Detroit Lions: DJC Staff Predictions for the Rest of the 2015 Season
By Zac Snyder
With the Detroit Lions on their bye week, there isn’t a game to bring you our usual predictions. But with so much going on and so much yet to figure out following the firings of Martin Mayhew and Tom Lewand, we figured it would be fun to come with some predictions this week anyway.
This week’s prediction is open-ended, leaving our pickers free to make a prediction on anything that may or may not happen with the Lions from here on out.
Erik Schlitt – The Lions win two more games the rest of the season and finish with a 3-13 record. The Lions will give their fans Thanksgiving and Christmas presents. On Thanksgiving the Philadelphia Eagles come to Detroit. Two days after Christmas they host the San Francisco 49ers. Those will be the only two games the Lions have a chance of winning for the rest of the season. This is the sad reality of a team that seems destined to have another top five draft pick. The changes Martha Ford has begun making gives the Lions fan base hope for the future, but it unlikely to impact the Lions this season.
Bonus Prediction: New England Patriots Player Personnel Director Nick Caserio will be the Lions next General Manager. Top 5 draft pick, 10 draft picks in 2016, $30+ million to spend in free agency, and a chance to run his own team, may be enough for Caserio to walk away from the defending Super Bowl champs.
Braden Shackelford – My initial response is to be as negative as possible, because, what hope do the Lions have? Jim Caldwell is a dead man walking and the offensive line isn’t going to magically get better all of the sudden. Instead, I’ll spin the Lions’ future like this: The Lions get the number one pick in next year’s draft, the new G.M. hires the “right” coach to take this team to a competent level, and Matthew Stafford lives up to the hype he was given as the number one pick in 2009.
That sounds perfect doesn’t it? Too good to be true? Who cares, Lions fans need something to dream about.
Matt Snyder – Jim Caldwell might last the season — as long as the Lions don’t name a new general manager before then — but he’ll get swept out when the new front office regime takes over. It’s hard to see more than maybe one or two more wins remaining on the schedule, so things are going to stay ugly. A very high draft pick will be our only solace.
Mike Rizzo – The Lions with all this turmoil going on resume their season next Sunday and unfortunately I don’t see them winning more then 3 games the rest of the way. They go to Green Bay next Sunday a place they haven’t won since 1991 that’s a loss. The only games that I think they win is Thanksgiving against Philadelphia, and against San Francisco. The Lions offensive line has been putrid and I don’t see it improving until next season.
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Zac Snyder – The Lions season has gone from bad to worse to what might be rock bottom with the firing of Martin Mayhew and Tom Lewand. While that has put the Lions in position to gain the first overall pick in next year’s draft, I don’t believe they will end up with that pick after the second half of the season plays out. Despite the disappointments and dysfunction I still believe the Lions will play better football yet this season. It won’t be enough to save Jim Caldwell’s job – his fate was sealed with Mayhew and Lewand being ushered out – but it will be enough to pick lower than first overall in the 2016 NFL Draft.