6 Reasons to Be Excited for the Detroit Lions' 2011 Season

If this were a normal NFL offseason, we'd be talking about training camp right now.

Instead, here in the latter half of July, we're talking about the beginning of the offseason.

Luckily, it doesn't appear that the extended lockout will cause a loss of regular season football. Nobody is happier about that than the up-and-coming Detroit Lions, who are poised to make some noise for the first time in a decade.

It's a fair question to ask: Why is a team that is 8-40 over the last three seasons so excited about the 2011 season?

There are a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that a 4-40 team finished last season on a four-game winning streak. The Lions legitimized late last season what the fans (and anybody watching them closely) were thinking—the team is better than its record.

And then they went out and got better still though the draft. And they'll improve even further just by getting all their players back healthy.

They have so much potential for improvement in 2011, the only ones not looking forward to the Lions' 2011 campaign are the Packers, Bears and Vikings.

Of course, if you're a Lions fan and you're not excited about the 2011 season, allow me to give you six good reasons to change that perspective.

"Silver Crush"

Say what you want about the nickname. I'm not sold on it, but I don't hate it.

The players who represent it, however, are unquestionable.

Had the Lions simply fielded the exact same defensive line as they did in 2010, there would still have been talk of it being one of the league's best. With so many young players on the line coming into their own, the line would have improved considerably over last year's version just from player growth and chemistry.

But now we can add another player to the mix. Defensive tackle Nick Fairley was once considered the top overall prospect on the board, but there were some concerns about his personality and work ethic. He's joining a unit with Ndamukong Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch, both of whom probably find a way to work out in their sleep. If work ethic doesn't rub off in that locker room, it never will.

Now, none of us really know how good Fairley can be, but what we do know is that if the Lions take four defensive tackles into the season again, they will have four starting-quality defensive tackles, three of which have either superstar quality or potential.

Sammie Hill is the only one on the line who doesn't figure to be a huge star. He may never make a Pro Bowl, but I wouldn't put money on that. He has the size and strength and is finally starting to refine his technique. Even now, he could likely start for more than half the 4-3 teams in the NFL, and his ceiling is still very high. And he'll be last-string.

A Complete Offensive Unit

I'm not going to pretend the Detroit Lions won't have injuries this season. Every team has injuries to deal with every year.

That said, it's hard to imagine the Lions' offense being hit as hard with injuries as they were last year. This is a team whose third-string quarterback started more games in 2010 than the first.

Last year, the Lions beat the Green Bay Packers on the strength of their third-string running back and third-string quarterback. They beat the Minnesota Vikings without their No. 1 wide receiver, who happens to be arguably the best player on the team.

Jahvid Best was hobbled to the point of being ineffective. Kevin Smith played only a handful of games and made an impact in roughly none of them. Nate Burleson missed games early. The moment any of the quarterbacks started getting something going, they were injured.

I can't guarantee that the injury toll will be better in 2011, but the Lions will at least enter the season with a healthy team. More importantly, they will enter the season with a deeper team. Adding Mikel Leshoure and Titus Young to the offense gives the Lions two additional weapons to work with and added insurance against injury.

In addition, the Lions adding a third receiver (because it hardly feels right calling Bryant Johnson or Derrick Williams "receivers" after last year's performance) will allow them to open up the playbook and actually run the kinds of plays Scott Linehan wants to run.

In other words, this should be the season we see what the Detroit Lions offense, as envisioned by its coaches, is supposed to look like.

Playoffs?

You kiddin' me? Playoffs?

Well...maybe I am kidding you. I'm not delusional. Making the playoffs would be great, but that's an awfully lofty goal for a team that hasn't sniffed a .500 record in 11 years.

The reality is, I'm far more excited about December than I am January.

The goal that I'm setting for this year's Detroit Lions is to play meaningful games in December. I'm sick and tired of being out of the playoff hunt by Thanksgiving. When December rolls around, and Fox Sports starts showing you the "playoff picture" graphic during games, the Lions need to at least be in the "in the hunt" category.

