Could the Lions defeat the Packers on Sunday?

Yes, the experiment continues, the Friday edition of the Sports Office. Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, everybody. Hey, look, tonight we've got a lot to talk about. In fact, I've made a little list for you, okay? It's the Friday night freakout right here on the Sports Office. And as you can see, we'll be talking Lions, MSU, UM, Red Wings, Pistons, fun stuff. Will we get to all of it? Maybe. If we don't, it's okay. You know why it's okay? Because I've got my man James Paxson right here to help me through it all. James, my fine producer here at Fox 2, and I'd love to see you back in the chair on the show. Welcome. Hi, Woody. How are you? I am fantastic, bro. We've got to start real quick. Go ahead. Running controls today is the wonderful photographer Howard Mitchell. Let's take a look right over here. He wanted a mic because he said he wanted to talk trash, so what do you want to talk about? Go ahead, Howard. I want to talk trash to you. What? Me? Me? Yes, because I love talking trash to you. Well, what do you want to talk about? When we start getting into topics, you'll get some of this. Okay. All right. Well, you know what? To get into the topics, I can't forget you fans, okay? So don't forget, you can all text in on the Motor City Casino Hotel Live line. Bet on it! Yes, you can, and the number is right there. And also, you can get into the Zoom room with the QR code in the corner. If you click on that, that'll put you up in this monitor, and we can talk about everything under the sun, starting with our Detroit Lions as they get set for the Sunday battle against the Green Bay Packers. And this is going to be a big game, James, because as we know, the Lions are looking to win two in a row for the first time in how long? seems like over a year you asked and i couldn't even answer i'm sorry you asked me a question i did yes and over a calendar year so what do you expect my first expectations is a very high scoring shootout i would say both teams may actually be in the upper 30s that'd be solid both defenses aren't great both quarterbacks have looked really good both teams have great weapons i mean yeah we'll pick a winner but definitely hit the over yeah i mean it's i think both teams are going to have a huge offensive day. I think I agree with you on that. And the thing that is also Lions-centric as we start the show is the Sam Laporta situation. We saw his comments late earlier this week, was it? Yes. On the Pardon My Take podcast. He did. And I believe he commented a little bit about his contract situation and how he's a little bit unhappy at the pace at which he's going. Is that fair to say? No, he said way more than that. Can we hear him? Well, today is what we're going to show you. Because Dan Campbell and Sam LaPorter commented and tried to ease the situation. So why don't we play that? Sam's a stud, all right, and he's going to help us win games. And he really is. He's an unselfish teammate. He's an unselfish player, you know. And listen, man, sometimes things happen, things get said. It's all good, man. And you can never take anything personal when you start talking about business. That's why business and football, they don't belong with each other. But it's the world we're in, and it makes the world go round for all of us. Now, some in the fan base look at this as a huge distraction, but it seems that the best way out will be to hear from Laporta himself. And on Friday afternoon, Sam stepped to the microphones to do just that. I don't know if I regret it. I just don't expect other people to understand. And we're very blessed. Like, I'm getting paid millions of dollars this year. So you have to take it with a grain of salt. it's coming from a stance of like I want security for me and my family but also when I reflect on other people in the league I feel like I'm doing just as good of a job if not better and I want to be paid like those guys so those were the comments of head coach Dan Campbell and Lions tight end Sam Laporta and I think the big thing here is that this does not become a distraction James heading into the Packers game I think they kind of settled a lot of that today with this talk would you agree or disagree or do you think we're just getting started with this I think they tried to ease the storm, but it's a distraction. You can't say it's not a distraction when it's been the number one thing that's come out of the bye week, and that's above you having maybe the best offense in the league and Brian Branch returning. So this has been the number one talk. It's going to be a distraction. What I think I'd try to say to most of the fan base is this is business, and we've seen it with every single team in this city. The Tigers traded Tarik Skubal because of business. Jalen Duren caused a fuss all summer because of business. Dylan