SI Lions Roundtable: Who Is One Detroit Lion You Can Trust to Perform in 2020?
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1.) What should the capacity be for fans attending games at Ford Field this upcoming season?
Vito Chirco: Whatever the specific number, it should be a very limited amount.
Recently, the Baltimore Ravens announced that fewer than 14,000 seats will be made available for 2020 home games at M&T Bank Stadium. And that will only be the case, if state and local government regulations even allow fans to attend games during the course of the season amid the coronavirus pandemic. For the Ravens, that would would leave about 20 percent of the stadium available for spectators.
In Detroit, I'd like to see Ford Field filled up to 20 percent of its capacity at the very most.
According to the field's official website, the overall capacity at Ford Field is 65,000.
With 20 percent of the stadium being full, that would lead to a crowd of 13,000 people at Detroit's home contests in 2020.
With social distancing also being maintained, that's the most amount of fans I would like to see attend Lions games this upcoming season.
Logan Lamorandier: Around 15,000 fans or a quarter of the total capacity at Ford Field. There should be ample space to socially distance that way. It already sounds like the first eight rows from the field will be closed off and used for advertisement as well.
2.) What would it take for you to opt out of playing a professional sport?
Chirco: It would take an underlying health condition for myself or my kids/anyone I live with. I would also consider opting out if I had a pregnant girlfriend/wife at home. It's already been proven that pregnant women are more at risk of being infected by COVID-19. And for me, my life at home would be more important than being a professional athlete. Then, there's the possibility I'd already be a veteran of the respective sports league I was a part of and would be earning $1 million or more per year as part of my contract.
If all of that was true, I would strongly consider opting out of playing in 2020.
Lamorandier: Depends on the circumstances -- finances, the sport, location, travel frequency, family situation and health. I wouldn't be so much worried about myself, as I would be my family members and people close to me. In saying that, It would take a lot for me to sit out.
3.) Which one Detroit Lions player do you trust to absolutely produce in 2020?
Chirco: Kenny Golladay. He's a bonafide No. 1 wideout that is coming off a Pro Bowl campaign that saw him post a league-leading 11 touchdown receptions and a career-high 1,190 reception yards. And he did all of that without longtime Lions franchise passer Matthew Stafford throwing him passes for half the season.
If Stafford and Golladay are both able to stay healthy for the entirety of the 2020 campaign, Golladay is bound to be even more of a consistent performer on a weekly basis. And that should mean a terrific season for Detroit's stud 26-year-old wideout.
Lamorandier: The easy answer is Stafford, but I'll go in another direction with the second-most obvious selection in Kenny Golladay. Golladay was pretty productive even without Stafford in 2019. Give him and his starting QB a full season together, and Golladay will put up some nice numbers. Stafford has shown real trust in Golladay over the last two seasons as well. I don't see anything changing now.
4.) Which one Lions player are you most concerned about underperforming?
Chirco: Not because I think he will, but I'm going to say Stafford. So much of the team's overall success rides on his right arm. And if he fails to get past the back ailment that sidelined him for the second half of last season, the Lions have absolutely no shot at qualifying for the playoffs this upcoming season.
He needs to build off his success from the first half of last year. And if he doesn't, the Lions will likely be looking at a top five pick in the NFL Draft for a second straight year.
Lamorandier: Halapoulivaati Vaitai. The Lions gave the career backup a nice chunk of change this offseason, and I'm not convinced he is an improvement over Rick Wagner at right tackle. Vaitai might be a slight upgrade in the run-blocking department, but he isn't great at pass-blocking -- usually the reason tackles get paid.
Per Pro Football Focus, Vaitai's pass-blocking grade of just 55.2 since 2016 ranks 84th out of 94 qualifying offensive tackles.
