Dec 2, 2020
Long-time Detroit sports bloggers and podcasters Greg Eno and Big Al Beaton are The Knee Jerks! A crazy couple of weeks in Detroit sports has two teams blowing up the status quo, giving us plenty to discuss.
Along with the Birthday Game and the Jerk of the Week, this week's topics include:
Two embarrassing losses lead to the Lions firing GM Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia, bringing the “Patriots of the Midwest" experiment to an inglorious end.
It's going to be a long, tough rebuild, as Quinn mishandling of assets leaved the Lions with no impact players, bad contracts and a roster built for an extremely specific scheme.
Former Lions danced on Patrica’s grave via social media, while the current roster said little about his departure, giving even more credence to Patricia being the cause of an extremely dysfunctional Detroit locker room.
Interim head coach Darrell Bevell talked about his team having fun and playing free, inferring they were handcuffed by Patricia.
The elephant in the room - what to do with Matthew Stafford?
The next Lions regime will be hired by a glorified accountant and a new, inexperienced owner. The Lions are badly in need of a head of football operations, siloed away from the business side and team president Rod Wood.
New GM Troy Weaver dismantles the Pistons with extreme prejudice. Only 4 players will return from last season's roster. His moves included allowing all free agents to walk, making 7 trades, 3 first round selections and a second rounder as well, signing 5 free agents, and 2 waiving 2 players while stretching their contracts.
Weaver has a plan similar to Oklahoma City and Miami, betting on player development and skillful drafting instead of a full on tank.
The NFL and NCAA appear close to a COVID-19 tipping point.
Greg rails against the online misogyny over Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller being the first woman to play Power 5 football, while Al calls out Tampa Bay Rays ownership for looking to cut salaries despite making it to the World Series and having the 28th highest MLB payroll.
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