LIONS SQUAD SHOW: Detroit Lions Best & Worst Of Free Agency, Did the Lions Do Enough?

It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

We're live on a Lockdown Lions squad show, fired up to be back with you.

Jake Reap and Natalie Kerwin and Bradford Banta, that I am fired up because we've got

another edition of a Lockdown Lions squad show.

Oh, heck yeah.

What great energy to start this one, Jake.

He's made some moves in free agency, but did they all move the needle?

We will discuss on today's show, Bradford.

Matt, I'm glad you brought that up because I didn't think they won free agency, but they

made a lot.

They may have won something more important, and that's flexibility.

One pride.

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Welcome one.

Welcome all.

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This is your live.

Lockdown Lions show twice a week.

We'll talk about our free agency, Best and Worst.

Some remaining off-season moves to be made or what the outlook looks like.

And then, of course, Teddy Bridgewater just elated to be back with the Detroit Lions

while our final thoughts as well.

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The pre-show meeting, I mean, guys, you talk about productivity at its finest.

That would explain why we are a little tardy to the scheduled airtime.

Now, I'm going to you first.

I think that's just a sign of great chemistry.

You guys are coaching me up ready to go ready for a great show.

There's a reason we're the number one Lockdown show.

I don't.

Is it not the show in the numbers or the statistics, but it's just a fact?

Okay.

All right.

Yeah, guys, our pre-show chats are the best.

I mean, we just get rolling on whatever topics.

We were diving into golf, everybody.

We're getting excited for golf season.

I know this is a football show.

We talk about the pistons here and there, but we've got to put a little golf in there too.

Master's week is coming.

That's right.

This is exciting.

Come on.

I mean, what more can you say?

I mean, it's, let's see.

I can't say it's starting to warm up because we had snow yesterday, but yeah, I look, you know,

it's just around the corner and the vibes are starting, the phone calls are starting to

get made and, you know, you know, you're like the 10 maintenance.

So we went and saw out of the sphere last week.

We went and saw with the revised at the sphere, you know, and the 10 man, you know, squirting

a little oil and all those joints getting them ready to go for the summer.

As long as, as long as he's not leaking oil, we should be good that, right?

All right.

All right.

We haven't even gotten into that a little, let's a little Bradford band to Vegas recap.

You know, I mean, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, you went to the sphere.

That's not a word for me to say.

Sphere.

There's no C-H in it, buddy.

Sphere.

No, I know, but I know, you know, actually, I know it's sphere, right?

Right?

Sphere.

Sphere.

I can't see in it.

I don't see.

I just tried to be vulnerable with you guys and say what I can't say and you're making

fun of me.

Sphere.

Well, yeah.

That's our job.

Thank you.

Yeah, yeah, that's very good.

How was Vegas Bradford, Banta?

You know what, Vegas was awesome.

We could, you know, I was talking with, talking with my wife about it last night and it

was, we attended and got a lot of things done while we were out there and, but it was

in no hurry.

So which was fantastic.

We ended up staying at the Bellagio.

We had a fountain view room where we could, where you could tie in, you could turn your

TV on, you could tie in the music to the fountains that were going off outside.

So you could watch them and in my opinion of the songs that we heard, one was they played

the National Anthem, which was the, the, you know, the water, the water scene and everything

that they played are that they showed was fantastic.

And then the other song that stood out to me was everybody knows the, you know, the

Modelo Beer song, right?

That's it.

Jingle.

Okay.

Well, it's an actual song and they played it.

Like a five, six minute song and they played it and the thing that stood out that most

to me is that, that the beginning of it and they had smoke coming out from the water.

And then they started with, they started with the fountains and those, those were the two

songs that really, that really blew my socks off, you know, as far as that's concerned.

But anyway, we stayed there, you know, first night, they went and did some stuff and just

I, I mean, just the people watching and it's just walking up and down the strip.

You're just like, I mean, if you want to lose money or if you want to give money away,

that's the place to go.

My biggest thing in Vegas is, you know, everybody that loses whenever they leave, they buy

a light bulb.

And the last night check, Las Vegas has a lot of light bulbs, you know, but it was, but

it was great.

And also, you know, being out there during March Madness.

Oh, oh, yeah, duh.

We sat in on the, you know, the sports books for a little bit, watched a couple of games.

And then we took, we went out there, we ended up doing an ATV tour out in the desert,

which was, which was great, just to kind of break it up a little bit, get out of the

city itself.

And then one of the things we did was we went to over at Mandalay Bay and we, we did a

Circus Ola, Circus Ola, Michael Jackson, you know, and that was about an hour and a half

of all his music along with the Circus Ola performers doing kind of a play, you know,

with his, you know, with the glove, with the shoes and the sparkly socks and then the

hat.