Larkin wants to be traded because of the business of hockey. I don't think he ever was disrespectful to the fans, so I don't think the fans have a right to be upset. Well, you know that. You know how the fans are, and they'll probably start texting in real soon after you've said something like that. What did he say to upset the fans? Well, hold on. Here's the thing. You have to think about what the fans actually heard, because there is a difference between what you hear and what guys actually say. All right, I'll try again. What did he say about the fans? He didn't say anything about the fans. It's about his contract situation and money. And he feels that he's being a little bit disrespected because no one has come to him yet. Now, he did say if in the next three months something doesn't happen, then he might go elsewhere to get paid and not wear the Honolulu blue anymore. But I have to think that Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell, they want Sam here. They're going to work on this. They're probably going to work on it in the next two weeks. and we're going to hear something like, hey, guess what? Sam Laporta has a new contract. We could not be farther apart. I don't think they're going to sign him. This is a team that signed all of their guys, and they've signed him pretty early. And the latest one that I can remember was last year, Aiden Hutchinson coming off the broken leg, didn't get signed until October, right around here. And there was less drama because of that. I'm getting the vibe that they will not sign Laporta, and they have no interest in signing Laporta at what Sam wants. If Sam would accept kind of a bargain deal, then he'd be signed. I'm getting the vibe Sam LaPorta will not be a Lion next year, but maybe. Is that wrong? Am I the only one getting that? I don't know. Well, what are you getting? You're there. I'm not getting that at all. No, you think he's going to get signed. I'm thinking that he is going to get signed. I'm thinking that the Lions are going to, you know, they wanted to see what Sam looks like after back surgery for six weeks. Which is fair. The same way they did with Hutchinson coming back. They didn't sign him for the first six weeks either. Which is fair. Right. So it's a similar deal. And I expect Sam LaPorta to get taken care of by the end of this month. But this is like the first one of the Holmes-Campbell era that's gone like this, right? True. That is true. Am I missing one? No, no. You are not. Yes, Gibbs did kind of sit out. But I don't think it was this big of a fuss. Well, because we knew it was like a thing with him and Bijan who wanted to be the top-paid running back. And let me make my stance clear to you. Go ahead. I love Sam LaPorta. So do I. I think he's one of the best tight ends in the league. But this all stems to, as a team thing, you can't sign everyone. And that may be why he's pretty disgruntled. I know you love that word. That he's unhappy. I'm going to read a text right now that's going to make you laugh. Go ahead. Is that okay? Yeah. Sam wants to play in Chicago with a better coach. So what do you think about that one? I don't know. But like I told you, they're starting to come in on the Motor City Regional Hotel live line. Bet on it. Exactly. But, like, that came into my head. Did they come into yours? A little bit. That maybe people who have played for the Lions see Ben Johnson and see how good the offense is, and maybe it's cooled down a little bit, but seeing Kalief Raymond and go, man, I can just go play for Ben, right? That's better. It's going to be a problem if it's not already a problem. Yeah. But how does this maybe fit into the same vein where we've seen other players leave, like a David Montgomery or something like that? Is this a similar situation where, you know what? Hey, man, I'm not going to get it here. I'm going to go somewhere else. it's the it's the sport right it's all sports it's look i don't think he has said anything this week that was disrespectful to the city of detroit or their fans would i have said everything that sam laforta had no i think he was way too open in public and he was a little emotional which i think we all can be emotional but when you are this public on a national sports podcast which i believe is the most listened to sports podcast in the world yeah fans are going to be upset when you talk about leaving but what what are you gonna do i don't you know what in a situation like this i just put myself in sam's shoes for a minute okay i look at sam laporta he's a solid guy a solid player in the nfl i think he's better than still on his rookie contract i think he's better than solid i'll agree with you there i would say okay he's a great he's a great tight end let's play a little game okay top 10 tight end for sure maybe top five i'll agree with that I will put Sam LaPorta in the top