News broke earlier today that the Detroit Lions fired their general manager and president. This season has been an embarrassment for Detroit and ownership obviously isn’t happy. It’s hard for the Lions as they’re in the division as the Packers, who just happen to have the best quarterback in the league these days. Having Rodgers gives the Packers an easy path to success, which never bodes well for the Lions. Still the Lions have made the playoffs twice in the last four years and certainly aren’t as bad as they were in the late 2000s when they went 2-30 over two seasons. Was this the right time for Lions ownership to pull the trigger?
It’s a little harsh for ownership to pull the plug now, but I’d say it’s justified. It’s a big offseason for the Lions as they have to figure out if Matthew Stafford should be the quarterback of the team going forward. It’s best to have an impartial verdict on that, so a new GM would be the one to give it. The previous GM also hired Jim Schwartz and Jim Caldwell, two coaches seen as completely incompetent by most pundits including myself. Finally the Lions look to have a top pick this year and better to give the keys to the car to someone who can start fresh and rebuild as opposed to someone scratching to save their job.
Survivor Pick of the Week:
NEW ENGLAND over Washington
This isn’t the easiest survivor week, but pools shouldn’t be easy after 8 weeks anyway. You shouldn’t need much explanation for why to take the most dominant team in the league as two-touchdown favorites at home. If you do, you probably shouldn’t be in a survivor pool. Maybe Kirk Cousins gets a late touchdown to get the cover, but this game should be done and dusted pretty early on.
Just in case you’ve already used the Pats, let’s see what else is out there: The Bengals aren’t a bad one as we’ll get to in a second. You just might fear divisional games. (And you generally should…) Atlanta gets to face Blaine Gabbert and a fourth string running back, which is very exciting as a survivor contestant. The Falcons just haven’t been playing good football recently and the Niners defense tends to play much better at home. The Jets aren’t a bad choice because their defense is in a great bounce-back spot against a Jaguars team that has a young quarterback who has a history of turnovers.
I’d avoid Pittsburgh because of how good Oakland’s offense has looked recently. Maybe it’s an early East Coast game after Oakland has had smoke blown up their ass all week about how good they are, but I’d still be careful. San Diego is banged up offensively and hasn’t been playing well at home as they welcome Chicago to town on Monday night. Chicago has been frisky in recent weeks, so I’d avoid this at all costs.
Thursday Night Pick:
CINCINNATI-11 over Cleveland
I’ve been crapping the bed on Thursday night picks recently and even have taken a turn for the worse in all picks. (Thankfully my locks keep printing money and that’s what’s important.) This game sets up perfectly for Cincinnati. Cleveland’s offense has been much more effective this year when Josh McCown starts at quarterback, but he’s injured again and Johnny Manziel will be behind center. While Manziel shouldn’t fare as bad as he did last year in a 30-0 drubbing by Cincinnati, he still doesn’t have a quality running game and rushes through his progressions on passing plays. Cincinnati’s defense hasn’t been as good as expected this year having given up 20+ points in five of their seven games, but Manziel starting should have them licking their chops. I don’t see Cleveland scoring more than 14 points here.
On the flip side of the ball, Cleveland should not be able to stop Cincinnati’s high-powered offense. Pittsburgh held Cincinnati in check last week, but the Steelers defense has been a much improved unit in recent weeks. Cleveland 29th against the run and 19th against the pass according to Football Outsiders DVOA. That number against the end is also inflated because Joe Haden won’t play this week because of a concussion. A.J. Green had a history of being shut down by Haden, so his absence should really free up the Bengals’ passing game. Jeremy Hill is also looking for redemption after his poor effort in prime time against Cleveland last year.
Primetime, however, is the one thing keeping me away from feeling extremely confident about Cincinnati. You’ll see why if you google “Andy Dalton night games.” There are tons of stories highlighting Dalton’s struggles under the lights. Dalton is 3-7 in primetime games and has an 11:11 touchdown to interception ratio. That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, but most night time games have been against better opponents. Dalton executed a game-winning drive last week despite playing poorly for most of the game, so it looks like he’s ready to take a small step in his overall game. Tonight provides him the opportunity to show that a little more.
J.Camm’s Pick: Cincinnati
Last Week: 5-9
Season: 59-56-5
Locks: 18-7
Survivor: 6-2
JCamm: 57-58-5 (If there was only one man for the job of Chief BEDSHITTER it was me in week 8. Brutal stuff. Confidence shattering, really.)
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