Baldbill

June 21st, 2012 at 9:55 AM ^

Nice to hear but, I think the Defense needs to improve and just be more consistent. I think Detroits offense can put up points on just about anyone, but they need a better running game to help with clock management also. I still think it is awesome to hear someone even mention the Lions in the same sentance as Super Bowl (and not use it as a punch line).

CRex

June 21st, 2012 at 12:03 PM ^

The D is definitely inconsistent.  I honestly have mixed feelings on the D coaching, we'll stop them on 3rd down, but Suh or Avril will commit a personal foul in the process and hello fresh set of downs.  If that doesn't improve, for all the work Cunningham has done on defense, we need to get a new D-Coord.  

Also the offensive line still needs significant work.  

Stephen Hawking

June 21st, 2012 at 9:58 AM ^

Detroit  has no doubt improved over the last few years but I think it's premature to use words like "dominance" and "Super Bowl" right now. The Lions have to get by Green Bay who shredded them both games last year. And don't forget Chicago with whom the Lions split and who went out and made some big moves in the offseason.

I'm a Bears fan and I see the NFC North as being one of the most fun divisions to watch this season. I can't wait for the games to start!

Baldbill

June 21st, 2012 at 10:45 AM ^

I agree, I think the NFC Norris is going to be very tough. GB still has to be given the nod as the top team in the division until someone beats them. Detroit and Chicago will most likely battle for second. I think Minnesota will most likely finish on the bottom, but they are not that bad either.

MGoVoice

June 21st, 2012 at 10:02 AM ^

Just think back a few years ago and the horse's butt off all jokes the Lions were to now and the love the Lions are getting.  Like others I am not sure the Lions are ready for the Super Bowl, but in another year with a bit more depth in the secondary...absolutely this team should be in the conversation!

WMUgoblue

June 21st, 2012 at 12:12 PM ^

Oh right you mean the improved Oline that helped us get to the playoffs ? Reiff is an upgrade wherever they decide to put him on the line. The team didn't get worse from the 10-6 club they were last year.

Jmilan

June 21st, 2012 at 10:13 AM ^

I'm a huge Lion's fan, but this is almost ridiculous. We have a great team and a great offense, but our division is brutal as some other posters said. If we were in the any other division this may have a little more ground to stand on. Basically your going to have to beat the Packer's, arguably the best team in the NFL the last two years and I don't really think they have lost much if anybody at all. Then you have to deal with Chicago, who I think would have probably taken our wildcard spot if it wasn't for Cutler and Forte going down. I think if we can take both from Chicago this year we have a shot at winning the wildcard again or else we are going to have to beat Green Bay at least once and for some reason that never happens. Super Bowl at this point is a reach because of our questions on D, but not impossible I guess because in the playoffs anything can happen.

yoyo

June 21st, 2012 at 10:16 AM ^

The Madden curse will make this impossible.  Calvin is almost guaranteed to miss the season or we'll get struck by a bounty scandal one year from now (Brees's punishment).

LSAClassOf2000

June 21st, 2012 at 10:18 AM ^

" "I believe Detroit could sneak in and represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. They have that type of young talent on their roster. Might be a year or two away."" - Chris Carter, in the article.

If things continue to improve and they continue to draft well enough and address needs as well as develop talent, they could definitely be in this discussion sooner rather than later, but I think there is work to be done still (e.g., the running game and the defensive backfield, which still have questions). The trend is definitely up - I don't think there is any doubt of that. If there was ever a team that, given what they were a few short years ago, is better off with a measured progression towards a goal like, well, the Super Bowl, it would be the Lions. I would say that part of this progression would include being dominant (at reasonably so) within the NFC North as well as a deeper playoff run.

That being said, I absolute enjoy seeing words like "dominance" and "Super Bowl" in an article about the Lions that was not written as a prank. This has not happened in, well, my lifetime to date, and it is very, very refreshing. They can certainly get there from here, I think, but there is distance to cover yet.

umjgheitma

June 21st, 2012 at 10:26 AM ^

are about a good OLineman, LB, and corner away from being a Super Bowl contender. The RB situation doesn't matter to me as much looking at how teams like the Packers who throw a James Starks or aging Ryan Grant out there and win 14 games. I would have loved to see the Lions grab Lavonte David from Nebraska who can just fly all over the field to make up for some of the lack of safety play.

nmumike

June 21st, 2012 at 10:44 AM ^

and plenty of offensive talent, but dominance is probably not in the cards for a year or two. We need a cornerback who can actually make plays and not make Flynn look like a HOF quarterback.

