Optimism and confidence are running high in the Motor City, and we talk about the Detroit Lions with Fletcher Sharpe.
From what to know about Za'Darius Smith to how he'll fit in with the Lions, we have you covered.
Plus, we talk about the win over Green Bay, the upcoming game against the Houston Texans, a prediction that the Lions will win out the rest of the season, and Brian Branch's possible suspension.
This is an automatically generated transcript that has been lightly edited. Please excuse any errors.
Hello everyone and welcome to your Daily Detroit. It is Tuesday, November 5th. It is election day. But we are not talking about voting. We are talking about the gridiron, the football field. Because honestly, you've heard enough of all the other stuff. You've made up your mind and it is a great day for Detroit Lions fans and I want to celebrate that. I am Jer Staes and to help me do it, none other than Fletcher Sharpe. It's good to talk to you man.
Fletcher: Of course. Thanks for having me.
Jer: Za’Darius Smith. It is a big pickup for the Lions. There's been a lot of rumors around this one because the Lions have needed some defensive depth since the loss of Aiden Hutchinson for basically the season. The deal involves Za'Darius Smith and a 2026 seventh round draft selection from the Browns and then the Browns got a 2025 fifth round pick and a 2026 sixth rounder. This is according to Adam Schefter. I think this is a huge deal because I think it's the right answer for what the Lions plans are. But before we get into that, who is Za’Darius Smith?
Fletcher: Za'Darius Smith, native of Montgomery, Alabama, went to East Mississippi Community College, which if you follow the Netflix series is the school heart that everyone went to to go be redeemed. Went to Kentucky, drafted by the Baltimore Ravens.
This is where people should know him a little bit. Spent four years in the NFC north, three with the Green Bay packers, one with the Minnesota Vikings before going to the Cleveland Browns. During the years he was in the NFC north, He was a second team All Pro in 2020 and a three time Pro Bowler from 2019, 2020 and 2022.
He registered one sack in five games against the Lions in that time. A few tackles for loss.
He's not Aiden Hutchinson. I'll start off with the bat and say that he is not Aiden Hutchinson, he's not Maxx Crosby, he's not going to come in here and change the game entirely on the edge. But what he will do is be better than the people they have already. They gave James Houston a big chance against the Packers for the second half of the game to go and show that he really should still be on the roster. And while everyone loves James Houston's efforts over the past few years, he very much showed they need to get someone in there.
And while the Lions have been winning, which is great for sure, the pressure on the quarterback has significantly dropped since Aiden Hutchinson, was declared out for the season. At least for most of the regular season. I'll say that, what you expect, because again, he was such a gravitational force, not just because he was that great, but because he attracted a lot of attention when, ah, other people do stuff.
And while Za’Darius is not going to be the person who's going to go in there and get you 15 sacks in the second half of the season, he will be someone who, if you don't double team him, will get to the quarterback and make something happen. So he at least allows for some extra openings on the other part of the defensive end, the defensive line, to let some players get in there and make some more chaos.
Jer: At 32 years old, I think he's the right answer because we're not getting rid of Aiden Hutchinson. As long as he can be a Lion, I think we're going to keep him a Lion. But at 32, he brings some experience to the locker room. That Pro Bowl experience, absolutely wonderful. But he does not have a Super Bowl. And if there's any chance that he's going to get one in his career, this is going to be one of the best ones for him. I think this trade worked out pretty well for him.
Fletcher: Of course, I mean, they who's kind of on a sputtering boat. That was the Cleveland Browns with their issues all around. And, he gets to leave that and come somewhere where everyone has the same message and everyone has the same beat, marching to the same beat of the same drum. Every step forward is just for the team and it's next man up.
The Lions showed this past game, if you aren't available to go, they will mourn for you for a few seconds and then they will strap up and let the next person go out there and make some plays. So hopefully Za’Darius Smith comes in and he can contribute as well as people assume he can. but if he cannot, then they will figure it out and go forward. But just based off his regular season numbers, right now where he's got five and a half sacks, 27 tackles total, forcing one fumble, that helps. Three passes defended as a defensive end, that also helps. So, like, hopefully he can bring that in, bring that energy and help, the Lions.
