Detroit Lions: Can They Make the Playoffs in 2010?

I was watching the Pistons take on the Celtics, which quite frankly was miserable. I told myself that I would have to stop writing about the ‘Stones because nobody really cares. Fortunately for me though, they actually gave me a topic to write about without even knowing it.

Amidst the torrential babble of George Blaha and miserable play, the broadcasting crew took a few moments during a time out to talk to Lions rookie running back, Jahvid Best.

Best was at the Palace to take part in a celebrity free-throw shooting charity event, but because of his hurt shoulder, Natalie Martinez of Detroit 1-8-7, was the celebrity shooter instead. To be honest, it was a nice upgrade. 

Anyhow, Eli Zaret still took time to talk with Jahvid and what ensued was incredibly interesting to me. Eli asked him if he felt like that “youth movement” of Matt Stafford, Ndamukong Suh and himself was exciting to the team, and if they were starting to click. Of course Jahvid answered with the typical "yes," but then he threw in a curveball.

He went on to say that he felt that the Lions are “real close to being an elite team."  He then proceeded to rub hot butter all over Eli Zaret and then they took a dip in a giant blue kool-aid bowl. Okay, the butter and giant kool-aid bowl was a fabrication of my mind, but still the concept rings true.  

Now, I have heard a whole lot about “playoffs” and “contending” since the Lions “epic” win against the Redskins this past Sunday. I was at the game, so I feel I have a pretty good perspective of what happened. I have admitted and still do believe that the Lions have made incredible improvement as an organization.

Ndamukong Suh is a beast of a defensive lineman, and he is honestly the first Lions draft pick that I have ever respected enough to call a star, even this early on.

Matt Stafford put up good numbers, but don’t let them deceive you. He barely ever threw the ball more than 10 yards down the field, and the times he did, the throws were incredibly inaccurate or just plain bad. He also was the benefactor of a sloppy Washington Redskins team that gave the Lions the ball in the red zone more than once.

In the end it was two bad teams, and one of them was somewhat obliged to win. 

I will give the Lions credit in this respect: They are starting to not look like the Lions. A typical Lions team would not win a game that was handed to them. They would just hand it right back, so you can obviously tell that there is an overall improvement in the football culture.

But, to have your starting rookie running back say that you are close to being an “elite” team is just ludicrous. Winning a game against an extremely faulty Redskins team is nothing to get excited about. There were moments in that game in when it seemed that both teams were having a competition to see who could be the most impotent.

Putting that game aside, we are still talking about a team who has not won a road game in what, three years? Winning one game every couple weeks is nothing to hang your hat on, and is in no way a sign of becoming an elite team.

When I think about elite teams I think about teams like the Patriots or Colts, or respected franchises like the 49ers or Cowboys, who were elite in the past. I know, without a doubt in my mind, that the Lions were never an elite team in the past, and they are still in the bottom quarter of the league this year, so how are you even getting close to being elite, Jahvid?

Sometimes the Lions baffle me…

Fortunately for the Lions, one thing that they have going for them is the incredible ineptitude of the NFC North. The Packers seemed to have recovered from their injury skid for the moment, but both the Bears and the Vikings have more issues than the cast of Jersey Shore.

The Vikings just sent Randy Moss packing and still have to deal with the fact that Brett Favre could die at any moment. The Bears show no signs of being a legitimate threat, and even though the Packers seem to be stabilizing, they are nowhere near the level we expected them to be at. The Lions will not be an elite team this year and I highly doubt they will reach that status any time soon.

That being said, those of you have been sniffing playoff hope or at least hope to rise up in the North might not be as crazy as you sound. I hate to admit this, but I believe the Lions are the second-best team in the NFC North right now, and if they play their cards right, they could challenge the Packers, or more realistically shoot for the wild card.

I still have a hard time seeing how this will be possible, though. But, as a sign of good faith for all my Lions fan readers, I will go through the rest of the Lions season and try to give you what I deem as a realistic prediction.

