Detroit Lions 2010 Season in Review: Top 10 Moments

First things first. The Detroit Lions aren't going to the playoffs. Again.

No surprise if you've been following the team at all. Nobody really expected the Lions to make the playoffs this year, so while it's a disappointment to not see Honolulu blue in the postseason this year, it doesn't sting as much as it does in, say, Minnesota or Dallas.

In fact, 2010 has been an overwhelmingly good year for the Lions, despite the 6-10 record. Or perhaps even as a result of the record. They have, after all, won more than twice as many games this season as they did the last two combined.

But it hasn't just been the record worth cheering for. Many of the things that happened before September were just as exciting as the games themselves.

Like what? Well, it doesn't do me any good to talk about it here, so click forward to the next slide.

10. Free Agency, Day One

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DETROIT - OCTOBER 10: Nate Burleson #13 of the Detroit Lions gets past the St. Louis Rams defense for a third quarter touchdown on October 10, 2010 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit won the game 44-6. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Lions fans aren't used to being the ones that make a big splash on day one of NFL free agency. That's something other teams do, particularly teams that think they're "one or two pieces away" from a Super Bowl.

Nobody made that mistake with the Lions, who were sporting a winning percentage of .063 over their previous two seasons.

Still, Jim Schwartz had a connection with Kyle Vanden Bosch from their Tennessee days, and he showed up on the defensive end's doorstep at 12:05 am on the first day of free agency.

Schwartz knew who he wanted, and he made it happen. The two had a deal hammered out by noon, and Nate Burleson signed the same day.

Not only was it exciting at the time, but both signings bore fruit for the Lions, as Vanden Bosch became the team's vocal leader on defense and Burleson became the Recepticon to the Lions' existing Megatron.

9. Drew Stanton Snaps NFC North Losing Streak, Wins First Game As Starter

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DETROIT - DECEMBER 12: Drew Stanton #5 of the Detroit Lions runs for a first down as Charles Woodson #21 of the Green Bay Packers attempts to make the stop during the game at Ford Field on December 12, 2010 in Detroit, Michigan. The Lions defeated the Pac

There was so much good in this game.

Drew Stanton started the game because Jim Schwartz and Scott Linehan were out of options. Matthew Stafford was out, and Shaun Hill was still hurt. It was Stanton and Zac Robinson, and for once, the Lions decided they had a quarterback on the roster they liked less than Stanton.

And so the fourth-year quarterback from three offensive coordinators ago started only his second NFL game. It was a hopeless game against the powerhouse Packers. Stanton was going to be bad, and because he was starring opposite Aaron Rodgers, he would look even worse.

But then Rodgers played an atrocious half of football and left shortly before halftime with a concussion. Matt Flynn drove for the Packers' only three points, but was bested by Stanton's late game-winning drive, punctuated by Will Heller diving in to the end zone off a wide receiver screen.

Stanton won his first game as a starter, and Detroit squashed a conference losing streak that had followed them around since 2007.

8. Rex Grossman Knows the Two-Minute Offense, Er, Is in Better Shape...

For the second consecutive year, the Detroit Lions beat the Washington Redskins, and for the second consecutive year, they threw the Redskins' front office into turmoil as a result.

In 2009, the Lions broke the second-longest losing streak in NFL history against the Redskins, and clipped Jim Zorn's wings as a result. He went through the rest of the season as the lamest of lame duck coaches, and the Redskins brought in Mike Shanahan and Donovan McNabb for 2010.

This year, Shanahan found himself on an unusually early hot seat when his decision to pull a healthy McNabb in favor of Rex Grossman resulted in a fumble and touchdown for the Lions on the very first play of what could have been a game-winning two-minute drill.

And for the second consecutive year, a big win for the Lions got overshadowed by drama surrounding the other team's coach. Shanahan attempted a handful of excuses about his decision in the following days, none of which were consistent with one another, and none of which sounded legitimate.

For the Redskins, it was another sign that their organization is a mess. For the Lions, they were able to match 2009's win total after only eight weeks as a result of this game.

