I don't like to dig into things when things are going badly, but how can you put in perspective for Jets fans what happened in Detroit on opening night?

Cringy.

That would be the number one word I would use.

It was very tense.

It wasn't a moment I ever saw coming.

This summer was not a summer I saw coming up.

Going into this summer, I thought this was going to be an amazing offseason for the Red Wings.

So I went out to dinner last night with Ken

You're living the experience already.

Hey, hey, Chad, you were peeking right around that corner, weren't you? You called that one way back when we had our podcast and we were talking about, uh, the fantasy aspect of the Detroit Lions, and you said, "Hey, if Jared Goff goes down, I don't like what you guys have at backup." And you know what? I'm still very uncertain about what they've got at backup.

Uh, Luke Altmyer has shown to be, for an undrafted, uh, free agent, uh, signing, showing a guy who's got some promise.

There's something there to work with.

Um, and you can see him being brought along in the practice squad and develop season over season, and maybe down the road you've got something that you can work with there.

But to go into the season knowing that that would be your backup quarterback, if that's the way that things shake out, and then you're gonna depend on this guy to go the rest of the route and still get you to a Super Bowl or a playoff se- even in this s- in this situation because of just how tough the NFC North is, I don't know that you're ready to do that.

I don't know that he's the guy for that.

You said largely healthy, but running back two through who makes this roster, uh, break down each of the, the contenders here to be the backup to Jahmyr Gibbs week one, and how would you power-rank that, and break down what you've seen over the past four to six weeks out of these guys.

[laughs] What, what makes sports in Detroit different than other cities in your perspective?

The ride or die.

You know, you look at what was happening with the Lions way back when, when I first got to town, the Matt Millen era, the Millen Man March.

All, all the pain and suffering this, this franchise has gone through to get to where they are now, everybody stuck with them.

Yeah, they were frustrated.

Yeah, they were wearing bags over their heads at times, but they were showing up.

They were supporting their team.

Mm.

The fact

that somebody who's crucial in the start of this amazing rivalry...

Antonio Rattin, sent off in the first half of a quarterfinal at the World Cup between England and Argentina.

And Rattin, a legend in the realms of Boca Juniors, he played for 15 years, played his whole career for Boca.

So well, well regarded character in Argentina.

But, you know, he says he said in interviews after this amazing incident that he didn't even know he'd been cautioned.

There was a German referee who didn't speak a word of Spanish.

How is that remembered in England, especially the media response afterwards?

I want you to talk me into the Detroit Lions secondary being okay, because right now, that's one of my biggest questions about Detroit and what they're going to be able to do next year.

Well, I'm going to tell you why, and that's because this next man up attitude that this Lions team has had to deal with over the last couple of seasons, and then now three in a row coming in, the injury bug that has bitten this team, has given guys opportunities that they went, might not otherwise have.

Because when you've got a Kirby Joseph back there that's healthy, and you've got a Brian Branch back there that's healthy, other guys are not going to see the field because those guys are elite.

Now they're not going to be in there.

Other guys are dying to step up and show what they can do.

And in the draft, they got this kid, uh, Keith Abney, who is going to prove that he is ready for the big time.

He is ready for the NFL.

... you have so many limitations.

Being okay, because right now that's one of my biggest questions about Detroit and what they're going to be able to do next year.

Well, I'm going to tell you why.

And that's because this next man up attitude that this Lions team has had to deal with over the last couple of seasons and now three in a row coming in.

The injury bug that has bitten this team has given guys opportunities that they might not otherwise have.

Because when you've got a Kirby Joseph back there that's healthy, you've got a Brian Branch back there that's healthy.

Other guys are not going to see the field because those guys are elite.

Now they're not going to be in there.

what were you able to learn about Kelvin Shepard last year when you have such a mash unit of, you know, players on the field? I mean, it's really hard to be a great defensive coordinator when you have so many limitations.

Or depending on how you look at it, maybe the best decision he's ever made.

He's still Thomas Shortall at this point.

He's a bookmaker in Sydney.

He's the son of an Irish immigrant who's now a tailor.

His father... is an alcoholic.

He had already died by this point.

It was a very unstable household.

Bookmaker Thomas Shortle sees an opportunity in the lead-up.

But, uh, you know, as, as far as where the team is at right now, obviously the concern, the biggest one is this Kirby Joseph situation.

Totally.

And how do you kinda see this playing out? And did you read through the tea leaves last week like I did from Dan Campbell that this is not good right now?

It's not good, and you just paid this guy, uh, to be the best, uh, safety in the business.

You gave him the most money a safety's ever made.

You need this guy on the field, and then you couple that with Brian Branch being out, uh, that is such a huge impact on what these guys wanna do defensively, and you're counting on those guys to be two key contributors going forward.

You're paying them accordingly, and they're not on the field.

Now, I understand the next man up mentality, but the next man up isn't quite at that level, and you need guys at that level because you've got questions all over, uh, the defensive side of the ball, including, uh, opposite of Aidan Hutchinson on the edge.

And how do you kinda see this playing out? And did you read through the tea leaves last week like I did from Dan Campbell that this is not good right now?

It's not good, and you just paid this guy, uh, to be the best, uh, safety in the business.

You gave him the most money a safety's ever made.

You need this guy on the field.

And then you couple that with Brian Branch being out.

Uh, that is such a huge impact on what these guys wanna do defensively, and you're counting on those guys to be two key contributors going forward.

You're paying them accordingly, and they're not on the field.

As it stands now with Sewell on the left side, Blake Miller over there, Cade Mays, uh, h- how, how drastically different is it and, and better in your mind than what it was a year ago?

They really are trying to just fast forward to the business part of the season because they want to move on as quickly as possible.

It's absolutely true.

And I love what he said, the pajama party that is.

And no talking about any hype.

Let's get down to business.

Let's see it play out on the field.

It's only May.

So on one hand, you suffer that loss of Alex Ancelone, but how much of it is an assurance that the likes of a Jack Campbell stepped up in that way?