And then they actually had a hologram of Michael Jackson dancing on stage, which was in

the characters interfaced with the hologram and it was, it was just, it was neat to see.

So nothing too pressing to get done, we probably had one to two things a day that we wanted

to do and we did it and it's just, overall, I'd say, we spent the max amount of time

in the Vegas, which is about three days.

That's all you need.

That's all you need.

That's it.

Well, the one you first just started describing it kind of sounded like our show where we

get a lot of things done.

We have a lot of fun and in no particular time, by the time the hour is up, we've had

a good time.

But I did want to talk a little lion's free agency, because we're still in that free

agency calendar.

And the conversation around the Detroit Lions, did they do enough?

Did they win free agency and everybody loves to have those conversations in the offseason

without a real scoreboard?

And I think it's important to know from the beginning of this discussion, that time

will tell and we'll always have those parameters around the free agency discussion.

But some of the signings we love versus some that maybe left a little bit more to be

desired.

And you know, you could make the case that the Lions addressed some needs, certainly at

center.

And that's where I wanted to start with Cade Mays, because I really do think that addresses

such an important need.

And it doesn't necessarily completely dissolve the Lions of having any holes in the offensive

line, but it's a very, very good first step.

So that's going to be my free agent that I've got, you know, the most eyeballs on under

the microscope, hoping to make an immediate impact right away for the Detroit Lions.

And you know, now I'll kick it to you first, because I feel like I've just been going on

and on and on and rambling and am rambling.

Am I crazy for that thought?

And is there a free agent signing that you were the most particularly pleased with?

Yeah, I mean, we all know the Lions first point of attack that they need to figure out

this off season is the O line.

So when they signed Cade Mays, I think we were all pretty happy about it, especially just

seeing his production with the Panthers and his age and needing someone to, you know,

help fill some of the holes that are a part of, you know, the Lions trenches.

So him, Larry Borum, I know is in that area as well.

For me, and to, I guess, add to that thought, you know, the Lions, I believe still need

to make tackle their number one priority when it comes to the drafts, depending on what

happens.

Not sure if Brad Holmes is going to move up or down or whatnot.

I still feel like they need to address more of the line first and foremost.

But for me, when I think of the guys that we did sign, I think I'm a fan of Roger McCurrie,

helping fill, you know, the DB room.

We obviously know, you know, Brian Branch, Terry Arnold, Kirby Joseph, like you go down

the line of guys, they lost a meek Robertson.

I mean, guys that, you know, may or may not be a part of the group for a bit of time once

the season starts.

So that's definitely a hole that they needed to fill.

I feel like that was a really good value move.

He's 26.

He has starting experience.

He's been on two different teams now.

I feel like that's just a guy that you definitely know can help, you know, plug some holes in

that room.

So I thought that was a good, a good pick by them.

So that would probably be my guy that would stand out.

But I do like the kid pick up as well.

Yeah, I'll just kind of start going down the line, you know, and just addressing what

you'll just previously addressed.

I believe that the Cade Mays contract, you know, everybody saying it's a three year deal.

Basically, it's a two year contract with a third year option for the club, which makes

it a very club friendly deal.

And you're getting a player that was, these are the facts.

He was forced into becoming a center for the Carolina Panthers due to injuries.

And that gave him some flexibility because he was a guard coming out and he ended up building

up these center reps and made a name for himself with the Carolina Panthers.

And the Carolina Panthers sought to move on from me.

And we were able to, and getting for, I believe, pretty dog on good deal.

You know, it's nothing like the Linda Bond deal that he signed out in Las Vegas.

But that was a record breaking deal.

The addition of Borum and then also the acquiring of the juice scrugs.

So they're adding depth in the middle, right?

And it's going to be that room is starting to transform.

You have some other players, Penaisul, Tate Routledge, who are, you know, the Penaisul is the

guy on the offensive line right now.

Tate Routledge is developing.

I look for his second year to be much better than his rookie year.

I thought he performed decent.

And then, you know, the loss of Taylor Decker is, you know, to be seen, TBD.

So to be determined, that very well could be addressed in the draft in some way, shape

or form.

Roger McCarrary, just like you had talked about, Nat, look, that secondary right now is

decimated.

The addition of McCarrary is much needed.

I believe that, you know, the unknown about your safeties.

And then the unknown about Terry and Arnold in his legal situations that he's going through

right now.

And because with with Arnold, the league hasn't even stepped in and said anything.

Right.

It's a mystery.

Good point.

Yeah.

So they're waiting for everything to play out in the judicial system before they make

a ruling on what happens with him.