7. The Process of the Catch

I'm really sorry to bring this back up after all this time. I thought I was over it until I saw it again, and then it brought back all these old feelings.

This is one where it doesn't really go under "top" moments in terms of good things, but rather very notable things. It was heartbreaking, and while everybody at this point understands the dissonance between the rulebook interpretation of that play and what they saw happen on the field, it's still hard to swallow.

That single play was the biggest story of opening week, and a number of questionable catches throughout the season drew comparisons to this one (most of them ending in "how is that a catch but CJ's wasn't?).

In fact, this play introduced the phrase "process of the catch" to the NFL's lexicon, whether it liked it or not.

6. The Shellacking of St. Louis (or, Alphonso Smith's Carlton Dance)

This should have been a showcase of the last two No. 1 overall picks, both quarterbacks.

Matt Stafford vs. Sam Bradford. A battle between two young quarterbacks whose teams were struggling to climb out of the NFL's cellar.

It should have been a good game. Certainly a close game. They were two teams whose combined 2008 and 2009 records came to a paltry 5-59. And one of those five, the Rams' sole win in 2009, came against the Lions themselves.

Instead, we got journeyman backup Shaun Hill vs. Bradford, and it wasn't close. It was total domination in all three phases of the game, the kind Detroit hasn't been on the right side of in many, many years.

Not to mention my nominee for touchdown dance of the year, by Alphonso Smith. It's been three months, and I'm still not over it.

5. Matt Stafford's Shoulder

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CHICAGO - SEPTEMBER 12: Julius Peppers #90 of the Chicago Bears pressures Matthew Stafford #9 of the Detroit Lions during the NFL season opening game at Soldier Field on September 12, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Lions 19-14. (Photo b

Not the greatest moments of the season, but easily some of the most important. Much like the "Process of the Catch," this is a Top 10 moment because of the sheer impact it had on the season.

Of course, that impact was both good and bad. Matthew Stafford is the Lions' future, so anything that happens to him in the injury department is bad news.

However, the good news is that Stafford's injury provided the Lions to find out that they had not one, but two serviceable backup quarterbacks behind him, and each improved drastically the more games they played.

Still, Stafford is so central to the Lions' plans moving forward that it's hard to evaluate the 2010 season at all. Sure, the Lions finished strong, posted a 6-10 record, and five of those wins came with Stafford on the bench.

But in the one game Stafford finished, he won the game. In the two he left with injury, the Lions were leading when he came out, and heartbreaking finishes were the only things that prevented Lions victories. If Stafford stays in those games, it's entirely possible the Lions finish 2010 at 8-8 or better.

4. New York Giants Vs. Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN - DECEMBER 13: A torn section of the roof sags inside the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on December 13, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Metrodome's roof collapsed under the weight of snow after a powerful blizzard hit the area on Decemb

Okay, so this doesn't actually refer to the Lions directly. But amidst the crisis of the Metrodome roof collapse, somebody had to step up and give the Vikes and Giants a football game, and Detroit was that somebody.

The Lions organization gave away tickets for free to ensure a proper NFL-level turnout, despite it being an out-of market game, and the whole thing went off swimmingly.

The Lions didn't play, and it didn't affect the team in any way. But it brought the team and the city a whole mess of good karma and good press.

The NFL thanked the city of Detroit and the Lions organization for hosting the game with a commercial run during the following Sunday's games, and Vikings owner Zygi Wilf presented the Lions with the game ball from the Monday Night Game that Shouldn't Have Been.

So maybe this wasn't a Lions moment, but it was the biggest story in sports for a couple of days, and the city of Detroit got to look like a hero.

How often has that happened lately?

3. Lions Return to the Pro Bowl

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TAMPA, FL - DECEMBER 19: Receiver Calvin Johnson #81 of the Detroit Lions runs through the tackle of defensive back E.J. Biggers #31 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the game at Raymond James Stadium on December 19, 2010 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by J

The Pro Bowl could deny Calvin Johnson no longer.

