Getty Reggie Ragland celebrates a play.
Typically in the NFL, the truest old adage is, “You are what your record says you are.” Such has been the case from the days of Bill Parcells on down.
Detroit Lions linebacker Reggie Ragland would probably disagree with Parcells and anyone else who believes that fact to be gospel. Ragland, after the Lions inexplicably squandered another double-digit lead and lost a game, seems to think the team should have a different record than the current 1-3 mark they’ve earned thus far this season.
Ragland actually thinks the Lions should be 4-0. Additionally, he hasn’t soured on the team’s coaching staff a bit.
For your postgame conversations …
Reggie Ragland: “Rightfully, we should be 4-0 right now. But we didn’t finish. … We got the pieces, we got the coach, we just gotta go play.”
While it’s true Detroit has lost some close games and hasn’t finished in most of those games thus far, the questions remain why they cannot get themselves over the hump and why they are so sloppy on offense and defense. To that end, the team probably shouldn’t be 4-0, but exactly what they are. Many might argue that they are lucky not to be 0-4.
Confidence is one thing, and it’s clear Ragland is not lacking for any of that even as the train continues to seemingly derail around him.
Reggie Ragland Issued Passionate Plea to Lions
According to Ragland a few weeks ago, the only way for the team to look is forward. Additionally, Ragland doesn’t seem to think anything is missing from the roster or the team. As he said, the only way forward for the Lions is simply to step up and play some ball. Some (bleeping) ball to be perfectly exact.
Longer Reggie Ragland quote: “Nothing’s missing. We’ve just gotta go out there and just play f***ing ball, man. That’s all that is. We’ve just got to stay together and we can’t unravel when things are not going our way. We’ve got all the daggone pieces, we’ve just gotta go play.”
Ragland issued this impassioned message to the media and fans two weeks ago, on the Monday after the Lions had blown a 14-3 advantage against the Green Bay Packers. As a result, folks are beginning to wonder if coach Matt Patricia is in some trouble. Not so according to the players, and certainly not so according to Ragland.
“We can’t unravel when things are not going our way,” Ragland said after the loss to the Packers.
We’ll see if the Lions can get down to playing ball more consistently in the weeks ahead.
Reggie Ragland Thinks Lions Can Win Super Bowl
Ragland, who spent last season playing with the Kansas City Chiefs, would know a thing or two about what it takes for a team to win a title since he just helped his former team to do so. Interestingly, he thinks the Lions have the right mix of talent to accomplish that mission as well.
Speaking with the media, Ragland mentioned the Lions in the same breath as the Chiefs in terms of teams that have the right mix to win big in 2020.
Ragland said:
I see the same qualities in this team as in Kansas City. We got the pieces, we just gotta keep putting them together and just playing hard and being consistent and just keep finishing. I think we got the guys to do that, we just got to go out there and play ball.
Getting over the hump has long been the problem for the Lions, but it’s possible they’ve changed the chemistry of the locker room just enough so that they might be able to chase down this goal in the future.
With the Lions at 1-3, the likelihood of them being a Super Bowl contender is all but out the window. It’s likely safe to say that Ragland might have to give up on that dream as a result, no matter his feelings on the Detroit record.
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