And then another signing that I'd like to add regarding the tight end position is Tyler

Conklin.

And I believe that this is a good addition given the health of Sam LaPorta and how his

rehab is going.

So it just adds a little bit more depth to that room and a little bit more stability

because I think whenever LaPorta went down, that was a missing piece in the Lions offense

in the latter half of the year because I believe LaPorta went down week nine, we tend

somewhere around there.

So the last half of the season, they were missing that aspect of offensive production

from the Lions offense.

And I know that the Jared golf really relies on those interior, the slot receiver, a

mandra and LaPorta at the tight end position.

That's kind of like his safety blanket.

And if you take one of those away, then the production is going to fall off even though

the stats don't show that.

No, 100%.

And that's where part of the conversation I wanted to continue to have and we'll evolve

into in the second segment is some of the attempts that we might have to measure additions

and losses are really beyond some of the statistics and beyond some of the numbers on the field.

And I've got a couple of examples.

I want to pick your guys' brain on that to try to project, did the Lions break even

here?

Did they lose a little bit?

Those beyond just the measure of productivity.

But I did want to mix in some comments because we love our live audience.

That's the beauty of doing it live.

We do it live.

We do it live.

And the audience always provides some awesome feedback.

This is from FSU Noll, 28.

So Florida State.

There you go.

They haven't been good in football or basketball in a while.

So FSU Noll, we're sorry, man.

But he said, you don't need to win free agent, just get solid players on deals that won't

break your future.

I think they've been good in the softball recently.

I could be wrong though, Lions acquired guys that will play vital roles and competition

and make the team better overall.

I don't disagree with that notion.

And there's some guys in the comments that agree, Silver Surfer, 5970 agrees.

So I'll read it one more time without my own ADHD interrupting myself.

You don't need to win free agency.

Just get solid players on deals that won't break your future.

Lions acquired guys that will play vital roles and competition and make the team better

overall.

Bradford Banta, shaking his head, yes, and he's often shaking his head at me for many

different reasons.

Do you agree?

I agree with Mr. Noll.

So whenever you have free agent acquisitions, and when they made them, and I'm talking second

third day of free agency, after the so-called money grab the first couple of days, that's

when you start plug-in holes, and you get good solid players, you do your homework, you

vet the player, you make sure he's a good fit for the system, and you want to bring him

in, and they're just going to blow seamlessly into being a good teammate and productive player,

a good teammate in the locker room, and then a productive player out onto the field.

I agree with you there.

I think that sometimes the smarter move, at least for right now, is to just get guys on

solid deals instead of, I don't know, if they're, I mean, these Brad and Dan, I feel like

aren't the kind to make a huge splash.

We haven't seen that.

So I think, honestly, the way that they're going about this and stacking up guys that can

at least fill some depth issues on cheaper deals, I don't mind that.

Well, FSU Noll 28 has spoken, yes, the Nolls have not been good at football for a while.

They never really recovered.

You're right, Jake.

The Travis, no, what was the quarterback saying that got injured?

They're undefeated.

The quarterback got injured and then they got left out of the four team college.

And then the committee expanded from four teams to 12 because of Florida State.

So they're, they're trailblazers in that sense, but unfortunately, yeah, FSU Noll will

comment it.

Was it Travis?

I think it was Travis Henry, and that's the running back, and that was not, no, isn't that

isn't Florida State quarterback.

I was wondering what was it running back.

Jamie Twenson.

Travis Jordan, guys, come on.

Jordan Travis.

Jordan Travis.

Travis, the place FSU Noll has got to be loving this show.

All right, quick time out.

Keep the lights on.

Read those ads.

We'll come back and do the measure of the additions versus the measure of the

departures.

That's next on Alive, locked on lions.

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Well, let's just make sure that we are on the right channel.

We're not.

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I mean, guys, it was fun doing these shows with you for when I get that pink slip

in the mail.

And that was not my fault.

Let me explain, because shameless plug, live Lockdown Squad Show, Pistons version, airs

10 minutes upon conclusion of our show.

So you could understand how very easily it would be to have Lockdown Pistons Squad show

ads pulled up instead of Lockdown Lion Squad show pull up.

And then the button's not working.

That's not...

I take accountability and responsibility.

That's number one.

It's always on me, but that wasn't my fault.

Okay.

We still love you, Jake.

Thank you.

You got the harder job than we do.

I appreciate that.

That's all I was going for.

All right, additions versus subtractions.

We've talked about some additions.

Some subtractions, departures, can't even talk.

Players leaving, whether it's by trade or whatever it else, I think, for me, the conversation

starts at the running back position.

