Notes: Detroit Lions roster is ‘subtly devoid of weakness’

Boy, if you spent your Monday looking at Lions coverage like I did, you might feel a little yanked around.

First, you might’ve seen Nate Davis’ annual NFL record predictions. The USA Today writer predicts the Lions will go 3-13 this season—among the lowest in the league.

Davis argues that it’s unlikely Matt Patricia will surpass his first year record, 6-10, citing home games against 2018 playoff outfits and away games on the West Coast in the first half of the season.

OK. Not great. But then.........MMQB: The 2019 Lions Have Fewer Weaknesses Than Many People Might Realize

Oh. Andy Benoit of Sports Illustrated highlights all of what he believes to be Detroit’s assets. He believes the “Detroit Patriots” idea, meaning Patricia is mimicking a similar style to that of the New England Patriots, is working for them. Benoit compares specific players—T.J. Hockenson is Rob Gronkowski, Theo Riddick is James White. And although he says Matthew Stafford is not Tom Brady, he’ll continue to build on the “maturity and discipline” he began shaping in 2016.

“BOTTOM LINE: Aside from questions at guard, the Lions are subtly devoid of weakness. Some of their sharpest work last year came against the NFL’s best-coached teams, and this year that translates to success in a lot of close games.”

Personally, I think the Lions fall somewhere in between 3-13 and “devoid of weakness.” But hey, that’s just me. Predictions are predictions, and they don’t mean a whole lot. But it sure is funny (and trying on the blood pressure) to see just how vastly different they can be.

• Monday Morning Quarterback has a Lions preview today. Some of the main points: They say Stafford got paid like an elite quarterback but doesn’t “feel” like an elite quarterback right now. Matt Patricia, a defensive guru, brings in some talent like Trey Flowers and Justin Coleman, can that translate into wins?

• Pro Football Focus provides the highest game grades last year for Matthew Stafford, Kenny Golladay and Darius Slay.

• Busy media week for Golladay. After appearing on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, he sat down with Adam Schefter to talk Hockenson impressions and fantasy football predictions on Schefter’s podcast.

• Set those reminders now: Single-game tickets go on sale Wednesday. Then training camp starts Thursday—no tickets needed. The Lions have information times, dates, activities and more here.

• More contentious than any battle in the NFC North: Lafayette or American? Tracy Walker visits downtown Detroit’s competing Coney Islands for a taste test.

• Frank Ragnow’s at it again. The Lions have dropped the second episode of Guess Frank’s Fish, where his teammates try to guess which fish he’s caught across North America. You can follow his adventures on Twitter at @GrizzlyManOutdoors.

Oh, and Ragnow announced his engagement over the weekend. Congrats!

• It is never too early to train.

• This gem from reddit’s r/detroitlions that touches on possibly my favorite overused joke of all time: Clayton Kershaw and Matthew Stafford’s childhood relationship.