Jer: The Lions are not performing badly, though. Look at their record. Look at that win against Green Bay. By committee, they've been able to pull out the win. I agree that their pass rush has not been as good, and I think it was important to address. But that Green Bay game, it really felt like they were in control.
Fletcher: They were. And you have players for the packers like Elgin Jenkins, who was like, the team that executed the best one, not the best team. And it's like, man, the team that executes the best is the better team. So, I mean, there are Packers players who are like, they didn't come in here. They didn't. I know before the game, Xavier McKinney, their star safety, was like, they like to run up the score on people. They like to embarrass people, and I don't like that. I'm pretty sure they were embarrassed when they were down 24 to 3, at their own home stadium, when the fans were chanting loudly for Jared Goff. Like, do you know how demoralizing that is when the opposing team quarterback of a rival team is in your stadium and they are cheering for him louder than they are booing for you?
Jer: Did you see the Green Bay Packers PR team encouraging fans to only sell to other packers fans?
Fletcher: Yes. And they did that last year. They did. I knew they do it again this year. And I understand why for. For Lambeau Field, because it's supposed to be this, like, big home advantage.
And that's kind of the reason why, like, I'll always be worried about it, because I have a lot of childhood memories of just Brett Favre destroying Lion's secondary, Dre Bly trying to go for passes, and just Donald Driver going right by him, and then Aaron Rodgers doing the same, and just with Randall Cobb, and you're just like, ugh, I have to relive these over and over and over. And, like, you look up and the Lions have won three straight at Lambeau Field.
And that. That's a number I thought I would never, ever see. Even if the Lions were, like, perennial super bowl champions, I figured, they'll go to Green Bay and lose. That's fair. Like, they'll go to Green Bay lose 14 and three, 15 and two, whatever. But no, they are going there. And like some people have joked, but that's Ford Field, Ford Field West. And I'm like, huh? I kind of, you know, I can't say they're not necessarily wrong. You know, you were a little worried.
Jer: About the game in last week's episode. What was different than what you thought would happen that made the Lions kind of control the field?
Fletcher: Yeah, I was worried. And it started off in a way where I felt like I should be worried.
Someone I keyed in on Josh Jacobs running back for them, they signed, had 10 carries for 89 yards early on in the game, and it was looking like he was going to break 100 yards. And if they kept using him the way they used him, the Lions were in for some trouble from that point forward that Dave Birkett said that his exact tweet was, Josh Jacobs has 10 carries for 89 yards. He's about to be the first running back to rush for 100 yards in a game against the Lions since Week 16 of 2022.
From that tweet forward, Josh Jacobs got three more carries and finished with 95 yards. He did not break a hundred yards because at that point, at that point, the packers started getting punched in the face.
It went from, oh, this game is kind of close to, mistakes were made.
So the thing that they were using that was really hurting the Lions, the run game stopped being effective because the Lions just started making them have to throw the ball all the time.
And of course, they ended up getting a touchdown late to kind of, you know, make the game more competitive. But in honesty, it was really 24 to 6. It 24 to 14 is a final score for sure.
But then, like, when the game really was in the balance, it was 24 to 6 and they were getting suplexed at their own home.
And I was worried about if Jordan Love could play because he's emerging into, like, being a young star quarterback. He still has his growing pains for sure, but I didn't realize he was still that hurt. In all honesty, he probably should not have played. They probably should have gone with Malik Willis, who was healthier, not the same type of quarterback, a bit more athletic, probably would have given the lines a bit more trouble, but they should have gone with him.
To be honest, if they had a better chance of winning this game.
And of course Jordan Love made some plays but he also had that horrible interception he threw to Kirby Joseph that he even said. I did not see him standing there. I saw the running back break. I did not see the Joseph between me and the running back. And he threw it right to him. And then Kirby took it for his league leading sixth interception of the season and his first ever defensive touchdown. So yeah, I was worried about those situations but very quickly they became non factors. Say for Josh, for Josh Jacobs.
