Get your cold takes; get your cold takes here. After the Detroit Lions improved to 12-1 on the season following a 34-31 win over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football, social media was filled with them.
And we aren’t talking about those who doubted Dan Campbell for being Dan Campbell and going for it on fourth down five times on Thursday, including from his own 30-yard line.
We’re talking about takes from Colin Cowherd and Bill Simmons that aged like spoiled milk.
Cowherd, more specifically, saw Funhouse (@BackAftaThis on X) bring up a nearly four-year-old tweet. In the aftermath of a blockbuster trade that sent Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams and Jared Goff to the Lions, Cowherd wrote, “If you’re looking for winners and losers in tonight’s trade. Consider this — Jared Goff goes from Sean McVay to Fred Flinstone [sic]. Won’t end well.”
— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) December 6, 2024
And for a second there, The Herd host appeared to be right. It wasn’t too long before this trade that Campbell talked about biting kneecaps in his introductory press conference. It wasn’t too long after that Stafford led the Rams to a Super Bowl LVI victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
But Cowherd couldn’t have been more wrong. Not only has it ended well for Goff, but Campbell is one of the best coaches in the NFL. The Lions going from being the NFL’s punching bag to must watch-TV is nothing short of amazing. And in that Stafford-Goff trade that Cowherd panned, the Lions also parlayed the draft picks acquired into Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta.
Not bad!
What was bad was Cowherd’s take, as was this one from Bill Simmons.
“So, now you got Detroit going into next year,” he said on his The Bill Simmons Podcast. “They’re probably going to have the first pick in the draft — a draft that has no franchise quarterback. And they could’ve taken one, Danny, right here. They could’ve taken Justin Fields in this spot. Now they have a left tackle (Penei Sewell) to block for a quarterback that they don’t have.”
The Lions ended up with picks Nos. 2 and 12 overall and took Aidan Hutchinson and Jameson Williams, respectively. Simmons was right about the QB aspect, as no one could have foreseen “Mr. Irrelevant” Brock Purdy turning into one of the better-starting QBs in the league.
He was wrong about Fields, however.
Though, with the way quarterbacks like Sam Darnold and Geno Smith have blossomed in their development years and years later, perhaps the verdict on Fields is still out there.
Anyway, that left tackle, Sewell, now plays on the right side of the offensive line for Detroit and was a First-Team All-Pro in 2023.
They do have a quarterback, too.
“I felt like such a broken record,” said Danny Kelly, a respected NFL Draft analyst for The Ringer. “I almost felt like I was taking crazy pills during the draft time because I’m like, ‘Take Fields. Take Fields. Why are you not taking Fields?’ And, obviously, Fields has had an up-and-down rookie season, but you’re seeing the traits are there for sure for this guy to develop into a high-level quarterback.
“Now, it’s just like, especially when you’re watching Goff, he’s legitimately maybe the worst starter in the NFL. He can’t push the ball down the field. He can’t deal with pressure. Anytime he has to come off his first read, it’s a catastrophe.”
The worst starting quarterback I personally have ever watched is Tim Boyle under center for the New York Jets.
Speaking of…
“I think Tim Boyle might start over him this week — and it might not be just because of injury,” NFL Network’s Peter Schrager said. “I’m being serious.”
The Bill Simmons Podcast, November 2021
Bill Simmons: “Detroit could’ve taken Justin Fields. You have no QB! This is why they haven’t won a playoff game in 30 years”
Danny Kelly: “Goff is the worst starter in the NFL”
Peter Schrager: “Tim Boyle might start over Goff this week” pic.twitter.com/0fYK9bAfx8
— The r/BillSimmons Podcast (@rBillSimmonsPod) November 17, 2024
When the Lions went 3-13-1 in 2021, Goff started 14 games; Boyle started three.
“It’s like what we’re talking about with Mike White and Zach Wilson, where’s it like, ‘Ah, he’s injured; we’ll keep him on the bench for a while,'” added Kelly.
“Listen, I don’t want to slander Jared Goff because he won me a Super Bowl, and I’m always going to treasure and admire that guy, but, man, is he bad,” Simmons added. “…And also, why are you taking Goff back in that trade? We all accepted that piece, too. And it really did seem like Detroit felt he was salvageable for some reason, which is weird.
“They could’ve had Fields. They could’ve taken Mac Jones. They could’ve had Fields or Mac Jones. Anyways, classic Lions. This is why they suck, and they haven’t won a playoff game in 30 years.”
Campbell has two playoff wins on his coaching ledger — and has the Lions primed for more in 2024.
The Lions are also primed to call out cold takes, as general manager Brad Holmes called out local media by name over bad NFL Draft takes earlier this year. Campbell, Goff, et al., probably won’t call out Cowherd, Simmons, Kelly or Schrager by name over takes that nearly span four years, but they could.
You don’t have to look hard to find these dime-a-dozen cold takes, but the Lions are working hard to ensure they aren’t a punchline anymore.
