NFL Preview: 2011 Is the Year of the Detroit Lions

I wanted to write an article before I go on vacation.

I also wanted to share some good news in that I am starting a new job that will finally get me off third shift and back to the land of the living.

As such, with the new responsibilities I will be taking on, I'm not sure how much I can dedicate time to participate in the Detroit Lions section of Bleacher Report.  But I do plan on still writing and posting, though maybe not as often as I would like.

Ok, now that's out of the way, let's talk about these Detroit Lions.  And while doing so, let's set aside the current labor strife between the players and owners.  There isn't much we fans can do anyway, other than wait for the outcome.

There have been a lot of articles speculating on who the Lions will draft.  I have my own thoughts and, since there have been so many articles surrounding mock drafts, one more would just get lost in the soup.

What I want to talk about is the biggest change in the Detroit Lions—their confidence level.

I consider the two most important actions the Lions made last year was signing free agent defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, and drafting Ndamukong Suh to be part of one of the best defensive lines the Lions have had in quite some time.

Apart from the obvious talent level, these two brought heart and a "never quit" attitude that spread throughout the team.

Those two aspects really became evident over the last four games and I am confident they will carry over into this season. 

With veteran leadership in Vanden Bosch and Nate Burleson, and young leaders such as Louis Delmas, Jahvid Best and, most important, Matthew Stafford, I have little doubt the Lions will come away with at least a 10-6 record and a possible playoff spot.

I feel strongly that the team really came together—not in the 7-3 victory over the Packers, but the 24-20 loss to the Bears the previous week.

Lions fans wanted blood after the call the referees made in the first Bears' game on Calvin Johnson's catch.  And for the most part, the Lions were in control of that game, going into the fourth quarter with a 20-17 lead, with the defense really playing well.

Then the officials got in the way again, calling that ridiculous unnecessary roughness call on Suh when he hit Cutler from behind as he was running downfield.  Cutler was no longer a QB standing in the pocket—he became a runner and Suh got him with a clean hit.

But something interesting happened after that play.  As Suh walked to the sidelines, Lions' players walked up to him, gave him a pat on the back and said something along the lines of "we got screwed."

A few years ago, if that had happened, the player would have been left to his own devices and perhaps even dressed down by the defensive coordinator, and possibly the head coach, for screwing up.

Even though they lost that game, they dug in against the Packers the following week and came away with a 7-3 win.  It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win...

And it rolled on over the Bucs....then the Dolphins....and then the Vikings.

During that four-game stretch, the Lions were playing at a playoff-caliber record and I am convinced they would have given any team in the NFL a run for their money if they had made the playoffs.

And they did all of this most of the season with second string QB Shaun Hill and third string QB Drew Stanton.  That's got to tell you something.  The Lions have some depth and the upcoming draft will only add to that.

2011:  This will be the year of the Lions!