Detroit Lions: Beer Thinker Sees Attitude Adjutment in Lions' Mental Attitude

Last week, I was involved in some discussions about Brenda Summers' fine article “Ndamukong Suh & Jim Schwartz Confident That Matthew Stafford Will Lead the Lions in 2011."

After reading Brenda’s article, I submitted a post, mostly saying that Suh’s comment about going 16-0 has drawn very little criticism from fans or media. Not like when Jon Kitna declared a 10-6 record and trip to the playoffs.

I also noticed that no Detroit Lion player made any comments about Suh. Perhaps behind the scenes they may have rolled their eyes a bit. However, I’ll wager that many of them may have changed their tune when they read the whole quote.

Ndamukong Suh: “I don’t see a reason why we can’t be 16-0 as long as we put in the hard work throughout camp getting ready for the 2011 season. As long as we stay healthy and are putting in the work, we should be happy with what we end up with.”

Suh made a very powerful statement...and he wants his team to know that he believes in them. He believes that before the start of every game, as long as they do what they practice, make the plays they need to make and stay healthy, they are going to win that game.

Just think about that for a minute.

An attitude like that indicates they don’t need to be afraid of any team they face. They don’t need to be concerned about road games either...every field is 120 yards long and 53-and-a-third yards wide, and each end zone is 10 yards deep.

Every athlete who plays in any type of competitive sport has to believe that he/she or the team they are playing for is going to win. Losing is part of the game, and athletes understand that losing is inevitable...but it doesn’t mean they have to like it.

That reminds me of an excerpt from one of my favorite sports books, Peter Gent’s The Franchise. The head coach is reading the other team’s scouting report on his star quarterback. One of the notations is that he doesn’t like to get hit, doesn’t like pain. The player looks at the coach and asks, “I’m supposed to like pain?” 

All any team wants is to have the chance to win the game, to know it gave 110 percent and whatever the outcome, the players can walk off the field knowing they left it all out there. It looks like the Lions are moving toward that—from the front office down to the water boy.

Suh’s comment tells me that all the players are buying into what Schwartz is preaching. No one is dodging the fact that the key to the Detroit Lions' success lies squarely on the shoulders of one Matthew Stafford. From everything that I’ve seen of Stafford, he is relishing being looked to as the one to lead the team.

All the Lions have to do now is make sure he gets better protection and stays healthy.

Generally, most fans aren’t looking at the team with disdain anymore. Oh sure, there are always going to be the fatalistic ones that will continuously point to the 0-16 season and the fact we had Matt Millen as a GM. (Message to those fans: GET OVER IT! The 0-16 season was two years ago, and Millen is out of the Lions organization.)

Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz have built a great connection as to what the team's needs are. Their connection is just as important to develop as it is for Stafford and Calvin Johnson to connect.

Can anyone tell me the last time a Detroit head coach and a Detroit general manager didn’t have an antagonistic relationship? Mayhew and Schwartz are working at a very cooperative level, which is very key for success.

GMs in the past that have worked for the Fords seemed bent on pleasing them, which often went against what the head coach needs to build a wining team. If it wasn’t for Wayne Fontes practically down on his knees begging them to draft Barry Sanders, we would have ended up with Deion Sanders instead.

This cohesiveness that is developing at the top, with Mayhew and Schwartz, is trickling down to the team leaders, such as Suh. Don’t be surprised if other team leaders, such as Louis Delmas and Calvin Johnson, start preaching the same thing.

The Detroit Lions have some absolutely scary talent...and this draft and free agency class is only going to make them better.

If there is a 2011 season—and I truly hope the NFLPA and the owners get an agreement in place, and fast—the Detroit Lions are poised to be the Cinderella team next year.

Though I’m not quite sure I want to see Ndamukong Suh in a dress and glass slippers...that would just be wrong.