Detroit Lions Southern Connection: Stafford and Johnson Taking Them to Top

The laughing stock of the NFL the last 10-plus years has been the Detroit Lions.  However, one of the most storied and oldest franchises in NFL history seems to be on the rise again. 

Success like this has not been seen since the Wayne Fontes ('88-'96) and Bobby Ross ('97-2000) eras of the team. Even with those coaches' success, they have only had one playoff win since 1957 despite making the playoffs six times during the 1990s. 

The hiring of "Mr. Wide Receiver" Matt Millen as general manager led to the downfall of the Lions starting in the 2000 season, and Detroit hit its low point in 2008 when the Lions became the first team in NFL history to lose 16 games in a single season.  This led to the firing of both Millen and head coach Rod Marinelli. 

They then hired Jim Schwartz as head coach and Martin Mayhew as general manger. This started the rebuilding process, which I am sure seemed slow to Lions fans.  They rebuilt the entire coaching staff and team over the next two seasons.  The main cog in this rebuilding process was drafting Matthew Stafford (University of Georgia) to go along with Matt Millen's only successful draft pick of Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech).

Calvin "Megatron" Johnson had already shown talent on the field as the best player on the field for the Lions, but he needed a quality QB to throw the ball to him consistently.  With Stafford they got a young QB who had rewritten the passing record books at Georgia and also had a shotgun arm.

With terrible QB's, Johnson still proved his Pro-Bowl ability in 2008 by having 1,331 yards and leading the NFL with 12 TDs.  This was with inadequate quarterbacks.  After the arrival of Stafford he really blossomed by finishing 2009 with 67 receptions with 984 yards and five TDs despite missing two complete games. He did this despite Stafford only starting 10 games for the Lions that year.

Then in 2010 Johnson had 77 catches for 1,120 yards and 12 touchdowns and was elected to his first Pro Bowl.  Stafford missed most of the 2010 season, but you could see that if they both stay healthy this could be a tandem that will be mentioned with the greats in NFL history. 

So far in 2011 "Megatron" has 24 receptions for 321 yards and eight TDs through four games with Stafford healthy. Projecting these over 16 games, he is on course to have 1,300 yards, 96 catches and 32 TDs (which will not happen), but you can see the sky is the limit for him with Stafford at QB.

Stafford looks like he may be finally healthy for the first time in his career.  This is because the Lions front office knew they had to keep him healthy and have addressed several issues on the offensive line through free agency and the draft.  They know the pair of Stafford and Johnson can lead this team to the promised land.

In 2009 Stafford threw for 2,267 yards and 13 TDs (with 20 interceptions) in only 10 games.  They could see the tree starting to bear fruit.  He lost most of the 2010 season to shoulder problems, but in one of the three games he played, he threw three TDs to lead the Lions to victory 37-25 against the Redskins.

After undergoing surgery by renowned physician James Andrews at the end of the 2010 season, Stafford is back healthy and looking great.  Through four games Stafford has a 62 percent completion percentage, 1,217 yards and 11 TDs with only three interceptions.  Projecting his stats over 16 games, he ends up with 2,800 yards, 44 TDs and 12 interceptions. 

With the addition of fellow country boy Nick Fairley of Auburn to help out Ndamukong Suh on defense, the future is definitely bright.

By looking at the stats and projections above, you can see why the future is bright in Detroit for the first time in over a decade.  You can also see why teams like to scout the ACC and SEC to get talent. 

Even though the ACC has been down overall as a conference the last five to six years, the talent is still there.  The SEC is the best conference in NCAA football and has won five straight National Championships.

Detroit Lions fans have something to be excited about for the first time in a long time, and I know this Southern boy from Georgia is definitely rooting for them...until they play my Atlanta Falcons.