ten and perhaps even top five. Tittle above him. Yes. You know. You got the Tucker Crafts. Tucker Crafts has been a little bit better. But there's not many I would put above Sam LaPorta right now. I would do that as well. But, you know, standing in Sam's shoes, I look at it this way. Sam's a young guy, right? He's got his first child on the way. He wants to make sure that his future and his family's future is taken care of. That may be weighing on him a little more. So, yeah, it comes out in a podcast in a comfortable way where he's with some guys. I'm going to get real quick to Curt in Tennessee because he always texts us. Go to Curt in Tennessee. Because he always texts us, and he's a great texter, and thank you for always messaging us. He texted, quote, we don't have a right to be upset, question mark. Fans pay his salary. He's got to keep his mouth shut. We want loyalty to our team. I hope they let him walk. Now, both things can be true. One, Curt can be upset that he was too public about it, and Kurt can be okay if he wants him to leave. But I can't really agree with all of that because it's contract negotiations, and this is how all of it goes. And I understand this may just upset Kurt more, and I don't want to do that. He could have sat out, and he hasn't sat out. A lot of people in football do sit out. Joey Porter Jr. didn't play because of a back injury and then magically appeared to be healthy for the Dallas Cowboys. Yeah, with no back injury. He hasn't sat out. He just complained about his contract, which is something all of us do. Howard Mitchell has a point. Go ahead Howard. Them waiting until the end of the season and franchising them, they have, they also have that option right? They also have that option, yes they do, but uh on the if you're going to get into the uh hey let's keep this guy happy uh lane of the highway then you're going to want to do this sooner than later and uh you know you said uh Kurt with that text there he said uh that they don't have a right to be upset. I look at it this way if Sam hadn't said that, if Sam's agent had said that or something like that would we have the same vitriol against Sam, that's an amazing point because it would be different and I want to make it clear he does have a right to be upset right? I just I'm not upset as a Lions fan to anything Sam LaForte said or did this week. All I question is do you really want to be that public about this on and we're going to take a break soon and really dive into this game after the break but this is a huge week and like kind of to tease our next segment here you and I are pretty spot out on this if you lose this game this season kind of looks rough and i know people look at me like that's crazy after six games it's just math we're gonna get into it if you go to three and three when the Bears are five and two and the Packers are five and two and the Minnesota Vikings are undefeated mathematically you're gonna be running out of spots this is not the week i think the Lions wanted and you saw that when Dan Campbell walked off his press conference today pretty upset yeah he did come off a little bit uh ticked uh ticked is a good word with the distraction This is a great one. Hey, look, we've got to squeeze in a quick break. You are in touch with the sports office on a Friday. We will be right back, so stay there. Oh, welcome back. Those lines in 8 Mile were great. Hey, listen. It was great. It was so good. Friday night in the sports office, we're talking about the Lions as they get set for a huge game on Sunday at home against the Packers. Real quick, real quick. I'm sorry. I've got two shout-outs. Go ahead, James. Two shout-outs. What do you got? First shout-out, our photographer, Brett Dickey. I just wanted to shout him out, clap it up for Brett. He does an amazing job in here. Good job, Brett. Yes. Number two. I forgot my notes. That's all right. Second shout-out. I'm very sorry. I did want to shout-out a Lions fan who's doing something pretty amazing here. Can we go to clip two, please, Howard? Thank you. Cody DeLorenzo is running from Green Bay to Detroit in honor of his wife's breast cancer journey, which is 313 miles. He's raising money for breast cancer. And our other great photographer, we have so many here, Todd Branganen, called his wife just over an hour ago. They have raised $45,000, and his goal was 50 by game day Sunday. Wow. So clap it up for Cody. That is amazing. And he's in the Fenton, Michigan area. So he's getting pretty close, and I wanted to shout him out. So thank you. Good job for him. You know, I mean, talk about a labor of love right there. I mean, he's doing it for someone he loves. This reminds me of how the Seattle game ball for the beginning of the season was ridden across country and through every NFL stadium by Vaughn Almond, the ultra marathon cyclist. Thank you for letting me do