After a couple of Pro Bowl-worthy seasons, Calvin Johnson finally put together a monster year that pulled him not only a spot, but a starting role in the 2011 Pro Bowl.

He will be joined in Honolulu (but not in Honolulu blue) by rookie phenom Ndamukong Suh, who was the top vote-getter among all NFL defensive tackles, and the first defensive rookie for the Lions to get selected to the Pro Bowl since Bubba Baker in 1979.

Being as the Pro Bowl is just a big popularity contest, this is less a referendum on the actual performance of Johnson and Suh, and more an indication that the average NFL fan is letting up on the Lions.

In other words, the Lions are gaining a degree of respectability.

Great teams (and the New York teams) get undeserving players in the Pro Bowl on name recognition and reputation. Bad teams can't buy their stars a bid, as we found out during Johnson's 2008 candidacy.

The Lions, right now, are in the middle of those two extremes. They got two players in that deserved to be there, and three alternates (Louis Delmas, Stefan Logan, and John Wendling) that were also big performers.

The fact that guys like Logan and Wendling were even on the map indicates that the Lions are getting some traction in the relevance department, which is unbelievable considering where they were a mere two years ago.

2. With the Second Pick of the 2010 NFL Draft...

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NEW YORK - APRIL 22: Ndamukong Suh of the Nebraska Cornhuskers holds up a Detroit Lions jersey as he poses with family after he was picked #2 overall by the Lions during the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 22, 2010 in

...the Detroit Lions select Ndamukong Suh, defensive tackle, Nebraska.

At the time, Lions fans thought it was a good idea. No reasonable person could have imagined just how good an idea it actually was.

Aside from bringing an air of class, maturity and workmanship, Suh brought 66 total tackles, 10 sacks, an interception, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in his first NFL season.

I personally wrote an article during the preseason warning Lions fans to stay patient with the young Nebraska phenom, saying that he might become a victim of his position and get lost in the mix since only the very best defensive tackles put up gaudy numbers.

It might, I thought, take Suh a year or two to adjust to the NFL game before he breaks out, since his impressive explosion off the line would be more easily dealt with by top-level interior linemen.

Not so much. Suh led all defensive tackles in sacks, and came a half-sack from the rookie record for sacks by a defensive tackle set by Dana Stubblefield.

The scary thing is, he is, in fact, a rookie. Presumably he's going to get better from here. As the season wore on, he became more skilled in the run game and at dealing with complex blocking schemes. But he's a rookie Pro Bowler even before he refines that part of his game.

Almost kind of scary, huh?

1. Losing Streaks Over, Winning Streak Begins!

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DETROIT, MI - JANUARY 02: Maurice Morris #28 of the Detroit Lions gets in for a fouth quarter touchdown in front of Jamarca Sanford #33 of the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field on January 2, 2011 in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit won the game 20-13. (Photo by

And here you have the reason I waited to put together this "year in review" article when other FCs were doing it last week.

How could I possibly compile the season's best moments when the best one wouldn't be finished until 2011?

Amidst feel-good stories, free agents, the NFL Draft, and moral victories, nothing feels better than just good old-fashioned winning. And in the last four weeks of the season, the Lions did nothing but that.

In fact, they turned some of their most egregious losing streaks into winning streaks in the process. During a four-game winning streak, the Lions snapped a 19-game NFC North losing streak by taking down the Green Bay Packers, and an NFL-record 26-game road losing streak by beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their own house.

In the next two games, the Lions built a two-game road winning streak by beating the Miami Dolphins in Miami, and a two-game divisional winning streak by taking down the Minnesota Vikings in the season finale.

Sure, it's true that Don Majikowski is the last quarterback the Lions beat at Lambeau Field, all the way back in 1991, and the Lions haven't won at the Metrodome in almost as long (and it might be a while longer now). There are some more losing streaks to conquer.

But after closing the season the way the Lions did, beating four consecutive teams with better records than them, it's hard not to carry some more optimism than usual into the 2011 season.

And this time, it doesn't look crazy.