Jer: You mentioned Dave Birkett. He said in a column this week that he thinks the Lions will win out until they will not lose until the playoffs. We are halfway through the season. How do you feel about that prediction? What is your prediction?
Fletcher: No, they are not going to win out.
Jer: No, you're not into that much hopium? I kind of don't want them to win out because I don't want the loss to be in the playoffs.
Fletcher: They have the Texans, Jaguars, Colts, Bears, Packers, Bills, Bears, 49ers, Vikings. I don't think they're going to beat the Bills. The Bills are pretty good. The, Bills are a beatable team, but I don't think they're going to beat the Bills.
The Texans are a pretty good team. They have a good quarterback in C.J. stroud. That's going to be a rough game to overlook.
They play the Packers again, who are probably going to be a little bit healthier. Definitely looking for some revenge. And like last year when they were looking for revenge, they came and they beat the tar out of the Lions.
You have the 49ers who you can't overlook even, even with all the disarray they have, they're still the 49ers. They're still the representative of the NFC for the last year's Super Bowl.
So like, you can't overlook these teams. Do they have a much softer schedule than before? Probably. But you can't overlook any of these teams.
You have the Vikings again who definitely are going to want to try to get some payback.
So I in good faith can't say they're going to win out for sure. Do I think they have a chance of winning most of their games for sure? Do I think they can probably replicate the beginning of the season? Maybe. I think they probably lose two more games heading into the playoffs. But I think if they can maintain the pressure that they're going at, I can see them definitely finishing with 14, 15 wins. I can't see them having 16. I can't.
Jer: That's still a heck of a finish.
Fletcher: Oh, for sure.
Jer: The thing is, is that I don't like to assume wins, especially in the NFL, because although sometimes teams can collapse, I mean, the Lions are very good. They are very good at making people pay for their mistakes. But a perfect record, I just think that's a bridge way too far. And I wouldn't want to try to keep the pressure of a perfect record all the way through the playoffs.
Fletcher: These are all professional athletes. They all have pride. They all do not like having their face rubbed in it. So if you're looking up there and the Lions beat the Texans and they have the Jaguars coming up, the Jaguars are a terrible franchise right now and they all know they're a terrible franchise.
But if they have to hear for a week about how they're going to get blown out over and over and over, they might say we're going to come out with something special. They might win that game just based off of the fact they don't want to be embarrassed. Same with the Colts.
So like, I'm not going to sit here and say like, they're going to dominate these teams all the way around. They're going to run over them, they're going to win this game for. I can't say that in all conscious, in all good conscience, but I can say they have a pretty good chance to do that.
They have a decent chance to win all the way out. Do I think they're going to do it? No, I do not. But then again, I didn't think I'd see them sitting here with one loss at the beginning. At this point of the season, I especially would have, would have thought that one loss definitely would not have come, against the Buccaneers.
Jer: Right now, FanDuel has the line in favor of the Lions at 3 1/2 points. Does that feel right? Houston Texans seem to be a solid team at 6 and 3 and we are going on the road.
Fletcher: Yeah, but it's a dome. The Houston Texans are a good team. As I mentioned, they have CJ Stroud, they have Joe Mixon at running back, Tank Della at receiver, Robert Woods. they have a pretty good defense. They're led by D'Amico Ryan's, who people remember as a former NFL player who's letting his team kind of, kind of like how the lines are with, with Dan Campbell kind of embracing the coaches philosophy and saying, get after it. We're going to just go out there and have some fun. And CJ Stroud is blossoming into a pretty good NFL Quarterback but they are not unbeatable. They are a good team, but they are a beatable team.
If the Lions come in and play like they've been playing the past few weeks, don't make any mistakes.
Jared Goff still has more touchdown passes and incompletions. I think it's the margins getting closer on the season.
The running backs play the way they're supposed to play and the defense keeps it up. I think they should be fine, especially because they're going to have Jameson Williams coming back which definitely adds a dimension to their offense. Za’Darius will be there to help. My one question mark is whether Brian Branch is suspended for a game or two.
