The Packers adding Micah Parsons doesn’t really threaten the Lions’ chances to beat them twice again and win the NFC North
He’s elite, but so are the Lions
Look, I get it. I’m a sports fan just like you are. I totally get the impact of this trade, and I know that it’s gigantic for the Green Bay Packers. But I also know that whenever stuff like this happens, everyone focuses on the spectacle of it, and no focus is paid to reality. Like when Luka Doncic got traded to the Lakers last winter. That was supposed to just give the Lakers the championship. Everyone just ignored that beyond him and Lebron, that roster wasn’t very good. They got bounced in the first round.
This is very similar in the sense that everyone is focusing on the spectacle of it and immediately placing the Packers above the Detroit Lions. This is a big move for the Packers, but does it change that their Quarterback struggles in big games? Does it change that they still have no real receiving weapons on offense? Does it change that the players surrounding Parsons on defense aren’t really that good?
For weeks, there’s been talk about how the Packers’ roster is held up by Jordan Love, and now that they have Parsons, everything else is magically fixed? That’s just not how it works. That’s why it doesn’t change much for the Lions. Detroit still has one of the top offenses in the league, and they still have one of the top defenses in the league.
You might not believe the latter, but it really doesn’t matter that you don’t believe it. This defense was second overall in total DVOA in Week 12 of last season, and that’s without Aidan Hutchinson for six weeks. That group now has Hutchinson back, got deeper at linebacker, upgraded at starting cornerback, and got deeper there too, and got deeper on the interior of their defensive line. There are still questions on the edge, but they feel comfortable with what they have right now. Micah Parsons changes none of that.
He will make the Packers better, and they’ll be a playoff team for sure, but let’s not get caught up in the spectacle of the move and act like it suddenly means the Lions have nothing.
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