Obviously, David Montgomery, near and dear to our heart, one of Nets favorites, the angry

runs, everything he means to the locker room, those are things that don't show up on a

stat sheet.

They're not measurable.

You look at his replacement, Isaiah Pacheco, brings an element of explosiveness,

at least that's what he's deemed to.

The stats might say otherwise.

That's the initial addition subtraction that I'm going to have my eye on the most in this

off season, because I understand why it happened.

It had to happen, but I'm still, what's the term in grief where you're just not accepting

it?

You're still...

denial?

Yes.

That's the one I'm looking for.

I have a lot of experience with denial.

This can't be happening.

But yes, Montgomery is, in fact, a Houston Texan that I'll give you the floor because that's

your guy.

Yeah.

That is my guy.

Of course, I'm going to miss him.

I really am, but needed to be done.

It is a business.

I'm going to keep using Bradford's phrase.

It's a business.

That's what this is all about.

But I have big question marks around it too, because Isaiah Pacheco, guess we've talked

about, he can be physical.

He's explosive.

The way he runs.

He's got playoff experience.

You know, the kind of player he can be, but also lingers at the forefront of your mind

is his injury history.

And what we were able to see last year, he had a decreased role granted he wasn't available

to play for a part of the season.

But you just hope that this signing plays in the Lions favor where you hope he can be what

David Montgomery was in some way, shape, or form.

Will it turn out that way?

I don't know because he, because of that injury history and because we haven't seen the

kind of Isaiah Pacheco that we knew from his first few seasons in the league.

So it's going to be interesting to see how that plays out.

We don't know yet.

I know he's excited to be here.

I loved his interactions that he had with Dan Campbell.

We talked about that clip, right, where he was imitating the phone call.

I think I love that.

You know, like that's a guy that wants to be here.

You want people like that in your locker room.

So I think he's determined to become the player that he wants to be with what Lions fans

want him to be.

And you saw what this Lions team was and how successful they were when they did have that

one to punch in the backfield, right?

Like with Montgomery and Gibbs, it was awesome.

Last year there was a little bit of a drop off.

Now Grant said you lost your OC and things changed.

Dimo wasn't seeing the field as much.

But you would hope if Isaiah Pacheco can fill that second role in that running

back room and they can utilize both him and Gibbs.

I like what this Lions team could be at least in my head right now.

We'll see if that actually plays out.

But definitely something to watch.

I think that's the biggest thing as far as who we've picked up so far,

seeing if that move plays out.

Did you feel the same way, Bradford?

Yeah, I think there definitely, you know, whenever we went into the 2025 season,

we viewed it as Gibbs 1A Montgomery was 1B.

As the season went along, it became quite evident that we had a running back one

and a running back two.

So there was no 1A and 1B.

And look, the Lions saw this and there were rumblings that Montgomery was not happy with his role.

So did he go in and ask to be traded?

Possibly.

Did they grant that wish?

They did, but did they get something in return?

They did, you know, and with draft picks and another player.

So the addition of Pacheco, you can talk about his asked injury history,

specifically talking about last season, you know, I knew it as we ended up getting a player,

you know, on a one year deal, you know, prove a deal.

And I think it's a very good addition with the way that he could possibly be used

because he's not going to be carrying a, you know, a ton of the weight.

And whenever you do using just that switch up because of his running style,

he is a violent runner of the football.

Now, is he going to break away not so much, but can he get you those tough yards?

Yes.

I like the sign.

That I think by the end of the season, you're going to take that, you're going to take

that angry run t-shirt and you may be scratching out Monty's number and then possibly writing,

you know, ten in there.

And so it's going to be, I like the addition of Pacheco.

So what made that duo talking about Gibbs and Montgomery, Sonic and Knuckles so, you know,

so good.

What made him so good?

Up front?

That's what made him so good.

You take care of up front, then you'll see the re-emergence of the two headed running

back and the involvement of Pacheco in certain situations getting the job done.

And spelling Gibbs, whenever it's need be, because Pacheco has carried that one running

back title before.

Now he's taking just a little bit lesser of a role.

So the tread, and I know you use this, you know, comparison, the tread on the tire isn't

getting used as much.

So now there's a very good possibility that you're going to see him stay healthy throughout

season and have a two running back system that they're going to be able to take advantage

of with as much 13 and 12 personnel that Petsim supposedly likes to run.

So I like to pick, I think it's going to be effective for the Detroit Lions.

And I thought it was a good value signing for the Detroit Lions in both trading Montgomery

and then also signing Pacheco after the trade had to happen.

No, for sure.

On the same page, do you think so too, Jake?

