It’s not too often that you can look upon a 2-14 season and talk about a large improvement, but after going 0-16 the year before, the Detroit Lions will be happy with a +2 in the win column. Led by the first overall pick from the 2009 NFL Draft, Matthew Stafford, and the addition of the second overall pick and 30th pick from this year’s draft in Ndamukong Suh and Jahvid Best, the Lions faithful have a renewed sense of optimism.
This is going to be a dynamic offense for years to come. You have to think that Stafford will be even better than what he was in his rookie season. He’ll have a couple of good weapons to throw to with Calvin Johnson on one side and veteran receiver Nate Burleson on the other. He’ll also have a good 1-2 punch at the running back position with Kevin Smith and rookie Jahvid Best. I really like their offensive line as well as it has a good mix of veterans and youngsters and is full of talent.
The problem with this team in the last couple of years was that they could not defend to save their lives. The stats say it all. Last in the NFL in points allowed per game at a staggering 30.9. Last in total yards given up per game at 392. And last in pass yards allowed per game at 265. But a couple of additions should allow for these numbers to get better.
With Ndamukong Suh and Kyle VanDenBosch, the defensive line should be able to get to the quarterback more often or at least pressure the quarterback into less than ideal situations. They also have good depth on the line as well that will allow them to give quick breathers to these two when needed.
However, the linebackers and secondary for the Lions will ultimately lead to them being a less than 500 team as the talent just isn’t there yet for this organization. Julian Peterson brings name recognition to a soft line-backing unit, but he doesn’t offer the same skill-set as he once did in his tenures with the San Francisco Giants and the Seattle Seahawks.
The secondary will be asked to pick up their games after a dismal performance from a year ago, but they just don’t have the horses to stop high-powered pass offences.
A couple of players to watch out for will be Brandon Pettigrew and Kevin Smith. I made sure not to talk about the tight end position because I wanted to save it for here. Pettigrew is the forgotten first round pick of the Lions from 2009 since Stafford overshadowed him, but if he can emerge to become the big tight end option that every great team has, this offense could be scary-good.
Smith will be battling hard to keep his starting spot at running back, but can he hold off Best after a sub-par year? If he can’t, the Lions still need to make sure that he’s willing to give it his all as the back-up so they can have a good 1-2 punch.
2010 Prediction: 6-10