that. Not a problem. I want a couple shots. And you know what? Thanks to those guys for being out there and running for a cause. Let's get back to Lions and Packers. Okay, they've had time to heal, time to prepare. Cade Mays, Brian Branch back in the mix. Yes. This says a lot this week, James. I mean, the Lions are the healthiest team in the NFL. Right. So you would think, no excuses, it's time to go. Branch being back, of course, is going to help a lot because the biggest weakness of this team has been the secondary. So if Branch can help relieve a little bit of the problems, especially against Jordan Love because I mean you you've been waiting to talk about how he is one of the best deep throwing quarterbacks in the league and right now we can get into that right now because you know what the way he does it with Christian Watson yes and Matthew Golden I mean yes Golden is like ultra fast he's had a really good year this year he has improved from last year and Christian Watson has also taken like two steps forward as far as what he can do in the slot on the outside taking guys deep dealing with linebacker coverage safety coverage all that kind of stuff he has stepped up and he's learned how to look for Jordan Love in the right spots because yes with Love uh we're starting to see him maybe take that next step forward towards comfortable quarterback he's he's done the growing pains he's done all that kind of stuff he's looking to take a step now that just might get it done and you also got to worry about the Packers because they create turnovers they do and this is something that the Lions have to so far Jared Goff has avoided no interceptions they've done pretty good with the turnover battle offensively I'm not really worried going into this one right they've been able to run the ball very well Gibbs has looked great passing games looked great and Goff's been unbelievable but it's the main worry is you know defense and I can't I can't go in here you know brave that we're just going to win it and do a guarantee I can't guarantee it with how this defense has looked and the Green Bay Packers they had success at Ford Field man yes they have we've seen it quite for quite a few years they won last year at Thanksgiving they won two years ago at Thanksgiving both games there were just receivers running wild and they were able to just throw so much against the Lions that's why i'm worried does Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Shepard have enough scheme to maybe try to fool the Packers because i'm thinking that you're going to say Like, there's not enough talent back there right now to really step up. That's been the conversation all year is, is there enough talent or is it a Kelvin Shepard thing? I mean, it's not – we can't forget two weeks ago, it felt like Shepard was coaching for his job. And because he had a great game against the Cardinals, it's kind of calmed down a little bit. But the defense still really worries me, and you got the Packers and Vikings for the next two games, man. It's two of the biggest games of the year because if you go 0-2 in the division and you fall to 3-4, it almost feels like this season is done with the Bears keep winning and the Green Bay Packers keep winning. Yeah, you know, I think we'll see defensive excellence in spots, but it's consistency over the whole game, which is the problem. And we have seen the Lions fall into lulls where there is no consistency and all of a sudden guys are looking around like, hey man, what are we doing out here? Well, the D-line's been pretty good. D-line has been the best part of this team, of that defense, so far this year. Yes, and I do think two guys have looked really great, and it's Aleem McNeil and Tyleek Williams, where they both have taken huge step-ups, and they've been great defensive tackles both in the run game and the pass game. It's just when you look at the secondary and the linebacking crew, are they going to be able to guard the high-performance receivers and tight ends that these teams have? And so far, I can't say yes because it hasn't looked good. What about the Packers' run game? I mean, Josh Jacobs, will this be the week he comes back? Maybe. I think Green Bay has, what, a bye next week? So might they wait? No, they play next Thursday night. Okay, so next Thursday is a short week for them. So it's a short week. It's tough because we were talking about this earlier this week. Jacobs, he's been around, but how ready is he to go? Right. And so far, their running game has looked really bad. And they have not been able to run the ball very well. And that's where, you know, if Detroit can stop the run, they can help out a little bit when it comes to those deep passes. Talk about guys being in practice all week and being out there. Brian Branch is one of those. Cade Mays is another. What about the return of Cade Mays