Is it Super Bowl or Bust for the Lions this Year?

WXYT-FM / 97.1 The Ticket

Costa and Jansen discuss whether it's Super Bowl or bust for the Lions this season.

Transcript

00:00Regular season's over and with the regular season ending, CBS Sports did season-long

00:06NFL grades.

00:07And I want to read you the blurb they wrote for the Lions.

00:10And there's four words specifically that I know will trigger some people, but I think

00:14it's a pretty honest assessment.

00:16They gave them an A+.

00:18Only team to get an A+.

00:19They said, incredible season for Detroit, best in franchise history, Dan Campbell's

00:23vision came to life and the Lions exploded on offense throughout the season and stepped

00:28on the gas when they needed it most, winning their final two games to secure the division

00:33and the one seed.

00:35It's now Super Bowl or bust for Jared Goff and company.

00:40So what does that mean?

00:41What are you saying?

00:42It means if they don't win the Super Bowl, it's a bust.

00:45It's a failed season.

00:46Dan Campbell himself is not a failure of a person, right?

00:49Jared Goff is not a failure of a quarterback, but for a team that's expectation is the Super

00:54Bowl, anything less is a failed season.

00:58That is a gigantic disappointment.

01:00How can you say it's a failure?

01:02Some people take that as like this threat, like we're threatening to call them a failure.

01:06You're being so negative.

01:07It's a compliment.

01:10The expectations are to win the Super Bowl.

01:13Expectations at the beginning of the season were at a minimum, get back to the FC championship

01:17game.

01:18Others, the minimum was get to the Super Bowl.

01:20Others, the minimum from the, from the get-go was win the Super Bowl.

01:24Every step along the way, I've been very bullish about this team, 14 and three to start the

01:29season when the schedule was revealed.

01:32Even with the injuries, I said, this is a team that should win the Super Bowl.

01:36I understand it's become infinitely harder without Aiden Hutchinson, without Carlton

01:44Davis, without some of the other individuals that are going to be, that should be playing

01:50on this roster.

01:51The number of guys on defense by itself have made this very difficult.

01:57And for some, it's forced it into the unlikely category.

02:02And for you, it was can win the Super Bowl.

02:05I think they still should win the Super Bowl.

02:07And now that, and I think it was very important in that, in that article that they said, hey,

02:12they stepped on the gas at the right time.

02:14People were asking the question, should they play their starters against San Francisco?

02:17Yes.

02:18Step on the gas.

02:19Let's go.

02:20Let's go to the left lane, pedal down and let's keep on rolling.

02:24That led into a Minnesota game where they were clearly the more prepared, better team

02:30than Minnesota.

02:31They secure the number one seed.

02:33And most of us said for them to be able to reach the Super Bowl or win the Super Bowl,

02:37they had to get that one seat, especially with the injuries.

02:41Now the expectation is that they not only make it to the Super Bowl, but they win the

02:45damn thing.

02:46And that's not the expectation solely set by us or you as a fan.

02:50It's set by the coach.

02:52It's set by the general manager.

02:53It's set by the sports books.

02:55It's set even factoring in the injuries.

02:57Understand what we're saying here.

02:59They are depleted on defense and they're still the favorite.

03:02They're depleted on defense and they exceeded even John's lofty 14-win expectations when

03:08the schedule came out.

03:10Understand that even with the injuries, they went 6-0 in the best division in the history

03:13of football.

03:14So why would the standard not be Super Bowl or bust?

03:18Kansas City is Super Bowl or bust Buffalo talk about their history of coming up just

03:24short.

03:25They beat Kansas City in Detroit for them.

03:27Only a Super Bowl is a satisfying conclusion.

03:29Anything else is failure.

03:30These are compliments.

03:32I know it doesn't always sound that way.

03:34And you know, my tone is not always great.

03:37So maybe it's my fault.

03:38But Super Bowl or bust, I truly think is a compliment.

03:41I think the conflict comes from this John incredible season for Detroit best in franchise

03:46history.

03:47How can the best season in franchise history be a disappointment?

03:51That is at the crux of this, right?

03:52Because if they go to the Super Bowl and lose, they would have had the best season in franchise

03:56history, but it's a bust and we're not saying that the journey hasn't been fun.

04:03Of course, it's been a great ride and we're going to enjoy watching everyone else play

04:08this weekend except our Detroit Lions.

04:12We are anticipating and we'll talk about this more maybe tomorrow, more likely Friday in

04:16regards to who do you want to see in the divisional route as these teams match up this

04:21weekend on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, who is it that you want to play?

04:28And that's going to be fun.

04:30Lead up to the divisional game will be fun.

04:32The lead up to the NFC championship game will be fun.

04:35The lead up to the Super Bowl.

04:36All of it is going to be fun, but it all has to end in a Super Bowl championship for it

04:43to be everything that the expectations say it should be.

04:48We had a text today, I think, that nailed it and they reduced it to a movie quote and

04:52it's a comedy, but it's a movie that the Midday Show uses.

