Detroit Lions: At 6-2, Are They Pretenders or Contenders?

Restore the Roar.

That's the mantra that is going around in the city of Detroit as the Lions are putting forth a tremendous season. The Lions are 6-2 after today's 45-10 win against the Denver Broncos going into their bye week.

Matt Stafford looked great, even though he's apparently nursing a hand injury. He'll be alright though. As ESPN's Steve Levy puts it, "he's tough. He's a hockey player." And his ankle didn't look too bad today did it?

The Lions played nearly flawlessly on all sides of the ball. The offense tore up the Broncos defense, and the Lions defense spoiled Tim Tebow's home debut, (hopefully) effectively silencing his "disciples".

At least for now, we can put the notion that Tebow is the greatest thing to happen to the NFL since its inception to bed. Let's be real here. In today's game, the Lions played well, the Broncos didn't.

Wait a second...haven't I seen this movie before? I think I did, and last time the ending was not all that wonderful. Come to think of it, it stunk.

The last time the Lions started 6-2, they won one more game the entire rest of the season. It took them until the second-to-last game of the regular season that year to do it. When the Lions got their sixth win that season, they beat the Broncos 42-7.

Ah, remember that Shaun Rogers interception? That was great, wasn't it? Then the Lions went to a bye, went to Arizona and the downward spiral began.

Don't get me wrong, I am in no way suggesting the same thing will happen again. But I do have to wonder: with all the hype that is out there, and with their record standing as it is now, are the Detroit Lions legit?

Are they really going to be the ones to dethrone the reigning Super Bowl champions? Can they bring balance to the force? Whoops, sorry, wrong movie.

Logically speaking, the Lions are legitimate contenders for the playoffs for a variety of reasons. First, in 2007, the Lions were virtually void of talent. Rod Marinelli was the head coach and Mike Martz the offensive coordinator, even though in a smarter world it would have been the other way around.

*Cringing* Matt Millen–excuse me while I shudder–was General Manager, and this was a team that was just doomed to fail. Oh yeah, and the year after that ugly collapse, the Lions went 0-16.

This season, however, breeds several differences. Calvin Johnson is coming into his own, and he's only just beginning. We finally, maybe, hopefully, possibly have a legitimate quarterback. Ndamukong Suh is everything Shaun Rogers wishes he was, and as of right now, Jim Schwartz is ten times the coach Marinelli was. Whether it's because Schwartz has surrounded himself with great coaching or what I don't know, but he is a great coach.

Evidence that this could be a special season has emerged when the Lions came back from 20 down to Minnesota and 24 down to Dallas. Logically speaking, the Lions are contenders. To the die-hards, though, the Lions could be pretenders.

I am not ready to jump off the bandwagon just yet. The second-half schedule is brutal. Green Bay twice, at Chicago, at New Orleans, San Diego at home, yikes. However, if the Lions can continue to play mistake-free and keep Stafford upright and not suffer too many more key injuries, the Lions will be back. As of now, the Lions are contenders.

Restore the Roar, Detroit.