2011 Detroit Lions Schedule: The NFL Is Making a Statement to the Detroit Lions

The NFL has a message for the Detroit Lions: Step up or step out.

The Lions are tied at third for the hardest strength of schedule in 2011. They have also awarded Detroit with their first Monday Night Football game in a decade.

Don’t underestimate the importance of the game being at Ford Field and being against a division opponent.

To top it all off, the league is sending the Lions out to the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field to round out the season against the Packers on New Year’s Day.

Let’s be honest here, the NFL is making a statement to the Lions.

More accurately, I believe that the NFL is testing the Lions.

Detroit has finally emerged from the doldrums of the Matt Millen era and has brought together a team of young and talented players. They have superstars on both sides of the ball in Ndamukong Suh and Calvin Johnson, and wildcard’s in Jahvid Best and Matthew Stafford.

The Lions are sure to get at least one or two players in the draft that will impact the team right away, so the general consensus is that they will be fielding a good team.

Lion fans are feeling as confident as ever about the team and many are predicting the team to make the playoffs, some even being as bold to say that they will win the division.

There is plenty of hype surrounding the 2011 Detroit Lions both on and off the field, so the NFL is going to do what any good league would do.

They are going to test them.

The Lions organization is claiming to be on the way up. Claiming to be a young and dangerous team, claiming to be a playoff contender, and yeah some crazy fans think Super Bowl.

So, what is the NFL’s response?

Prove it.

The biggest tests will be the prime time games that the Lions so seldom receive.

The first and most exciting for Detroit is the Monday Night Football game. They Lions will be hosting the Chicago Bears and I can guarantee you that Ford Field is going to be more than pumped up.

All the pressure is going to be on the Lions though.

Chicago has played in prime time games before and even if they are having a bad season, they still get them because of their prestige. The pressure is going to be on Detroit to prove that they are deserving of the honor and more so that they actually belong on that stage.

Thanksgiving is a given game for the Lions and the Packers are coming back into town for it, but this time they will be coming it with rings on their fingers and you would be foolish to assume that they aren’t going to be hungry for more.

Game 2 against the Pack will be in Green Bay on January 1. I can all but guarantee you that it is going to be freezing there and if the game has any sort of Playoff implications, it is going to be rowdy.

Packer fans go crazy during the preseason and fill out Lambeau, so you can expect the environment is going to be intense for that game either way.

These three tests alone will be defining moments for this Detroit Lions team, but the rest of the schedule is no easy task either.

Starting the season on the road against a Tampa Bay team that is hungry to take that next step into the playoffs is going to be hard, and beating them two years in a row at their house is going to be a challenge.

It’s an easy to suggest that teams like Dallas, Chicago, San Diego, Atlanta and New Orleans will all be in the hunt for playoff contention, but the Lions schedule also boasts some dark horse teams like Oakland, San Francisco and Kansas City, who will all be battling it out in the AFC.

To make my point even stronger, just think about the Lions very own division and the problem that it will pose for them.

Green Bay is the defending Super Bowl champion, which they did with a good chunk of their starters on the IR, so they will be getting back a handful of impact players to add to the mix. They will be better than last year.

You can never count Chicago out of anything, but you can always count on their defense to be one of the best in the league and Jay Cutler does have talent.

If Minnesota gets a quarterback, there is no telling what they could look like. Don’t forget that they still have Adrian Peterson in the backfield and a formidable defense.

The Lions might have a tough time winning games in the division, let alone making the playoffs.

What it all comes down to is that this is arguably the most important season in the history of the Detroit Lions franchise, and the NFL is not going to let them just waltz their way into relevance.

Keep in mind that teams now know that Detroit is going to pose a threat and will be prepared for it.

Long gone are the days of bored teams turning it on in the second half after getting chewed out by their coach. Teams are going to be prepared and the Lions will be getting their best.

The Lions want to be a contending team in the league, so the league is giving them the chance to do so.

They are going to have to go through the ringer though, but that is the only way we will ever know if they are for real or not.

Like they always say, if you wanna talk the talk you gotta walk the walk.

They Lions have always been good at talking; now’s the time to start walking.

It's going to be harder than you think.

The Lions want to start playing with the big boys, but growing up is never easy.

Follow Andrew on Twitter: @AKonSports