Detroit Lions
Head Coach: Jim Caldwell (0-0 all-time in Detroit, 26-22 all-time)
Last Year's Results: 7-9, no playoffs
Projected Starters:
(My Player Rankings Guide:
E - Elite Starter: Franchise changing player at his position
HQ - High Quality Starter: One of the best in the game at his position
GS - Good Starter: If this guy's on your team, he's likely starting and you should be perfectly fine with it
AS - Average Starter: This guy is OK, but if possible, I'd be looking for an upgrade
BAS - Below Average Starer: This guy should not be starting, but he will because he's the best option
??? - Not enough information regarding this guy and the jury is still out on him
R - Rookie: Pretty self-explanatory
PS - Poor Starter: This guy shouldn't be starting for your football team. NO EXCUSES!)
OFFENSE:
QB: Matthew Stafford (GS)
RB: Reggie Bush (GS)
FB: Jed Collins (PS)
WR: Calvin Johnson (E)
WR: Golden Tate (GS)
TE: Brandon Pettigrew (BAS)
C: Dominic Raiola (GS)
RG: Larry Warford (HQ)
LG: Rob Sims (BAS)
RT: LaAdrian Waddle (AS)
LT: Riley Reiff (AS)
DEFENSE:
DE: Jason Jones (AS)
DE: Ezekiel Ansah (AS)
DT: Ndamukong Suh (E)
DT: Nick Fairley (GS)
WLB: DeAndre Levy (AS)
MLB: Stephen Tulloch (HQ)
SLB: Kyle Van Noy (R)
CB: Chris Houston (BAS)
CB: Rashean Mathis (AS)
SS: James Ihedigbo (AS)
FS: Glover Quin (GS)
SPECIAL TEAMS:
K: Nate Freese
P: Sam Martin
Schedule:
vs. New York Giants
vs. @ Carolina
vs. Green Bay
vs. @ New York Jets
vs. Buffalo
vs. @ Minnesota
vs. New Orleans
vs. @ Atlanta
BYE WEEK
vs. Miami
vs. @ Arizona
vs. @ New England
vs. Chicago
vs. Tampa Bay
vs. Minnesota
vs. @ Chicago
vs. @ Green Bay
Predicted Results: 6-10 (2-4 in division), miss playoffs
Team Analysis: Ohhhh, the Detroit Lions. Who doesn't love the Detroit Lions? The Lions were the laughing stock of the NFL for along time until they finally started putting the pieces together correctly and the puzzle actually started fitting. The only problem is, they still have a few pieces that they can't seem to get to fit correctly. One of those pieces is gone. Former head coach Jim Schwartz (who in my opinion was a horrible head coach in the NFL) is finally gone, but there is a lot to be worried about still. The Lions replaced Schwartz with former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell, only he doesn't offer up much of an upgrade to Schwartz in my book. I've seen absolutely nothing from Caldwell that would have me believe that he has the tools to be a successful head coach in the NFL, but if he's going to get that title, it's going to be because of the actual talent that already exists on this football team.
Offensively, the Lions are arguably one of the best teams in the NFL on paper. That's what happens when you have MEGATRON on your roster. Calvin Johnson is one of the best wide receivers I've ever seen play the game of football. The guy could have me throwing him the ball and he would come away with over 1,000 receiving yards and 10 TD's. If he could somehow find a way to get Matthew Stafford to throw fewer interceptions, the Lions would be extremely scary on offense. They have Reggie Bush in the backfield and even though he's not the best running back in the NFL, he's a guy who's a potential threat to run it back to the house anytime he touches the ball. Detroit also added Golden Tate (a nice possession receiver from Seattle) to help move the chains and even though their offensive line is just about average, this team will not be hurting when it comes to putting up points. If there's one thing Caldwell is better than Schwartz at, it's on the offensive side of the ball so it wouldn't shock me to see the Lions as one of the top scoring teams when it's all said and done at the end of the season.
There is still plenty to worry about on the defensive side of the ball though. The Lions are absolutely set on the defensive line (Suh is one of the best players in the league, while Fairley continues to improve as does Ezekiel Ansah) and should have one of the best units in the league as far as that's concerned. The big problem with Detroit's defense will ultimately fall with the linebackers and in the secondary. Outside of Stephen Tulloch, the Lions don't have a player that I would consider "elite" or "high quality" on either one of those units, and that could be a huge cause for concern because as the Seahawks proved last year, a good secondary in the NFL is a huge key to being dominant on defense. Much like seasons in the past, Detroit will be able to put up points, but they likely will give up just as much as they score. Detroit Lions fans are really hoping for something different this year, but unfortunately, it's probably going to be more of the same. Matthew Stafford will look like a top-notch QB in one game, and then he'll look like Ryan Leaf in the next game. Lions fans really need some consistency and unfortunately they are consistent. Consistently average.
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