Yeah, I think so, but I also like, and I know I said this, but I just don't know where

he stands from and there's no reason to think that it's not a knock on Pacheco as much as

it's a testament to what Montgomery brought, you know, between the four walls in the practice

facility and everything else, and we just, no way of knowing that.

So I, that's my only, and it's not even pushback, it's just one other little piece of the

pie of all the different layers involved in additions and subtractions, which is what

we're talking about here on the live lockdown lion squad show.

Another subtraction or departure that I'm still grappling with in a sense that, and I

can't remember if I told you guys this, but my guy's over on the CHIO Bears channel, the

All-City Network, and I have to go on their show and they have to rub it in my face that

Khalif Raymond is a bear and that Ben Johnson is turning this franchise around and everything

else.

I didn't have, I didn't have much of a comeback other than, yeah, you're getting a great

player in Khalif Raymond.

You're getting a great locker room guy and the tweet that I'm on Ross St. Brown had

about how great of a teammate he was.

And so understanding that this is a business and understanding players come and go and

organizations have to do what's best for the team, the crest, and everything else.

These things happen, but I, I just think there's a lot to be made about some of the things

that aren't measured in some of the departures that have happened over the course of free

agency.

And Khalif Raymond is another guy that I look to that there's going to be a big void there

and it's incumbent upon guys like Isaac Tesla and the rest of that wide receiver room

to step up and fill said void.

Is Greg Dorch the one they say that can fill that role?

I mean, he's a, yeah, I mean, that's a, yes, in short, yeah, I mean, yeah, I'm trying

to remember.

Right, right.

Well, the, the chemistry or the history with Fetzing is, is certainly appealing there.

And, you know, I'm not going to break down the, I didn't watch enough Arizona Cardinals

football to know the X's and O's, but the, the special team's numbers, I mean, yeah,

come on.

I know.

I know.

I know.

I know.

I just, goes without saying, but tax season, you know, I'm writing off my NFL Sunday ticket

for work purposes.

Like that's, I mean, that, I think you have to, right?

Well, yeah, it'd be crazy, so that is, I did have access to Arizona Cardinals football.

So you're right.

That is on me.

They're a really good product to watch this.

Bradford, I'm curious, have you watched any film or highlights on Greg Dorch when they

announced the signing or, I don't know, or what you've read about him, how you think.

Yeah, just, I, I think it's a, you know, it's going to be, look, I look at it like an equal

swap.

Yeah.

Raymond and Dorch, the only thing that I watched out of the Arizona Cardinals were the memes

and everything that else that came up whenever Kyler Murray and the interaction between Kyler

Murray and JJ McCarthy and the locker.

So that's, that's about the extent of my Arizona Cardinal knowledge there.

Yeah.

Well, our guy, I mean, we've got to keep adding them into the show because he's just bringing

great, great comments.

FSU Noel 28, Dorch is an upgrade over Kulief at least on the field.

So there you go.

You heard it here first.

Let's continue the conversation.

I'm going to try and do a little bit better this time around.

Second time's the charm here.

I have full confidence in myself, which is kind of scary.

And then when we come back, I am going to make myself feel better with an addition to

locker room presence.

That's next right here on the Lockdown Lions Squad Show.

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We're back and we are cruising on the Lockdown Lions Squad Show.

Heck yeah, Jake.

Listen, we bounce back.

We didn't do bad after, listen, the first one had it's rough patches.

That read was a plus here to be your hype person, I don't know if I could read the ads

that good.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Here's some data.

We love data.

We love stats.

Shout out FSU.

No old 28.

Borge average 8.9 yards per punt return to Raymond 7.5 so basically give direction on that

direction.

11.

Look out.

Look out.

Cool.

We know Bradford love stats.

Let's keep that going.

We like that.

All right, big time addition in the locker room that probably isn't going to be and actually

hopefully we hope we don't see Teddy Bridgewater on the field because that would mean something's

going on with Jared Goff.

That being said, I'm fired up for Teddy Bridgewater to be back on this team.

There was an article in Yahoo Sports just kind of detailing how excited he is to be

back and the familiarity with the Detroit Lions and even though it's not anything groundbreaking,

we knew this would be the reaction.

We kind of knew when he signed that this is what it meant.

The same time, like I said before, break, I wanted to make myself feel better that there's

still, there's an addition of a really solid presence in the locker room that's off season

in Teddy Bridgewater.

I agree.

Look, we had Teddy down in New Orleans and he was a very good presence, whatever he was

in the locker room.

You know, it's obviously you don't want to see him play, but the leadership capabilities

that he brings to the locker room in the, I don't even know if this is the word, but

the, I mean, okay, I'm awarded this way.

