For many fans of The Detroit Lions they still remember “The Curse of
Bobby Layne”. Layne was The Hall of Fame quarterback that led The Lions
to two NFL Championships in the 1950s. Layne was traded to The
Pittsburgh Steelers in 1958 and he wasn’t pleased over the matter. On
his way out the door Layne famously stated that “The Lions would not win
for 50 years”. Since Layne left town, The Lions have only won one
playoff game. The fans in The Motor City have replaced the fans of The
New Orleans Saints as the fanbase to wear paper bags over their heads.
These fans have seen it all. Lion fans sat in the cold of Tiger Stadium
in the late 60s and early 70s to see one of the greatest defenses of the
era. The unit was led by Alex Karras, along with Hall of Famers Dick
LeBeau and Lem Barney. As stingy as the group was they couldn’t produce a
title. The fans followed The Lions indoors in 1975 to The Pontiac
Silverdome.
The Lions made the occasional playoff run. First with running back Billy
Sims and then Barry Sanders. Sanders who is arguably the greatest
player in franchise history got fed up with the losing in 1998 and
abruptly retired. This began a downhill spiral for The Lions that they
are finally recovering from. Matt Millen took over as team President and
destroyed this team for years to come with poor personnel decisions.
The Lions officially hit rock bottom in 2008 when they finished the
season with a record of 0-16.
Owner William Clay fired Millen and promoted Martin Mayhew as his
successor. The Lions may have reversed the fortunes of the franchise in
2009 when they hired head coach Jim Schwartz. Schwartz was fresh face
for a stale team. Schwartz had served as the defensive coordinator for
The Tennessee Titans for eight seasons and has teamed with Mayhew to get
things turned around in Motown.
Prior to Millen being shown the door, he finally got it right in 2007 by
drafting wide receiver Calvin Johnson in the first round. The regime of
Schwartz and Mayhew have found the correct recipe in finding talent in
The NFL Draft. In 2009, The Lions used the number one overall pick on
Georgia Bulldog quarterback Matthew Stafford. 2010 saw The Lions upgrade
the defensive line by drafting defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh from The
University of Nebraska.
Fans in Detroit didn’t see an immediate improvement in the team’s
record, but they knew that the team was going in the right direction. In
Schwartz’s first year, The Lions finished with a record of 2-14. They
followed this up in 2010 by finishing 6-10. On the bright side, they won
their last four games of the season to bring optimism back to Motown.
Fans are actually flocking to Ford Field in downtown Detroit to see a
Lions team that is no longer the laughing stock of The National Football
League. The Lions are now the ones who are laughing and are serving up
big slices of humble pie. Just like the lions in the wild, this group
eats up everything in its path. That includes opposing running backs,
quarterbacks, and large deficits. In week 5, The Lions overcame a 27-3
second half deficit on the road against The Dallas Cowboys to win 34-30.
In week 15, The Lions trailed on the road once again, this time to The
Oakland Raiders 27-14 in the fourth quarter. All Stafford and The Lions
had to do was drive the length of the field in the final minutes of the
game for a touchdown and they did it winning by a score of 28-27.
Unfortunately for The Lions, they are in the same division with The
Green Bay Packers who have been in another stratosphere from all other
teams this season. The Lions will not win The NFC North this year and
will not be able to host a playoff game, but they will give some team a
headache in the playoffs.
This team has been built in the mold of Schwartz and Mayhew. Mayhew was a
former defensive back for The Washington Redskins and The Tampa Bay
Buccaneers. Mayhew was a tenth round selection in 1988 so he had to play
with a chip on his shoulder. Schwartz has always been a tough minded
defensive specialist who doesn’t back down from anybody. After a loss
this season to The San Francisco 49ers, Schwartz let 49er head coach Jim
Harbaugh know how he felt after Schwartz deemed Harbaugh’s
“sportsmanship” unacceptable.
Suh has teamed on the defensive line with veterans Kyle Vanden Bosch,
Cliff Avril, and Corey Williams. This quartet also has reserve help in
the form of Willie Young and rookie Nick Fairley. I refer to this group
as “The Assembly Line” because Schwartz has to ability to constantly
bring in a fresh diesel to rush the passer.
With the exception of Williams and Vanden Bosch, everyone on this
defensive line has been drafted by The Lions. Mayhew and Schwartz have
stressed the importance of drafting and developing talent since the
first day. They have done the same on the offensive side of the ball
with Stafford, Johnson, and tight end Brandon Pettigrew. The Lions hope
that this will be the core of players to lead the franchise to a
championship. For veterans such as offensive tackle Jeff Backus and
center Dominic Raiola this is a welcome change. Both players started
their careers with The Lions in 2001 and have seen a ton of losing.
Along with the rest of the team they can see the finish line which is
the postseason.
What Schwartz and Mayhew are doing is not an easy task. Winning is not
easy in The NFL, especially when an organization like The Lions has been
accustomed to losing. Prior to this season The Lions have not had a
winning season since 2000 when they were 9-7. After Sunday’s decisive 38-10 victory at home over The San Diego Chargers, The Lions are playoff bound for the first time since 1999. Ford Field was rocking and this team has the ability to give an opponent more than a simple scare in the postseason. The formula is being
constructed and the pieces are being put in place. For fans of The
Lions, hope has replaced the paper bags and with Schwartz at the helm
Motown is actually thinking about The Super Bowl.
Jim Schwartz stuck with them. The hardest thing to do in The National Football League is to turn around a franchise that expects to lose and make them believe that they can win. If Matthew Stafford can stay healthy this is a very scary football team.
Totally agree. For the last few years they’ve been a good team. They just couldn’t close the door on teams. It’s always great to see a turnaround for a team that deserves it. Stafford is solid. Johnson is a beast. Suh always puts his foot in the game. Sometimes a little to much, but still a great player. Headache is the rite word. It’s going to be interesting to see how deep they can go into the playoffs.