Okay, stop! Don't grind your axes, grab your spears, or start GPS'ing my location, I can explain!! Yes I know that putting this kind of post up could be considered bad juju but this is just a thought. We all know that despite the talent the Detroit Lions have, they are one of the 5 worst franchises in NFL history when it comes to winning seasons. And yes I know that they haven't won a playoff game since forever, a conference championship since '57 and a divisional championship since 1993. But i believe this is the year they rewrite all the history books and make themselves known to the world that this isn't your daddy's Detroit Lions.
But first lets look at the schedule, because in order to be the dark horse, you have to make it to the second season. During this season, the Lions will play 5 playoff caliber teams from last year, which include Green Bay(twice due to divisional rival), Carolina, New Orleans, New England, and Arizona.That's a combined record is 53-26-1, which makes sense for it having 5 teams that were above 8-8 for the season. The five teams mentioned will be the favorites to be Lions losses this year, and you can place the Green Bay loss either in week 3 or week 17 in Green Bay. But that would mean that the Lions will have 11 wins this season. The Lions play Chicago twice, Minnesota Twice, Green Bay as mentioned, then both New York teams, Buffalo, Atlanta, Miami, and Tampa Bay. Now despite me saying that the Lions will have 11 wins and 5 losses this year, those 5 losses could come from either side. Lets look at the more than likely 5 losses this year:
Week 4: at New York Jets
Week 7: vs New Orleans Saints
Week 11: at Arizona Cardinals
Week 12: at New England Patriots
Week 17: at Green Bay Packers
By that calculation, that means the Lions go 11-5, sweeping Chicago and Minnesota, splitting with Green Bay and going 3-1 and 2-2 against the NFC South and AFC east respectively. More than enough to make the Playoffs as a Wild Card team or winning the division depending on what Green Bay does as I believe Chicago will fall to 3rd in the division with Minnesota bringing up the rear. Now there is no way the Lions will home field advantage unless the higher seeds which will more than likely be Seattle and New Orleans fall, which if the Lions put up a good show against the Saints in week 7 might make the road to California even easier. But this is only half of the reason the Lions should be the dark horse to win it all. The second reason is the last line of Coach Bo's infamous speech: The Team, The Team, The Team.
This Detroit Lions team was scary last year and for all intents and purposes, should have won the NFC North title last year. But of course, bad coaching, bad play and shooting themselves in the foot didn't help the situation. Enter in Jim Caldwell to be the head coach, Joe Lombardi (ironic ain't it) as the offensive coordinator and Teryl Austin as your defensive coordinator. Now of course this isn't the only thing they picked up in the off season they picked up in my estimation 4 of important pieces that will make this theory work: Golden Tate and Eric Ebron, James Idhegibo, and Kyle Van Noy.
Lets focus first on the coaches as they are going to make this team a threat on both sides of the ball. First there is Caldwell, who has a track record of making good quarter backs into great quarter backs, just look at Peyton Manning and Joe Flacco, who both have rings to their names with Caldwell's coaching. Caldwell is locked in to how to make Matthew Stafford a better QB without changing his arm talent, which is dangerous for any defense to hear. Secondly, lets look at Lombardi, which despite the name, is a great coach. You know how the Saints got really good at being a spread team that NO defense could figure out the year they won the Super Bowl? Yeah thank this guy for that. Now with him implementing that type of offense with the level of talent into the men that wear Honolulu Blue, expect fireworks every game with the offense on the field. Now to my favorite pickup coach-wise in Teryl Austin. The former db coach of the Baltimore Ravens is going to bring over that kind of defensive mentality to a defensive that, despite the record, had the 7th best points against record in the NFC, with the teams ahead them all in playoff contention. Austin is going to bring the kind of attitude that when a big hit or stop happens on defense, its not special, its expected and commonplace, something the Lions are happy to accept,especially with the inclusion of James Idhedibo (one of Austin's former players) and Kyle Van Noy, the beast at Linebacker that made Ziggy Ansah into what he is today.
So you put that all together and the Detroit Lions should be a dark horse in winning it all this year. Think about it, a offense that could be considered the second coming of " The Greatest Show on Turf" being retooled by the quick fire playbook of New Orleans, a defense that was a juggernaut is now being led by a smash mouth coach, and a city ready to accept the Silver Rush into the pantheon of Detroit Champions. This is going to be a great season for Lions fans, old and new, and I have us going far. To close, I leave you with a line from a movie that has stuck with me as a Lions fan for a long time: "Never forget how menacing we are, we are Lions. You know what's there waiting beyond that beach? Immortality, take it, it's yours." Go Lions Go.
No comments:
Post a Comment