04:58Ricky Bobby, if you're not first, you're last.

05:00Shake and bake.

05:02That's what this is.

05:03If you're not first, you're last.

05:05Ticket text phone calls will collect them 248-539-9797.

05:08Texter says, when did the Lions become the favorite over Philadelphia?

05:11John, I can answer it.

05:12When they secured home field throughout the NFC playoffs.

05:14Well, and here's the thing for 31 teams, this is going to be a disappointing season.

05:21It is every single year.

05:23The level of expectation for the Carolina Panthers was much different than it was for

05:29the Green Bay Packers than it was for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills, the

05:34Ravens, and obviously the Detroit Lions.

05:37But there's going to be 31 teams and half the league, more than half the league, 18

05:42teams are already disappointed because they're not playing anymore.

05:47The fact that the Lions have secured the one seed, the fact that they've done everything,

05:51and Dan Campbell said, hey, let's work back from what our goal is, that is to win a Super

05:56Bowl.

05:57How do you get there?

05:58Well, you get the one seed.

05:59You win your division.

06:02You make the playoffs.

06:03You work your way back and they have checked all of those boxes.

06:07Now they have one less game to play than everybody other than Kansas City, and they get to play

06:11all of those games at home until they reach the Super Bowl.

06:14I'll give you an example.

06:16The Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

06:18They make the Super Bowl and lose.

06:19That's not a failed season for them.

06:21Oh yeah, they outkicked their coverage.

06:22Last year wasn't a disappointment, even though it felt disappointing.

06:26Disappointing, but it wasn't a disappointing season.

06:28The Lions outkicked their coverage.

06:30In a lot of ways, I'll use the comparison, it was the 06 Tigers.

06:35This run that no one saw coming.

06:36Now, 06 for Detroit was even more out of nowhere, but no one looks at making the 06 World Series

06:43as a failed season.

06:45But then the expectations were raised.

06:48And from that moment on until 2014 when they had their last shot at it, every season was

06:54defined by one goal, winning the World Series.

06:57They didn't.

06:59It forever changed it.

07:00It changed the expectations.

07:01It changed the outlook.

07:02It changed the mentality.

07:03And it was good.

07:04Good baseball teams, fun baseball teams.

07:07Super Bowl or bust doesn't have to be some negative thing.

07:09Some people take it that way.

07:11How do you feel about it?

07:12CBS Sports said it.

07:13They go, this is the best season the Lions have had, incredible season, but it's Super

07:16Bowl or bust.

07:17248-539-9797.

07:18Texter says, why do you guys do this failure of a season thing?

07:24I don't understand the point.

07:26Of course, everyone will be sad.

07:27What's the point of labeling it a failure?

07:29Maleny did the same thing yesterday.

07:31I've never understood the conversation.

07:33Season's been amazing.

07:34Everyone will be sad if we don't win it.

07:35Try again next year.

07:36It's as simple as that.

07:37It's not as simple as that.

07:40Next year, they might not have these coordinators.

07:42Next year, they're going to play a tougher schedule.

07:43They may not have home field throughout the playoffs.

07:46This is a golden opportunity.

07:47It's okay to acknowledge that.

07:49And why do people get so offended at the word failure?

07:53In sports, you succeed or you fail.

07:55You win or you lose.

07:56These are the options.

07:57I don't know why we run from it and act like little scared babies about it.

07:59Right.

08:00Yeah.

08:01There's no gold star like you wanted for the college football playoffs.

08:03Watch yourself.

08:07When you have an opportunity to do something special, you're built to do something special.

08:15Then you either go out and you perform and you live up to those expectations.

08:20And if you fall short, what is it called?

08:22Disappointment.

08:23Failure.

08:24Failure is a scary word for people.

08:26It's the same thing.

08:27They're interchangeable.

08:28And I want to put a little bit more positive spin on it in regards to you don't know if

08:33you'll be here next year.

08:34You don't know if you'll have the one seat.

08:35You don't know if you also may be better next year with Aiden.

08:40Right.

08:41I mean, you put another area next to it, you know, on the same defensive line, you get

08:45Carlton Davis, you know, people stay a little bit healthier than they are now.

08:49Like there's there's there next year will have its own obstacles, its own challenges

08:53and its own set of scenarios.

08:57It could be better.

08:58We don't know that because we don't we we're living in the moment.

09:01This is the hero.

09:02Now, I think the unknown is why people get nervous about, you know, beyond just this

09:07year, how it's going to look.

09:08You're right.

09:09Brett Holmes could draft another three or four all pros, put a full season of Aiden

09:12Hutchinson in his defense, hire good coordinators because, hey, Dan Campbell's done it once.

09:17I'm not telling you this is their only chance to win a Super Bowl.

09:19I'm just saying, like, this is where it is.

09:22I mean, this is good as it gets 15 and to one seed favorite to win the Super Bowl as

09:26the postseason starts.

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