Now, there will be a certain moral victory felt if the Lions go into the final stretch of the season 4-8 and rattle off four wins to finish 8-8. A .500 record is certainly progress after a decade of abysmal play.

But if that happens, the Lions will again just be playing out the string. That's not what we want. I don't mind if the Lions finish .500 and miss the playoffs this year. That's something to build off of.

But after a long, unusual offseason, I can't deal with the Lions only playing meaningful football for two months again. Even if they lose them, the Lions should be playing games the rest of the country cares about this winter, and not as a spoiler this time.

Player Progression

I don't have any exact numbers, and free agency will throw them out of whack anyway, but I'm willing to bet the Detroit Lions will be one of the youngest teams in the NFL in 2011.

It stands to reason when you consider that the core of the team is comprised of players from the last three drafts, and most of the rest of it is made of Martin Mayhew's reclamation projects (i.e. the "square pegs"), former high draft picks who didn't fit with their original teams. Most of those players are in their mid-20s.

Then there are the question marks. Aaron Berry, Alphonso Smith, Ashlee Palmer, Randy Phillips, Bobby Carpenter, Tony Ugoh, Jason Fox and several others (as well as a handful of undrafted free agents the Lions will undoubtedly sign) comprise a group of sheer potential.

Those players' roles on the team last year ranged from somewhat limited to nonexistent. Some were limited by injury; some were only given the opportunity to thrive late because of injuries to other players. All showed the potential at some point to be really good.

But here's the kicker. Of the players listed above, we have two linebackers, two offensive linemen, two cornerbacks and a safety.

What are the only areas of the Lions' team that aren't considered overwhelming strengths? Linebacker, offensive line and secondary.

Lots of those players will likely be called on to play a larger role on the team in 2011, and based on their performance, we could see a couple of "holes" on the team filled before a single free agent is signed.

Of course, they're not all going to develop into superstars. Of that group, the Lions will be exceedingly lucky to see half of them grow into long-term starters. But this is how well-run franchises do things. Develop players from the inside so as soon as the team shows a weakness, it's filled by an unknown player waiting for his shot.

Most of the aforementioned players did not get to go through training camp with the Lions last year. And while OTAs and mini-camps are out of the question, players should at least get a full training camp.

After that, we get to sit back and see how good those players are going to get.

NFC North Smackdown

I don't know exactly how well the Lions will fare, but I know this much: The Lions' division games are going to be fun this year.

The Minnesota Vikings, sporting a rookie head coach/quarterback combo, are likely to be the weak link in the division, but they're still going to have Adrian Peterson and an above-average defense, so they're far from being ruled out as contenders.

But the other three are so close in talent (really!) and match up so well, top-notch football is almost guaranteed for every NFC North showdown this season.

This is a welcome break from years past, when divisional matchups were met with dread, and the kind of optimism that could only hope the other team didn't run up the score.

This year, we can look forward to great football every time a Black and Blue division team comes calling.

And there's one in particular to be excited about...

Monday Night Football Returns to Detroit

Here's a fun little trivia question for you. Who is the most recent player to score a touchdown for the Detroit Lions in a Monday Night Football game?

Remember, the Lions were blanked 35-0 in their most recent Monday night game in 2001.

The correct answer is David Sloan, on a pass from Frank Reich in a losing effort against the San Francisco 49ers on December 14, 1998. That was the fourth time the two teams had met on Monday night since 1992.

Let me break all that down, because there's a lot to take in.

1. Frank Reich (seriously, Frank Reich, as in the current Indianapolis Colts' wide receivers coach) is the last Lion to throw a touchdown pass on Monday night.

2. That was the last of four games the Lions played on Monday night in a seven-year stretch against one team alone.

3. That seriously was almost 13 years ago.

Now, a couple NFL generations later, the Lions have a grudge match to look forward to against the Chicago Bears.

With the national spotlight on them in primetime for the first time in years and plenty of young talent to show off, October 10, 2011 could be a turning point for the Detroit Lions.

This is the Lions' chance to go toe-to-toe with the (supposedly) second-best team in the NFC last year, and with the nation watching, complete the process.