Do Detroit Lions need a new QB? | Letters

Gambling will undermine fans' faith in the integrity of sports

The latest emerging sports scandal, college players accused of rigging basketball games, is likely to be one in a continuing series. For a long, long time, big-time gambling has attracted mobsters, con artists and other such types. Sports leagues stayed far away from gambling for precisely that reason. Now however, common sense has gone out the window. Everyone seems to be seduced by pots of money, never mind any resulting problems. The belief is that one can sit in the middle of a skunk colony and not end up smelling bad.

If a quarterback throws a wildly off-target pass or a basketball player flubs an easy shot, why shouldn't viewers suspect that something underhanded might be involved?

Paul Hoffman

Waterford Township

Lions need to lock in for NFL draft

The Lions have to stop experimenting with marginal, cheap players. It is time to get an edge rusher to compliment Aidan Hutchinson. Either free agency or draft. It is time to move up in the draft and concentrate on DL/OL players from both Indiana, Miami and other top position players in the draft. Its time to find another tight end to compliment Sam LaPorta. It is time for Dan Campbell to adjust his game strategy. He needs to stop gambling and find players that can execute at a high level on the offensive line. If you cannot run, you cannot pass. It is a play action league.

Ivan Dimcheff

Palm Desert, California

Jared Goff's got to stop giving the ball away

Since 2018, three quarterbacks have the most turnovers in the NFL:

1. Josh Allen (123 ... WOW)
2. Baker Mayfield (most INTs in that span)
3. Jared Goff

So I hope nobody is wondering why these quarterbacks are not successful at the highest level — they can't stop giving the ball to the other team. Sadly, one of those quarterbacks plays for our Detroit Lions, who have had QB ineptitude for decades. This will be the hardest championship for the Lions to earn in the history of sports, not just the NFL, and I don't think Jared Goff is the man to lead us there. Make all the OL and DL excuses you want, which are valid; however, if your QB can't stop giving the ball away, the lines don't matter. Sean McVay, the Rams coach who traded Goff to the Lions in 2021, was right.

Terry Gaudy

Walled Lake

People being kind shouldn't be newsworthy

Journalist Lynn Jones telling Jacksonville coach Liam Coen in a news conference to hold his head up after a magnificent season shouldn’t be newsworthy. ("Mitch Albom: The coach, the journalist and the nice moment," Jan. 18.) But Mitch Albom is right that “we’re in a pretty sad state” when “being kind to someone else — for 22 seconds — is worth damning them publicly.”

In a world of “quiet, piggy,” flipping the bird, and torrents of angry words online, it’s good that someone is recognized for being nice and complimentary. It feels nostalgic to read about simple decency in a world of constant cruelty.

I think the words of Jones, a former Detroiter, should inspire us after losses to hold our heads up and “keep it going” for the next season or next year. Better yet, maybe it can help us choose kindness over condemnation.

Arnie Goldman

Farmington Hills

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions need to lock in for NFL draft | Letters