Detroit Lions: Why the Lions Won't Be a Playoff Team in 2011

Detroit was pleased when Nick Fairley fell to them with the 13^th pick of the NFL Draft. Fairley wasn’t the only solid player chosen by the Lions. They also picked up wide receiver Titus Young from Boise State, Mikel Leshoure from Illinois and Douglas Hogue from Syracuse.

Adding Fairley to Kyle Vanden Bosch and Ndamukong Suh spells trouble for offenses. I don’t blame the Lions for choosing Fairley because it makes them have one of the best defensive lines in the NFL.

But, did they do enough to address the defense? They were the 24th-ranked rushing defense in the NFL a year ago, so the addition of Fairley should help that aspect. They were 16^th in passing defense.

Look at the teams in the NFL North. Green Bay will slice and dice you through the air with Aaron Rodgers. Jay Cutler can throw the ball with the best of them when he is on his game. The Vikings are the only team that will be looking to run the ball next season.

All I heard this past weekend was how great the Lions will be next season. I agree they will be great, but maybe a few years down the road. I think they will improve on their 6-10 record by a few games, but they aren’t close to being a complete football team.

Every team will know how good these Lions are. They won't be able to surprise teams with their play to steal games like they did last year. Every team that plays the Lions this year will know that they better be ready.

Matthew Stafford struggles to stay healthy every single season. He may be great but we will never know if he can’t stay on the field.

Finally, who is going to be the everyday running back? They were one of the worst rushing teams in the league last year, and that hasn’t been improved upon other than drafting Leshoure. We still have free agency (hopefully) so some teams will improve on their rosters. The Lions will need to be one of those teams.

Is Javhid Best an everyday back? I don’t think he is. Leshoure could be that back that they need but we won't find out until we see him on the field.

Before we start believing the Lions will be a contender next season let’s take it slow. They will be an improved football team but I don’t think they are ready to win the NFC North.