Week 9

New York Jets: Unfortunately, I see no way that they can win this game. The Jets have arguably the best defense in the league and they are coming off of a disappointing home loss against the Packers. The Lions might be able to hold their own, but in the end the Jets are a far better team.

1. Green Bay : 6-3
2. Chicago : 5-3
3. Minnesota : 2-6
4. Detroit : 2-6

Week 10

@ Buffalo Bills: Buffalo seems to be at the same spot the Lions were at a few years ago. At this point they are winless, and if they don’t win in Week 9, you can expect them to play desperate for a win. The Lions should be a far better team though, and “elite” teams beat the teams that they should, so they better win it. I expect they will.

1. Green Bay : 6-3
2. Chicago : 5-4
3. Minnesota:3-6                                                                                                           
4. Detroit : 3-6

Week 11

@ Dallas Cowboys: I am going to deem this game as “the revenge of Jon Kitna." The Cowboys are in a very bad spot (who called it?!), but I still think they will be able to beat the Lions at home. I expect Kitna to get up to play his old team, and if they do lose the whole stadium might be torn down. 

"Big D" will roll.                                                                                              

1. Green Bay : 7-3
2. Chicago : 5-5
3. Minnesota : 3-7
4. Detroit : 3-7

Week 12

New England Patriots: This is the Thanksgiving game so, I expect the Lions to be ready and excited to be playing on national TV. I think they will give the Patriots a run for their money and even a small scare. In the end, I think they will lose a close game. After all, Tom Brady has great hair.

1. Green Bay : 7-4
2. Chicago : 5-6
3. Minnesota:3-8                                                                                                                        
4. Detroit : 3-8

Week 13

Chicago: I will call this game “Revenge of Megatron." I think the Lions are going to go off on the Bears. They will be at home and looking to avenge their season-opening loss that should have been a win. Lions win big.

1. Green Bay : 8-4
2. Chicago : 5-7
3. Minnesota : 4-8
4. Detroit : 4-8

Week 14

Green Bay Packers:  They almost beat the Pack in Green Bay earlier in the season, but I can’t pick against the Pack here, if only because I will be at the game. Realistically though, I think that Aaron Rodgers will have found his rhythm and more, but in the end it will come down to defense.

The Lions line will put a lot of pressure on the Pack, but I think they will bend and not break. Unfortunately for the Lions, when the Packers defense has the capability to break an opponents offense. I gotta go with the Packers, call me a homer, see if I care.

1. Green Bay : 9-4
2. Chicago : 5-8
3. Minnesota : 4-9
4. Detroit : 4-9

Week 15

@ Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs are a vastly improved team, but I think this is where the Lions are finally going to step up and get another elusive road win. Detroit will riot.

1. Green Bay : 9-5
2. Minnesota : 5-9
3. Chicago : 5-9
4. Detroit : 5-9

Week 16

@Miami Dolphins: The Lions winning two weeks in a row on the road would be a sign of the apocalypse, so I have to go against it. Realistically speaking, I just don’t think they will be at that point this year. Next year I would fully expect for the Lions to win two road games in a row. Just not yet.

1. Green Bay : 10-5
2. Minnesota : 5-10
3. Chicago : 5-10
4. Detroit: 5-10

Week 17

Minnesota Vikings: I highly doubt that six wins will win them a wild card spot even in a very weak NFC. The Vikings will be coming into town, though, and blood will be in the air. The Lions will want to make a statement by jumping both the Vikings and the Bears, and build incredible momentum for next year. If Brett Favre is still playing, I expect that Ndamukong Suh will literally kill him.

1. Green Bay : 11-5
2. Detroit : 6-10
3. Minnesota : 5-11
4. Chicago : 5-11

There you have it. I think that the Lions will show signs of improvement, and they will benefit from Chicago and Minnesota imploding with each other. In the end, though, I think it will be too little too late. Six wins is an improvement, but the playoffs are still a year or two away.