Having said that, they are fun to watch, and Stafford to Johnson is something special.

Bryan

June 21st, 2012 at 11:01 AM ^

They lost me c. 2006. I live in Detroit and really couldn't care less what happens to them. The NFL product has been lost on me.

bacon1431

June 21st, 2012 at 11:03 AM ^

Did the MIami Redhawk student newspaper write this? Sheesh.

I'm a Lions fan and dominance is not within reach. NFC North is going to be a competitive division for a long time. Luckily, the Lions have the highest ceiling IMO because most of the stars are very young. But it's not like the Packers are close to worrying about the early bird special at the local diner.

Don

June 21st, 2012 at 11:14 AM ^

That's like me saying I'm approaching 6 feet in height... at 5'7". But go ahead, everybody drink the Koolaid. I've heard this kind of hilarity about the Lions more than once in the last 50 years.

GoBlueInNYC

June 21st, 2012 at 11:30 AM ^

You've heard that the Lions are close to a Super Bowl caliber team "more than once in the last 50 years?" I would think that in a 50 year time span a team would be mentioned as potentially making a Super Bowl more than once.

The Lions had a good season with a young team that's still filling holes from the Millen era. Yes the idea that the Lions will "dominate" and are Super Bowl contenders this season are way over blown, but they are a team, that by all indications, are headed very much in the right direction. In another couple of years all their playmakers will still probably be around, and they will hopefully have filled in the rest of the roster by then.

DrunkOnHiggins

June 21st, 2012 at 11:21 AM ^

No doubt it's going to be tough but how many teams have we seen sneak into the playoffs and make a sick run to the Super Bowl? Not saying it's going to happen, like many on here I think the Lions are a year or two away from getting to that point. There's no doubt they're going in the right direction though. Stud QB, stud WR, Stud DT, and a heck of a coach.

A few more pieces of the puzzle are required but Mayhew has showed what he can do. See the last 3 years.

Fall weekends...Party Friday, watch Michigan Saturday, chill and catch the Lions on Sunday....It's a beautiful thing.

bronxblue

June 21st, 2012 at 12:53 PM ^

The Lions are on the rise, but they needed a whole bunch of stuff to go right last year to even make the playoffs, where they couldn't stop Brees and the Saints one iota.  If the running game improves and the secondary can make the type of leap we've seen from the rest of the defense, then yes they will be competitive.  But Chicago and GB are both good teams in the division, and teams like SF and the Giants are not going anywhere.

bacon1431

June 21st, 2012 at 1:29 PM ^

Not many teams put up a fight against Drew Brees. They were held to under 25 in only three games. Lions played a team that woudl get a bye in almost every other season, so I'm not too discouraged by the playoff game.  I didn't expect them to even get to the playoffs last year - I was thinking 8-8 or 9-7. But I think they stand as good a shot as anyone in the division to make the playoffs, mainly because most of the stars haven't even reached their ceiling yet. But it will be very tough - just like it is every year in the NFL.

Michigan4Life

June 21st, 2012 at 5:05 PM ^

this year.  As long as Stafford keeps ascending as a QB and is the QB for the Lions, the Lions have a chance to make it to the Super Bowl.  Hell, the NYG weren't that much better than the Lions last year and had even worse running game to boot.  Stafford is key, nothing else matters.  The Lions goes where Stafford goes.  He was in the zone in the last few weeks of the season and I expect him to continue to improve.  To me, he's already at an elite level.

spartanfan123

June 21st, 2012 at 6:38 PM ^

I doubt they even make the playoffs. The bears and packers both got alot better, and we were lucky Cutler was injured last year and the Bears fell.  I don't see both wildcards coming from our division, but who knows, the saints might fall off and Atlanta will win that division, leaving a wildcard spot up for us.