Detroit Lions Looking Pretty Good for the 2010 Season

I am back after a two-week sabbatical in Hawaii.  Tough life but someone has to do it!

I was able to catch the first two days of the draft.  I was pleased that the Lions filled two very big needs by getting defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh from Nebraska and running back Jahvid Best out of California.

Suh will very quickly become the pillar of Detroit's defense.  The Lions have surrounded Suh with some excellent support personnel in Kyle Vanden Bosch and Corey Williams to give Suh a great opportunity to succeed.  If Suh had to play with the defensive line from 2009, no doubt he would be talked about in 2011 has one of the Lions' biggest draft busts.

The new defensive line containing Suh, Vanden Bosch, and Williams is all about getting pressure on the quarterback.  It was only natural the secondary was burned so often the last two years.  Give a half-way decent QB all the time in the world and he'll carve the secondary like a Thanksgiving turkey.

Suh gives the Lions a player in the mold of Albert Haynesworth to build around.  I look to Suh to be very disruptive to offensive lines that will allow defensive ends Vanden Bosh and either Andre Fluellen or Cliff Avrill a chance to sack the quarterback.

Getting Javid Best after a smart trade with the Vikings will help improve the running game.  I don't think he will be an every down back but he gives them a potent, explosive option that neither Kevin Smith nor Maurice Morris could provide last year.  Aaron Brown showed some promise but he never busted anything longer than 19 yards.

The Lions need a home run threat that can score from anywhere.  In nine games that Best played for the Golden Bears in 2009, he had runs of 73, 93, and 61 yards.  The Lions had one long run of note, a 64-yard TD run by Morris.  The second longest run was by Daunte Culpepper for 32 yards.

As for the rest of the picks, while they may not light up the world at the moment but they do address some needs.  Cornerback Amari Spievey gives safety Louis Delmas some help in the secondary.  He's considered a hard-nosed corner with ball hawking skills and excels at zone coverage.

Offensive tackle Jason Fox isn't ready to start just yet but he does have the skills to become a starter.  The six-year contract that Jeff Backus signed in 2006 is up in 2012 which gives the Lions another two years to develop Fox as his replacement.  If not, perhaps in the 2012 draft, the Lions will draft an elite left tackle to finally fill that hole.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford will have a year under his belt and with the addition of WR Nate Burleson, he will have more choices to select from as he surveys the field.  Burleson will take a lot of double team away from Calvin Johnson. 

Brandon Pettigrew also has another year under his belt and showed signs last year of just how good a receiver he can be from the tight-end spot.  Dan Gronkowski and Will Heller will show him a trick or two I'm sure.

I'm going to go out on a limb here.  Call me an optimist but I see the Lions going 8-8 this year with the majority of wins coming at home against St. Louis, Washington, Chicago, Green Bay, and a surprise win against the Patriots on Thanksgiving.  Road wins will come against the Vikings, Buffalo, and Tampa Bay.

Go Lions!