Jer: So at the end of the day, how do you feel about this?
Fletcher: I think they have a pretty good chance to win the game.
They have to limit C.J. stroud to no big plays which is hard to do because he's making it known that he can feast off big plays.
But if you keep the Texans offense in front of you and make them have to beat you instead of just making mistakes and making letting them run around you. And if the defense locks up and gives the offense good field position to operate from.
I don't know which teams right now can stop this Lions offense. Which is something I never thought I would say outside of Madden. Like I never thought I'd say like all the Lions offense feels kind of like a juggernaut type offense.
It's not necessarily as demoralizing as say like the Kansas City Chiefs of old with Mahomes just throwing the ball behind his back and finding a wide open receiver. But like it's either you gotta stop David Montgomery from running you over, you gotta stop Gibbs from running around you and then when you sell out for the run it's a play action fake.
And this stat is a mind blowing stat.
They said the last 30 pass attempts from Jared Goff to Amon Ross St. Brown, all completions 30 times. He's looked for that man and found him 30 times for a catch. So yeah, like good luck defending that.
Jer: Let's touch back really quick on Brian Branch. You mentioned him. I do want to talk about him before we go. What do you think of that whole situation? We are recording this as a reminder on Tuesday morning. So any if you're hearing this in the situation has developed differently. It is what it is. But what do you think about all of that and what went down?
Fletcher: I've played old style football so before like all the rules came in. I do think it was unnecessary roughness, 15 yard penalty.
I do think that, I'm not saying that I think Brian Branch intentionally tried to separate this man's head from his body, but he probably could have hit him a little bit softer, especially because the ball was very obviously out of the frame.
And I do know old, time defenders, especially like the Jack Tatums, Ronnie Lots. It's like once the ball is touched, people don't, maybe they don't know this rule, but once the ball is touched by anybody, like even the ball, if the ball is touched at the line of scrimmage by a defensive lineman and gets knocked into the air, you could legally go lay out that receiver looking for the ball. You couldn't touch him before the ball is touched. That's pass interference. But once that ball is touched by somebody, you could in theory lay a sledgehammer of a hit into them.
And they outlawed that because it's not safe, because someone's looking at a ball in the air and you're launching your body into their body as they're not paying attention at all. It's like a crackback block from the offensive side.
So Brian Branch had a lot of momentum, going towards the way he was going to hit him. Nonetheless, he didn't have to hit him that hard. Was it worth an ejection? No, I don't think it was worth an ejection. Was it worth 15 yard penalty? For sure. Like I would want that call going towards the lion's favor as well or going towards anyone's favor because it's a dangerous play.
But an ejection is kind of wild and him's his reaction afterwards. While I do understand it to be like a fair reaction to have of someone who thinks they've been wronged, you can't flash the double bird like that's why I think he gets suspended. It's flashing the double birds.
For people who didn't know why he got, why he got the 15 yard penalty afterwards, it's because as he walked off the field, he gave the crowd the double bird salute, which you cannot do. It makes for a really cool photo. Someone got a picture of it.
And after the game, the entire Lions secondary put that picture in their Instagram story. Every single one of them did. And Brian Branch was at, was at the Pistons game last night when they beat the, Lakers, which is good. So let you know where he, how, where his mind is right now.
But I'm worried the salute is going to be what gets him A suspension, probably for a game or so, which is not very helpful.
But the way the Lion secondary has worked out, they've missed Brian Branch before against, the Titans, and they demolished them. So while the Texans are not the Titans, they've shown they can play without him.
I'd rather they didn't because he's a definitely an impact player. he makes things a lot easier in the secondary. but the hit, I mean, I would want that hit to be penalized regardless of it.
Could be my grandma laying the hit into someone. I'd be like, yeah, grandma. You can't hit with that part of your body. I'm sorry, but you shouldn't eject her for it. But you probably should penalize them. 1.
Jer: The idea of Grandma Sharpe laying into somebody, like, being in the air, leaning their shoulder right into it. One is hilarious in my mind, and I feel like there needs to be some sort of photo magic to create this.
