When the Detroit Lions' 2013 schedule first came out, yours truly thought they might go 8-8, if they caught a few breaks. However, things have changed and it might be time to revisit that position.
Coming off a disastrous 4-12 2012 season, I just didn't see where they would be all that much better this year, though 8-8 certainly beats the heck out of 4-12. After all, how much had really changed? Matthew Stafford was still going to pass a gazillion times, mostly to Megatron Calvin Johnson, because the Lions didn't have any running game. Then they got Reggie Bush as a free agent. A decent acquisition, but one is left to wonder -- if Bush was all that -- why would the Miami Dolphins, his former team, and no world-beaters themselves, let him get away? Could it be because Bush can't seem to stay healthy for very long?
The Lions' offensive line was, and is a work in progress. The linebacking corps is mediocre at best. They added a couple not-so-notable free agents to their secondary, but most anything would be an improvement over the Keystone Kops they had running around back there last year. Safety Louis Delmas is credited by his home-town scribes as being a team leader -- but Delmas seems to have the longest "lingering" knee injury in the history of professional sports. Though he rarely practices, the Lions still start him in games. Most any other NFL team has an unwritten rule. If you can't practice -- you can't play. That doesn't say much for the Lions' depth chart at safety. Their defensive line is pretty good, if they'd ever learn to knock it off with the cheap shots. But only the Lions would fill the void left after Mr. Reliable and 43 year old place-kicker Jason Hanson retired -- with a guy that's pushing 39, while cutting a 26 year old with a better leg.
Nevertheless, the Lions seem do be doing quite well so far this year. At 4-2, they've already equalled their win total from last year. Will they go 14-2? Of course not. Will they fall into the same abyss as last year, losing the rest of the games to finish 4-12 again? Highly doubtful. That's because a lot of unforeseeable things have happened this year around the league and, given the Lions' remaining schedule, most of it is to their advantage. Check it out.
This Sunday the Lions host Cincinnati. The Bengals are no slouches, but the Lions get them at home where they usually play fairly well.
10/27. Dallas at home again. The Cowboys are mediocre.
A bye week to rest up for....
11/10. The Bears @ Chicago. A tough test to be sure, but definitely winnable.
11/17. The Steelers @ Pittsburgh. Most other years, this would be an automatic blow-out, with the terrible towel toters roaring their approval as their men of steel feasted on the puddy-tats that dared challenge them. But a funny thing happened. For whatever reasons, the Steelers are terrible themselves this year.
11/24. Tampa Bay at home. Not only did the Bucs recently unload their starting QB to Minnesota, but they have some sort of MRSA thing going on with a few players. Not good. And besides, they're terrible anyway.
11/28. The Packers at home on Thanksgiving. Truly a "who knows?" game. The Packers are a better team, but sometimes the Lions play inspired football on turkey day. Yet as recently as last year, when the Honolulu blue and silver choked on the wishbone against the Houston Texans, they gave their fans a serious case of indigestion. Got a coin to flip?
12/8. @ Philly. The Eagles have landed far below their expectations after letting long-time head coach Andy Reid get away to Kansas City. Michael Vick ain't what he used to be and Philly doesn't have a whole lot else going for them either. The Lions should be favored in that game.
12/16. The reigning Super Bowl champ Baltimore Ravens visit Ford Field. But they've lost several key players either through retirement or free agency since last year. Will the black birds swarm into Detroit and peck the Lions to death in their own den? Quoth the Wrathster -- nevermore.
12/22. The NY Giants at home. At the time of this writing, Tom Coughlin's Giants have been reduced to midgets. They've yet to win a single game. Eli's not coming -- he's going.
12/29. Finishing up the regular season @ Minnesota. A tough call. QB Christian Ponder was never going to get it done. Could Josh Freeman, recently acquired from Tampa Bay, put a spark into them? Maybe. And never underestimate running back Adrian Peterson. The Lions might shut him down, or he could run wild for 200 yards. Hard to say. And they've been without wide-receiver supreme and all-around threat Percy Harvin so far due to injury, but he'll be returning to action soon. So who wins this game? Break out that coin again.
So after taking every conceivable possibility into account, and thoroughly crunching the data within my "deep blue" mind -- there is obviously only one conclusion to be drawn as to what record the Detroit Lions will finish the regular season with.
And that is....
Hellifino. Nobody does. It's the Lions, remember? Trying to predict what they're going to do is like trying to predict what numbers will pop out of the lottery on any given day. One week they can play like world-beaters, and the next like a Pop Warner team on LSD.
But just for grins, given their weak schedule, I'll take a shot and say 10-6, with another first round playoff exit. Because while the Lions appear to be better than last year -- which isn't saying a whole lot -- there's still too many teams in the NFC that are clearly superior. Like New Orleans, definitely Seattle, probably San Fran, and even the aforementioned Packers. The chances of the Lions successfully running that playoff gauntlet are slimmer than your average anorexic fashion model.
And even if by some sort of divine intervention (which is what it would take), the Lions were able to complete that odyssey to arrive in the promised land of the Super Bowl -- does anybody seriously think they could compete with whatever team survived the slaughter of the AFC playoffs? Amongst others, consider Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Could the Lions defeat them to, gasp, win the Lombardi Trophy?
Sure. Rush right out and buy a few lotto or megamillion jackpot tickets. You could wind up rich beyond your wildest dreams.
But like the Lions -- I wouldn't exactly count on it.
Something about those odds.......
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