Lions moneyline

[JSMOOTH]

I'm pulling the trigger on this one. To me, all signs point to Detroit.

Everyone's kinda scared with Mike McMahon getting his first start against Sapp,Lynch and the boys. IMO- TB will be blitzing heavily to rattle the rookie. It could easily backfire as McMahon has quite a set of wheels on him. If he gets loose, he could find some large gains.

It's kinda ironic, that the only team to go winless was the '76 Buccaneers, who went 0-14. Detroit has a very good chance of winning....even with a rookie.

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Hail to the Victors!!

 

[spanky2]

Smooyh ,good luck... Do you think John Lynch might just be waiting for a shot or three and maybe a little how-do-you-do-from Sapp.
I am off this one ,could be great for you I hope ,but I could see a 5th string Q.B. just trying to do too much on his own,and we know what can happen.
Anyway good luck,Hope you grap some CHRISTMAS CASH this weekend...Spanky

 

[SmashMouth]

Good luck on your play first of all. One of us has to be wrong, I for one see a Tampa Blowout. But my prediction if right won't give me the payoff that yours will. I feel they will be out for blood at home with the chance to get to 7-5 after an underachieving first 12 games. Tampa 41-7

 

[Neemer]

You could be correct in your assessment of McMahon, but I just can't back a guy who's making their 1st NFL start against one of the better defenses in the league.

McMahon was a 5th round pt pick of the Lions and was the QB for Rutgers in college. So far this year, he has played in five games, so he's not entirely green. For '01, he's thrown the football 35 times connecting on 14 of those attempts for nearly 150 yds. He has 1 TD completion along with ZERO picks. He's got a QB rating of 66.7% and runs the 40 in 4.8. 6'2 weighing in at 215. The fella does have quite a bit of speed for a tall lanky white boy...

November 14, 2001 12:25:05 PT Tom Kowalski reports for Mlive.com that the Detroit Lions want to continue giving rookie QB Mike McMahon just limited action during games. He's not ready to play full time for starters, and with the Lions' vast amount of injury problems, they'd just be setting him up to fail by throwing him into the offense now. The team is hoping McMahon can find some success and build on it.

QB Charlie Batch questioned the team using backup QB Mike McMahon for two series, one in each half of today's game. ''That's not a position you go back and forth on. It's not,'' Batch said.

Dec. 6: Lions coach Marty Mornhinweg didn't want to start McMahon on the road against the Bucs because of their quick front seven. Though McMahon has excellent mobility, the success he has had in his limited appearances this season were a result of his patience in the pocket. The Bucs are likely to swarm in and try to force him into mistakes on the run. His biggest problem is that he doesn't have much help around him; at tight end and receiver the Lions are down to starting third- and fourth-string players. A quarterback's job is to put the ball in the hands of his playmakers, but that's becoming a short list for the Lions.

Weaknesses: Needs to work on mechanics. Is too inconsistent. Needs to do a better job of setting his feet, making reads and being patient. Has enough arm strength to play in NFL.

Bottom line: McMahon made the most of postseason games and workouts, but his character still is a question and his tools are only average. He has shown a better arm than a lot of guys in this class, but he still is not talented enough to warrant a pick in the first four rounds.

CAREER NOTES
Four-year starter, when healthy...Very gritty field leader who ranks second on the school's career-record lists with 974 pass attempts, 41 touchdown tosses and 6608 aerial yards, topped only by Scott Erney's 1128 throws for 7188 yards (1986-89) and Ray Lucas' 43 scoring tosses (1992-95)...His 482 pass completions rank third in Scarlet Knights annals while his 52 interceptions broke the previous Rutgers all-time record of 48 by Erney...Also holds the school career-record by participating in 1188 plays and ranks second with 6793 yards in total offense.

REMIND ME OF... Pittsburgh's Kordell Stewart.

GAZING INTO THE CRYSTAL BALL... Boy, the jury is out on this guy. He has great athletic ability, but needs to grow in a hurry off the field. His standoffish attitude really soured quite a few teams in post-season action, but then he dazzles them with his athletic skills at the Combines. Someone will be foolish enough to draft him early, hoping that he will learn to act his age, but when even his b][own teammates lack respect for this guy,[/b] how can a general manager justify handing him the starting reigns one day? Buyer beware on this character.

By all accounts, McMahon was drafted by the Lions based upon future talent. The organization feels like he could possibly be beneficial to the team WAY on down the road. I don't think they ever dreamed he would be their starting QB towards the end of the 2001 season. I just don't see this guy having a mistake free game and covering the #. I feel the biggest fly in the ointment concerning this matchup is the assumption that TB can score 8 pts!

 

[JSMOOTH]

Why has this line gone from 9 to 7.5? Is there a TB injury I don't know about?

 

[aldabra]

Smooth..think move reflects thinking that
Detroit has been playing tuff and is going to
win one sooner or later..which they will

 

[JSMOOTH]

aldabra,
That's what I figured, but thats a pretty big movement without any injuries.
That's why I punched my ticket on the Lions+9 on Tuesday.

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Hail to the Victors!!

[This message has been edited by JSMOOTH (edited 12-08-2001).]

 

[JSMOOTH]

It figures.

 

[Neemer]

Needless to say, the LIONS were the correct side. I teased the Bucs and the UNDER and barely shouldn't have won. How can a friggin' QB throw for over 300 yds with 31 completed passes and only put up 15pts? Didn't have a chance to watch the game, but leave it up to the Buc's piss poor offense to screw up a game that should've lost!

McHahon's biggest contribution to the Lions was his ability to not make mistakes. He pretty much performed like I thought he would, going 11-25 for 147 yds. Big thing was that he threw ZERO interceptions! Lions will be worth a serious look next week with McMahon getting some much needed playing time.