With the Lions' season ready to fire back up after the bye week, I thought I should list what I liked about the Lions over their first 8 games, and the resulting 6-2 record. I came up with a list of 10, a nice, round number...also the number of victories the Lions are going to need in order to have a shot at the NFC wild card.
So in no particular order...
1. Calvin Johnson: The physical freak known as Megatron is blossoming into the Jerry Rice/Randy Moss of this generation, with a 1600+ yard, 20+ TD season a distinct possibility. Johnson is on track for the All-Pro year we all hoped was possible, but wondered would ever happen. It is, much in thanks to a QB of similar talent who can get him the damn ball.
2. Matthew Stafford: See this post as to why I'm so high on the Lions' 3rd year QB. But to put it in a few words instead of 1500, Stafford is well on his way to setting a standard at the QB position of which we've never seen in Detroit. A QB who can put 3000 yard passing seasons on the board with both eyes closed and one arm tied behind his back, let alone the 4000+ yards he's on track to throw n 2011.
3. Cliff Avril: Avril has only 5 sacks, but has been much more impactful than the numbers show, thanks to his consistent pressuring of QB's coming off the edge. If a QB hears footsteps, more often than not, they're Avril's. You win with unheralded players like Avril, who is on his way to earning a new contract with several zeroes on it. I just hope the Lions are the team giving him the contract.
4. Ndamukong Suh: Despite some ridiculous reports to the contrary, Suh is having a very good season. With his somewhat overblown rep for rough, dirty play, Suh is in the heads of the linemen he plays against and coordinators who have to scheme him. Why is Avril playing so well (other than his being a talented pass rusher)? Suh is constantly battling double teams, allowing the rest of the defensive line free reign, facing linemen one-on-one, and often winning the battle.
5. Stephen Tulloch: The Lions picked up Tulloch for a song in July, inking him to a reasonable 1 year, $3.25M deal to take over at MLB. Tulloch has become a team leader while turning the defensive back 7 from a huge liability to a respectable unit. The Tebowing of Tebow was also a nice treat!
6. Chris Houston: Houston was a bit of an afterthought of the Lions' free agent signings. It was hoped Houston could play at a leagiue average level. Houston hasn't been league average...he has played like a Pro Bowler with 4 picks (tied for 2nd in the NFL), 2 INT returned for TDs (tops in NFL DBs) and 14 passes defended. Not bad for an afterthought, huh?
7. Jim Schwartz: He's taken the Lions...
From this...
To this!
Yes, Schwartz is overly cocky, carries himself with an "I'm the smartest guy in the room" vibe, takes everything that happens on the football field personally, and does not suffer fools (or opposing coaches who don't know the MFing rules) gladly...but that's exactly the attitude I want from an NFL head coach. Just don't piss him off...
8. Ford Field and Lions fans: For the first time over a decade, the Lions have a real home field advantage, not one in name only. For too many years, Ford Field was overrun with fans of other, better run, franchises. Pretty much any team in the NFC North, or those within a 5-6 hour radius, would make most every Lions home game a feel like it was on the road.
Ford Field has evolved from an over-sized morgue, a home away from home for the opposition, to the loudest facility in the NFL, a haven for false starts and intimidation. It seems the Lions' fanbase never went anywhere, they were just driven into dormancy by a decade of bad football and front office incompetence. Lions fans are back...with a vengeance.
9. Relevance: The Lions have been irrelevant for so long, I've forgotten what it's like to root for a team other fanbases actually notice...and worry about their team playing. For all the media BS about Suh's dirty play, Schgwartz's wanting to fight, or the Lions' swagger...at least the nation is finally paying attention to Detroit.
10. Winning: NFL reality for Lions fans has been their long-term status as a league doormat, a near automatic W for the opposition. So a 6-2 record at the season's halfway point is almost unfathomable for many of us. After years of old white men with last names starting with "M" running this franchise into the field turf, many of us are still having trouble accepting the fact the Lions just might be a pretty good team. Even enough to make the playoffs.
But this is not a first half W/L record made of fool's gold, unlike the 2007 Lions, a team which folded like an origami swan. The Lions play .500 over the final 8 games, I think they're in the playoffs. Will they? Say I'm drinking the Kool-Aid and eating the cornbread, but...yes. I think the Lions can (and will) win 10 games.
