Detroit Lions: Let's End 2010 with a Bang!

Here we sit on Friday, Dec. 31, 2010.

The Lions are on a three-game winning streak. Fans are feeling good about the Lions for the first time in a decade. Heck, the players themselves are actually proud to be a Lion!

They have played hard in every game this year. There's no quit in this team. The Lions have suffered from the injury bug, especially at quarterback. And yet, lemonade was made out of lemons as each of the three quarterbacks has led the Lions in victory this season.

Most surprising player of the year? I'd have to give the nod to Drew Stanton. Written off by many as a bust, he came in and performed admirably, beating both Green Bay and Tampa Bay. He played well with his arm and showed great mobility and made smart decisions at just the right time.

Say what you will about how he played for most of the Green Bay game, but for one 80-yard, four-minute-plus drive, he was dead-on and threw the game-winning TD when it was most needed.

The Tampa Bay game showed Stanton is a viable NFL QB. He was efficient, going 23-of-37 and throwing for 252 yards and one touchdown. Most important, he committed no turnovers.

On Sunday, January 2nd, 2011, the Lions play against the troubled Minnesota Vikings. A team that many had picked to win the NFC North has ended in shambles with its head coach being fired midseason and a worn-down QB most likely ending his storied career. 

The Lions are riding high and the Vikings pulled it together enough to beat the Eagles last week. Joe Webb had some great plays. However, due to sentimentality, if Brett Farve can play, head coach Leslie Frazier will start him to give him one last chance to go out with a win.

At this point, since the Vikings are out of the playoffs, why not let Farve start despite the fact that Webb gives them a better chance to win? But it doesn't look good for Farve, as he hasn't passed any of the tests for concussions.

The Lions are hitting on all cylinders. They have won three games in a row, two of them on the road. They showed some moxie in Miami, being down 17 and coming back to win. They have learned how to finish games, which had been an issue earlier in the season.

No doubt there will be the nay-sayers, and I can't say that I blame them much. The Lions have teased their fans a lot over the past five decades. And for the 35 years I've been a Lions fan, I've seen a lot of potential Lions teams blow up.

But this team seems to be the most complete team I can remember. The teams of the '90s, with Barry Sanders, Herman Moore and Johnnie Morton come close, but those teams didn't have the defense this one does. Yes, I say that despite the woes our secondary has suffered the last two years.

What is the value of winning this game?  Not much, if you consider from the perspective of draft position. But from the perspective of morale, it would be a huge lift. Winning six games would triple last year's output. Winning four games in a row would be the first time the Lions would have accomplished that since the false 6-2 start of 2007.

The Lions do need secondary help, and everyone is hoping they have a good draft spot to take either Patrick Peterson or Prince Amukamara. Let's not worry about that right now. Let's have the Lions win this game and get to 6-10. Let's see if we can not finish last for the first time since 2007.

Let's put on a show that will give the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears something to worry about next year.

Happy New Year everyone!

Go Lions!