But two of the things that you're outlining remind me of a, video I saw online. It was an old intro to NFL television. I don't know if it was NFL on CBS or NBC or whatever it was. It was from way back in the day.
And I remember seeing this when it came out the first time in the 80s. And all of the hits, every single clip in that, intro video, in that teaser, every single clip is illegal now.
Fletcher: Like, you'll go and watch like, a Jack Tatum highlight reel, or like an Ed Reed highlight reel, or like a Ronnie Lott highlight reel or a Ray Lewis highlight reel. And half of those hits Jack Tatum, literally, almost all of them, because he was trying to. He admitted he was trying to kill people.
But like every other hit you'll see in any other NFL players, highlight reel, is an illegal hit now. It's a hit you cannot. You can no longer make. And people are like, ooh, look at that.
And it's like, yeah, 15 yards, 15 yards, 15 yards. And it's like, that's the game has changed and you have to adapt to it.
So, again, to Brian Branch's point, he. He's a bit different because he's been the NFL after the rules change. So you kind of gotta. And it puts the defense in a weird spot.
And I'll say that not just, you know, as a former player, but, like, as someone who tries to be sympathetic, puts defense in a weird spot because if he holds up from hitting that guy and he somehow catches the ball and goes and scores a touchdown, people are then like, well, why didn't you hit him. Why didn't you do that?
And, I'm not saying you need to like, give an extra hit to make a point, but like, if you don't do this and they score, it's now it's either you're a dirty player because you didn't made this hit, or he scored a touchdown.
Why didn't you hit him? The one thing I will say that I'm getting a little bit tired of from opposing fan bases is this implications. The Lions are a dirty team. Now.
The Packers fans were crying about how Brian Branch is a dirty player and pulling up old clips of him hitting people. There's one clip with the 49ers from last year's NFC championship game where Brock Purdy goes down and Brian Branch tries to step over him and steps on his leg and they're like, see Dirty.
Then they're like, look at Kirby Joseph. He's dirty. And the whole team is dirty and they just love it. And that's why no one likes the Lions. And that's like, I, only see three fan bases. Mad, Rams fans, Vikings fans, and Packers fans. No one else really cares.
So maybe they are becoming America's team. I mean, Cowboys fans don't really like to hear that, but at this point, no one needs to hear what they have to say at all.
Jer: Look, the only reason why the Cowboys were America's team is because Jerry Jones had TV deals. Like, it wasn't because everyone loved the Cowboys. It was all a branding exercise because you saw the Cowboys a lot.
Now that we actually value it on play and actual qualities of a city. I feel like Detroit can totally be America's team. But Jerry Jones put the Cowboys in a really strong marketing and TV position… that was all branding anyway, so I feel like we can take it for sure.
Fletcher: And I mean, I, to hammer home this point, I think the Lions will beat the Texans. I think it's probably going to be something along. 28 to 2120, they get a lead early, kind of sweat the rest of the game late. CJ Stroud tries to mount a comeback and just falls just short.
But yeah, it really depends on if they suspend Brian Branch. I really hope they don't, but I would understand if they give him a game suspension. Not for the hit but for his reaction afterwards, because they're going to say, kids are watching. You can't do that.
Jer: It's so good to talk to you. It's a very exciting world in sports, especially with the Lions right now. I know it's kind of taking up all of the bandwidth. I promise you all. We're going to talk a bit about the Pistons and a bit about the Red Wings. We've got some things kind of in plan for that. But the Lions, that's the story in so many ways. I even know it from the notes from listeners and such that the Lions are the focus of Detroit right now.
Fletcher: Oh, for sure, they're. I mean, the Pistons are playing all right, the ratings are playing all right, but they're not the best, the quote, unquote best team in their league right now. Like, the Lions are being picked not just by Lions fans, but by like, ESPN analysts as like right now. This is the hottest team in the NFL right now. So, naturally they're going to take up a lot more of the spotlight than the other teams. We have not forgotten about the other teams in Detroit.
Jer: Send us an email dailydetroit - at- gmail - dot - com with your questions that we will try to answer. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you to our members on Patreon.
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