Detroit Lions: A Sobering but Realistic Look at the 2011 Season

The 2011 Detroit Lions are threatening to do something that I didn’t think was possible so soon, and that is to recover from the dark days of Matt Millen.

I have seen predictions that range from six or seven wins, all the way to Peter King saying that the Lions might make the Super Bowl. It really is tough to determine how well this team will do, but I am going to give it a shot.

However, what I'm about to say is probably not what Lions fans want to here.

Yes, this team is good. But it is not playoff-ready.

There are still some glaring holes on the squad. Even in this day and age of NFL parity, it is tough to recover from 0-16 in just three years.

The biggest hole, in my opinion, is the interior offensive line.  I have written about this before, but until Dominic Raiola and Stephen Peterman are gone, the Lions will not have a decent run game.

Matthew Stafford and company are really good in the passing game, and the NFL is a passing league, but Stafford is not Peyton Manning—he still needs the support of a run game. 

Jahvid Best is a good running back in the open field, but he is not a threat to break too many tackles. Unfortunately, the offensive line is not going to allow him to get his engine revved up before the defense is all over him, either. He can hit the edge without a problem, but without the ability to run between the tackles, teams will simply change defenses to take away his ability to go wide.

The other hole on offense is at the third wide receiver position. The Lions were so desperate last year that they used tight end Tony Scheffler in the slot a lot more than they would have liked to. 

This year, the Lions did draft Titus Young in the second round, but he is yet to see the practice field. He still remains an unknown at a position that is one of the hardest to learn on offense.

On defense, the Lions have gotten better, but there are still some issues. 

At cornerback, the Lions are hoping that Eric Wright will have a bounce-back year. They seem to have a lot of confidence in him, but he did struggle last year and one has to wonder if teams have figured out how to beat him. On the other hand, it may have just been a product of playing on a bad Browns team.   

If there is one position that the Lions can say is most improved, it has to be at the linebacker spot. However, injuries are a concern. Starting outside linebackers DeAndre Levy and Justin Durant each missed at least five games due to injuries last year. That being said, the Lions do have some depth with Ashlee Palmer and the recently re-signed Bobby Carpenter.

Of course, the defensive line is where the strength of the Lions' defense lies. It will make the rest of the defense look better than they really are, but there is still a concern regarding their ability to stop the run.

Most offenses are right-handed, meaning they run behind the right side of their offensive lines. This means they will be running at Ndamukong Suh and Cliff Avril. These two players are unbelievable against the pass, but both have struggled against the run.

Long-time Lions beat writer Tom “The Killer” Kowalski said on his show on WDFN that Lions fans think this team is better than it is because it has been so long since this team was a competitor. I agree. This team would crush the 2008 team, but that doesn’t mean the 2011 Lions are ready to beat the likes of Green Bay and Atlanta.

The 2011 schedule is not kind to the Lions; they play one of the toughest schedules, with an opponent winning percentage of .520 in 2010. They also play in a stacked NFC, where two of either Atlanta, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Green Bay or Tampa Bay would have to miss the playoffs in order for the Lions to make it.

That's not even mentioning the defending NFC North champion Chicago Bears or the Dallas Cowboys, who get Tony Romo back this year.

For what it's worth, I see this team finishing 9-7, which will not be good enough to make the playoffs this year, but will be the first time the Lions finish above .500 since that ill-fated day that the destroyer of this franchise took over.