It's been a long road for the Detroit Lions fans', but last night they got a wonderful Christmas present: a playoff berth. |
This version of the Detroit Lions is fun to watch and has the potential to pull off a couple of playoff victories due, in large part, to the emergence of their defense. Led by the monster DT Ndamukong Suh, the Lions' defense has brought swagger back to the motor city. Kyle Vanden Bosch and Cliff Avril help to anchor that line, which is 9th in the league with 39 sacks. The improvement of their defensive line has separated them from their recent mediocre years and pushed them that playoff barrier. Even though Ndamukong Suh has received plenty of attention for some of his "dirty" plays, he still remains a nightmare for every offensive line. Simply put, Suh is the difference maker.
Though the Lions defense has improved, their game is still predicated on their offense. Matt Stafford has emerged as a consistent starting QB in the league, and has as of this season, achieved "elite" status. If it wasn't for his injury-prone nature, we could have seen this side of Stafford a few years back. He leads the fifth best passing offense, supplemented by the unstoppable Calvin Johnson and ever-so-consistent Brandon Pettigrew. At times the Lions passing offense seems uncontrollable, especially when "Megatron" is making ridiculous catches that makes you say, "How in the world did he do that." Now, while their offense lacks a solid running game, they haven't struggled to score. Detroit is fourth in scoring offense, and has rung up 45 pts or more in three games this year.
More importantly than any of their stats or individual players is the way they've come together as a team. Head coach Jim Schwartz has captured the essence of his players' youthfulness and gelled them together nicely. He's also helped Stafford and Suh manifest into true leaders. Stafford, the model of composure and poise and Suh, the image of intensity and fire. The Lions have become an enjoyable team to watch and certainly should get a lot of support from those fans without playoff teams this year. They've brought back winning football to a city that was the epitome of losing, and losing badly. It was only three years ago that the Lions unfortunately became the first NFL team to lose every single game. That season though, they made a shrewd move, trading disgruntled(and overrated) wide receiver Roy Williams to the Dallas Cowboys for some 35 draft picks. With those picks the Lions drafted Matthew Stafford and Brandon Pettigrew, which helped to set the foundation for this year's playoff team. Once they drafted Suh last year, it was only a matter of time before this team was a playoff contender.
The Lions aren't satisfied with a playoff berth though. This team is a legitimate contender to win a game or two, and contend for the NFC title. Whether they have the experience and composure to do so is another factor. But, you can't deny the fact that this team has the ingredients to be a playoff mainstay for years to come.
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