He settles everybody down and his leadership style with the way he comes across to not

only the older players, but also the younger players helps gel the community that we know

as the team.

And he's proven that whenever he got out of football, he knew how to bring a team together

and he goes and wins this high school state championship as a head coach down in Florida.

And wherever he goes, he's just a good dude, you know, and he just, it's good to have him

back in the locker room.

I believe that they're going to have a very good quarterback room heading into this next

season.

I love his presence.

Like I think he's just such a good guy and I like hearing that you have personal experience

with him Bradford too, you know, like that just solidifies it even more.

And you know, this team loves him and for him to be excited to come back, like I said

it earlier about as they have the check out really wanting to be here, like that, that

speaks volumes.

I think about this organization and this team and, you know, I mean, anytime you can add

a veteran piece to your team that can stabilize things that is appreciated in a locker room.

Like you need that kind of person amongst a lot of young guys.

And so I'm pumped to have him back.

I didn't know what the lions are going to do when they've released Kyle Allen.

I'm like, who would they bring in as they're back up at this point, you know, but who

better than Teddy?

He's got experience here and it just, it's a great fit.

It's a great fit.

I love you, Teddy.

Yeah.

Some of the comments from this article I wanted to share because the quotes are fantastic.

So and this is from the Detroit news is Nolan Bianchi, friend of the program, we've got

to get.

Oh, yeah.

Yes.

Teddy Bridgewater said, quote, it's like I visited the fountain of youth or something this

last year.

There's just something in me that's like, man, you know what?

I can do this again.

I've got so much left to offer this game.

He, um, end quote, he added that he's gotten some coaching experience and contemplated

retirement.

And now he's ready to keep playing ball.

So there you go.

The fountain of youth, 33 year old, ready to be QB two for the Detroit lions.

He should share secrets on like where this fountain of youth is at just for the future.

Yeah.

I just wonder where he, maybe it was being around all the high school kids.

He just feels like, yeah, that doesn't, that doesn't, you know, it's just speaking like

just all pan whenever I was at Michigan, and it was awesome just being around a younger

crowd and just listening to them talk and interacting with them, also coaching them

along the way, it brings a little bit of youthfulness out of you.

So you remember, make you remember things.

So also reading 33 years old, um, that's all I am.

And I did not know I was the same age as Teddy Bridgewater.

So I need to find the fountain of youth, not quite ready to be QB number two, but we'll

see.

We'll put you on special teams.

That's okay.

Yeah.

Big special teams guy.

That's right.

Something.

Frontline Jay Blocking, and although we don't, you know, we have different, we don't have

the same, uh, same format for kick return now as, uh, as they did in the college days,

you know, what is Jay Blocking?

Let me ask.

What is Jay Blocking?

That's a new company.

Uh, yeah.

So I love a little X is no special teams talk, um, as the, uh, the team that led the 2014,

the country in kick return yards for kick return, um, the strategy was mostly skill

guys on the front line.

And the Jay Block technique was running back, depending on who you were assigned to as

a blocking, depending on the scheme.

And usually about 20 to 30 yards.

And essentially the goal was you'd make a, the letter J because you were just trying

to, uh, interfere with whoever was coming down on, uh, kick off and obstruct them from

making the tackle in the form of a Jay Block.

So you really don't even, you really didn't even do a lot of blocking just gotten away, um,

and let them much faster, more skilled player with the football in his hands, run around.

So we'll break it down on the blackboard, chalkboard, chalk talk, um, at some point in

life.

You know what would be cool?

This might be, well, I feel like the technology might be out there, maybe not, maybe

not for this podcast, but it'd be cool if we could bring in like a chalkboard screen.

And Bradford could drive Telestry now we're talking after a game like, hey, this was a

great play that works here today in this lion's game.

Like take a look, Bradford, just saying a little John Madden style, Bradford breakdowns.

Let's get on, let's get Sam, let's get Sam on that.

Oh, he's all over it.

Um, look it up.

Might be tough on the audio only crowd.

Uh, we just got to be descriptive.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I believe that we can do it.

Hey, we got one more segment.

Let's wrap it up.

That's coming up next.

Don't go anywhere.

Short break back on the locked online squad show.

Uh, no commercial, uh, we're on button, but we're back.

Um, it's better for everybody when, uh, we lead the commercials to the professionals.

So if you're watching live on YouTube, thank you, um, no, uh, no live ad read and we're

back.

We're rolling.

We're closing out the show.

Um, Natalie Kerwin, big pistons win last night over the Lakers, the Danis Jenkins revenge

game, a 30 burger career high, phenomenal interview post game.

I mean, I was watching, I was like, that's, that's my teammate.

