hope not only is it a in house, but I hope b more more importantly that it’s just simply looking at at at technique and communication and perhaps, you know, tightening up the playbook and and and making sure the guys aren’t trying to do things that are too difficult for them based on on defenses you’re facing or whatever. I hope that they can maybe simplify things just to get this thing back under control where they’re able to run the football. Running the football is the lifeblood for this football team. It absolutely is. And the offensive line is not what it was last year. It’s different and it has a chance to be good, but right now it’s in a little disarray because there are injuries involved and you know you still have some on the job learning from a couple of the players. So, I I really hope that that solution that they have is in house and it wasn’t a missed opportunity to go ahead and and give up something you’re not comfortable with giving up, which would have been a higher draft pick to acquire a a player that would really improve the roster. College football blitz thingy is straight ahead here on 971 the

Did the Lions not make a move for an offensive lineman because he is already on the team? #lions #nfl

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