and now the depth that Detroit has on that offensive line with him coming back and putting, I guess, juice on the bench for a minute? But it's still nice to know that that's a good problem to have where you have a guy that can instantly come in and fulfill that job at a high level when your starter's out. I look at it a different way. It shows how much they really wanted Cade Mays and Cade Mays individually. And what I mean by that is O-line's been really good this year, And Juice Scruggs has played very good football. So it is kind of surprising how much they want Cade Mays to go in there. Now, maybe Cade Mays will just be a better player, and he'll be a better center for this team. But I thought Juice was playing really good football. Well, that is the thing that is probably the most pleasant surprise. I mean, knowing that, you know what? That was a guy that had a little, you know, tread still left on the tire. Yes. And he comes in, and the next thing you know. Probably was supposed to be a backup guard. He solidified. He solidified that line because all of a sudden I wasn't hearing anyone's name called on the O-line. No, the O-line has played really well this year. Working the way they were supposed to do it. Now, I've got to think they can continue that, especially protecting Jared Goff, who's been fantastic this year. MVP-type numbers for Goff so far. He's up there. I mean, I think the MVP is pretty solid right now. And are we thinking about the same guy? Brock Purdy. Brock Purdy's got to be the MVP. Because the 49ers are undefeated, look like world beaters, and Brock Purdy's had to play with not his full caliber of receivers since the start of the year, and every week he loses another one, and every week Brock Purdy keeps pulling big numbers. I think Brock Purdy's the MVP. Well, you know what? Fans will have a chance to see if he's the MVP because they play on Fox 2 on Sunday in the 1 o'clock game against the Atlanta Falcons. So, yeah, it's good competition. Look at you plug in. It's good competition for them. It's great to see for us because we'll see what this team is all about. You know what? We still want to see what the Lions are all about because this team, like we said, I think I started off earlier, they have to win this game. I think so. To win two in a row, they have to get going with this because to fall would be to fall right out of contention in this very tough division. It seems like it. This early, yes. If you lose, it would be a detrimental loss. All right, listen, I've got to squeeze in another quick break. There will be more of the Friday night edition of Sports Office coming up next, so stay right there. You know, in baseball, they talk about barreling up the bat so you can hit the ball. We're taking that a little bit extra on the other side because we do have the barrel right here. James, what are we doing? Thank you very much. Please show this very nice barrel that was gifted to us on yesterday's sports office from Detroit City Distillery. Everybody clap it up for Detroit City Distillery. We like them. Dante was here yesterday making drinks. That is where the Fox 2 Lions pregame show will be Sunday morning from 10 to 11 live from Detroit City Distillery. The return of Dan Miller. Everybody clap it up. Yeah. It will be Jen Hammond, Birchie, Wojo, all crew will be there. And so we're going to have a little fun tonight on a little retro Friday night game night. We're going to play barrel toss. Woody is going to throw a frisbee, and he has to get it on top of the barrel. He'll get a point if it stays on the barrel. If it's a hanger, our stagehand Bobby will decide if he gets a point. So we're going to start, and then maybe I'll throw a couple, too. Woody, get it on top of that barrel. Oh, my goodness. That's a no. It's a miss. Get it back to me quick. Come on, Woody. Get it on the barrel. Thank you, my friend. Yeah, you got to spin it. That's better. Come on. All right, I'm going to try now. Go. All right, here's James' attempt. Go ahead, James. I was 0 for 2. Oh, that didn't go, James. That didn't go. We are both 0 for 2, pal. You got to get this one on. What do you got? All right, let's go. How much time we got left? We got just over a minute. Okay, let's go. I think we're going too hard. Nope. What are you laughing at, Kenny? What a crazy game. Come on, James. Hit it. Back up. We can't get it. Why would we back up? I'm all the way at the door. Nothing. Zero. Kenny, come on now. Thank you, Kenny. How about this, Brett? I couldn't get there close enough to catch it. Go ahead, James. Try it out. Hey, you got it. Yeah. We'll have to keep practicing on this game. But you know what? There's a lot to see this weekend. Lots of football right here on Fox 2. Thanks a lot for joining us on the Sports Office. Thanks a lot to James and everybody else. The Pulse starts now right here on Fox.com.