That's my friend.

Natalie Kerwin.

I know her.

Yeah.

Thanks, Jake.

Yeah.

Great.

Great.

Great.

Yes.

Bradford, I'll send it your way if you want to check it out.

All right.

Please.

You know what was a surprise, though, guys last night.

It.

This has never happened to me before.

After the game, I was watching, um, I turned on ESPN.

I was watching a little SVP.

And my interview made it on Scott.

I'm told last night.

Oh, dude.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

The first two questions, which was awesome.

And they stopped after Danis and Ron were like doing their whole

little hair.

I heard about it.

But they were like, here's what the young man had to say after his

career high.

And then you just see me.

And I'm like, oh my gosh.

It just threw me off.

I wasn't expecting that.

No, that's so cool.

Oh, I also, I'm glad you brought up the Ron Holland interaction.

Because I noticed you strategically were able to position the

microphone over to Ron Holland so that you got the interaction.

Not just the visual component, but the audio component.

You were thinking of the audio only crowd.

Dude, you, you've ingrained it in here now.

Like I have to make sure the ones listening online that might not

see what's going on.

Can hear it.

So never forget the audio only.

We never do that here.

Absolutely not.

Absolutely not.

But that was a cute little interaction.

It's hard because when players, like I don't even sometimes know

when they're coming up behind who I'm talking to.

So as soon as I saw him, I'm like, oh, I'm just going to move my

arm back here and try and get everybody.

But no, it was awesome.

What a, I mean, what a good game.

It really literally came down to the very end.

But Dana's Jenkins, what a story, right?

Like this, that's the kind of athlete you root for.

He was in the G league for the last few years.

Made his way to this Pistons team.

They converted his two way contract.

And now he's just a full NBA player.

I mean, you just love that.

Especially like we can relate it back to football guys that were

like Juco players that ended up getting signed by a college

instead and then became a stud.

Like I just, whatever.

Like some of those stories are pretty rare.

So when you do hear them, it's like, I'm rooting for that guy.

So I could keep talking Pistons, but this is the lion show.

Join us, join us for the lockdown Pistons squad show.

Thank you.

Shameless plug.

That's coming up at, I think we're going at two o'clock,

two o'clock Eastern time, one o'clock Central time.

But front of the program.

We've had them on a couple of times.

Morning show host 97 on the ticket.

Jim Costa tweeted this a day ago.

And I'm curious if you guys agree or disagree.

And I think it's essentially what we've been talking about at large here.

But about if the lions did enough, you know, and the Super Bowl window

and everything else.

And our buddy Jim, who will got to get back on the show.

Good friend of the program said,

Kade Mays and a bunch of Band-Aids.

How many starters did the lions add on defense?

McCreery and Nickel.

If Wannum replaces Davenport, that's a backup.

Now they've backed themselves into a corner for the draft.

Must draft for need.

And even then rookies probably aren't closing the Super Bowl gap.

Agree or disagree.

Because I think there's plenty of merit there with what Mr.

Costa had to say about, yeah, this team is in a position where they have to draft day one impact players.

And maybe Bradford, I'm dying to hear your response, which means I should shut up and pass it to you.

Yeah.

Well, look, I think that they have addressed fair amount of the positions.

My biggest concern moving forward right now is the secondary.

That's my biggest concern.

I mean, you're looking at a position group, meaning four to five players that really you didn't start.

You didn't finish with what you started with.

Really, you didn't make it through the first five games with what you started with.

And then it gradually, they just started falling like dominoes.

And you, it was a complete overall of the position or the positions.

And you know, you, you have McCruery.

You sign a couple of the guys.

I can't name them off the top of my head, but that is a.

An area, a room of concern for me right now.

The defense of line.

Yes, we went out and addressed that off into blind.

We addressed that wide receiver.

We addressed that running back. Yes, we addressed.

We resigned some of the, you know, some of the leave in the linebacker room.

We ended up signing a couple of linebackers.

But the secondary is going to be the major concern.

And just addressing the initial question that was asked.

Jake, it's, it's, you know, is there ever a window?

I have trouble buying into that.

Just talking about a window of opportunity.

You know, each year, each team is different.

And you don't know what you're going to get you.

The biggest thing is just keeping that team that you have on the field now.

Keeping them healthy.

And if you can keep them healthy.

And if you can get the same secondary to start 17 plus games.

If you can get the same offensive line to start 17 plus games.

Then you have something to look forward to moving into the month of January and then eventually February.

That's going to be your concern.

That's going to be my concern because that's what happened with it.

Yeah, two seasons ago and happened.

Well, three seasons ago, it happened two seasons ago.

