We didn't have outrage. We didn't predict doom. We just had that familiar Lions-fan instinct to protect ourselves by looking away.

Marshall and David admit: we almost didn’t watch. Heck, David didn't watch a play until after the game was over. After a season of unmet expectations and emotional whiplash, staying engaged felt like work, and disengaging felt like self-respect.

But then the game started, and something else became clear: whatever the record says, these players didn't coast.

Maybe it's an example of what David says: they don’t get paid to be in neutral. And maybe it's a harbinger of what's to come next season.

What does it mean to show up with intention when the season’s slipping away? What does effort look like when the stakes are lower? Marshall and David talk through preparation, professionalism, and why “just going through the motions” isn’t an option at this level, or in life.

We share what we feel—it's something close to respect—about a team that keeps playing hard even when the story isn’t shiny anymore. Effort itself is a form of integrity.

And then we dig into roster reality, and responsibility by both coaching and management. Because fans like us aren't satisfied with neutral. We're hoping that next season, an organization that's learned how to win will finally shift into overdrive.

Theme music: Mr. Jukes and Barney Artist, “Blowin Steam (Open Up Your Mind)”

David and Marshall don’t waste time pretending this one doesn’t hurt.

The season, for all intents and purposes, is over. No playoffs. No miracle run.

We talk through what really went wrong: yes, the ripple effects of injuries, but mostly, the offensive line collapse. Even the greatest running backs can't find a hole that isn't there. And no pocket quarterback can thrive when the middle caves in.

Today, we're just two fans trying to understand without lying to ourselves.

But this episode doesn’t stay stuck in loss. Somewhere between a Christmas Day line for Chinese food that made Marshall relive the “same old Lions” narratives, and a Steve Martin quote that lands unexpectedly hard, football becomes our metaphor again—for identity, motivation, reinvention, and what it means to stay anchored when things don’t go your way.

The Lions will restock. So will we.

And as always, the conversation reminds us why this show exists in the first place: football is our doorway. But friendship, reflection, and staying human is our point.

Theme music: Mr. Jukes and Barney Artist, “Blowin Steam (Open Up Your Mind)”

This one starts with pain—literal pain. Marshall takes a tumble down the stairs, and suddenly he has first-hand empathy for what NFL players wake up with every Monday. David follows with his own Hall of Fame wipeouts, including a Ring-doorbell-captured slide that deserves its own blooper reel.

What begins as two grown men comparing battle scars quickly turns from the strange comedy inside the things that hurt us, to the Lions. With Brian Branch out for the season, and the offensive line struggling to play at a consistently high level, Marshall and David wrestle honestly with the question every fan is afraid to ask:

Are we playing out the string, or is there still something real left to salvage?

They break down what injuries do to a team’s psyche, what “next man up” actually means when the next man isn’t Branch or Ragnow, and why this coaching staff may be the only reason all hope isn’t lost. And yet, there’s real optimism here. Because somehow, even bruised and bandaged, this team still punches back.

There’s humor. There’s heart. And there's a philosophical detour into the wisdom of an ancient parable: "Maybe. We'll see."

Because that’s the truth of football—and life. You don’t know which falls are just falls, and which ones make you get back up again with newfound strength.

Theme music: Mr. Jukes and Barney Artist, “Blowin Steam (Open Up Your Mind)”