It's just injuries started taking hold.

And then finally, last year, last season.

It, I mean, it just seemed like a huge wave just knocked a whole bunch of the players out.

So can you keep 2026 Detroit lines healthy?

Moving, moving forward.

It's not how you start.

It's going to be how you finish.

That is the main thing.

And you know, and then we have talked about this.

I want to say back in January, just the revamping of how we do training camp.

How we do OTAs.

All these players go about working out to get ready for the season.

And because you just start, you just start wearing on your little bit and then your body starts to break down and then injuries happen.

And that's what happened in Detroit line that finally caught up to him in a mass wave this past season.

And a lot of the guys primarily starters could not finish the season.

So, you know, the window.

I'm not buying it.

So just to call the window, I'm looking forward to the 2026 season and seeing how they have thought about the changes that they want to make, how they institute them.

And then keeping players healthy throughout the season.

Do you believe, you know, when people talk about having a window, because I feel like we hear this all the time, that it's not necessarily that.

But it's more, do you think it just more so comes down to luck, right?

Like the injury, I mean, with injuries, right? If you are fully healthy, you are obviously have a better chance to perform in this said window, right?

But I don't know what you know what I'm trying to get at because I feel like people say this all the time about the lion's like, oh, but the window's done.

They're getting ready to be done.

Like I feel like people have kind of locked them into this like three or four year period and we're like towards.

I'll bring up a perfect, yeah, I'll bring up a perfect example.

You know, nobody was talking about the window for the Cincinnati Bengals, whenever they advanced so far in the playoffs.

They're no, they weren't talking about that the next season.

They were primarily the same team.

Just talking about the Cincinnati Bengals, why were they not talking about the window, so to speak.

Why? Because Joe Barrow got hurt.

That's why they weren't talking about the window because all that window was never there. Well, I full cry.

It's a quarterback driven league.

And if you have a quarterback that can perform, then they're going to be making place.

And you put them in position to have success.

That's why I don't buy the window fit.

I, what I buy into is keeping the players fresh, keeping the locker room in, in good, but serious spirits and locked on to the next game and going one and oh every week.

Lock down.

Yeah, that's a good club. Yeah.

I don't buy it right there.

That's where it's podcast platform in the world.

And the number one squad show in the world.

Self-proclaimed.

Oh, no, oh, no.

Yeah, just ask us.

But, but that I just.

You know, I mean, the window bit.

Yeah, I'm sure it all the time. So it's like.

Yeah, I think it's a talking point.

I think it's so sure.

So to speak, you know, nobody has anything else to say all their windows closing.

Oh, the windows open.

You know, well.

Okay.

When did it start?

You know, tell me that.

When did that start?

Whenever they started having success.

Probably in people's minds. Yeah.

And then, okay, that's the window.

Well, look, that window has always been there.

Let's just open.

Open it up.

So to speak.

Now we're letting some fresh air in.

I don't know.

You know, I don't know.

I can.

I could talk a lot more about the window.

But I think it's just a talking heads.

Yeah.

Bringing stuff up just to fill air time.

And the good news is we will have more time to do exactly that on Thursday with our next show.

No, we're going to bring more than just filling air time because we're going to bring you things you can't get anywhere else.

And that's Florida State commentary and trying to determine who their quarterback was on that season.

They went undefeated and missed out on the college football playoffs because that's what we do here on the locked on lion squad show last note.

I saw a lot of comments about Kirby Joseph.

I did want to just double down on a legitimate tweet and report.

I saw that he was throwing t-shirts at a Michigan college basketball game.

So he's got to be good.

He was.

He was.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I should have sent it to you guys.

You should have.

I think I don't remember how many weeks ago.

I was like, Kirby Joseph is at the Michigan basketball game.

He's throwing t-shirts into the crowd.

He's good.

He's going to be good.

So, um, yeah.

I mean, no need to lose any sleep over Kirby Joseph.

He's chucking.

He's participating in a t-shirt toss at Chrysler Center.

He's good.

He's fine.

That.

That.

That.

That.

That.

So you're right.

So he's going to be great.

Yes.

There we go.

All right, gang.

Appreciate everybody.

Appreciate everybody tuning in.

And tuning in live.

If you missed the live version, if you're not audio only a version available on the most work podcast platform,

the Lockdown Podcast Network, Thursday, normal time, check, check, check, check, check, check, check, check.

Check, check, check, check.

Four, the 20-year NFL veteran Bradford Banta, the Detroit Pistons sidelined reporter Natalie

Co buoyant.

My name is Jake Rehmadt, thanks so much for tuning in.

And we will see you next time on The Lockdown Line Squat Show.

Goodbye.