Detroit Lions. Going down, anyone?

Long suffering Detroit Lions fans might as well brace themselves for what's coming next. And it likely ain't gonna be pretty. The possibility of them landing several dynamite free agents in the next few weeks notwithstanding, and also highly unlikely, an overall review of their roster (and other reasons) suggests the Honolulu blue and silver might take quite a tumble next season.

The departure of defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was just the tip of the iceberg. Detroit's once "vaunted" defensive line is now in a shambles. Between other guys who also hit the free agent market, and the reliability of who's left, this poses a major problem. And speaking of attitudes, remember Nick Fairley? He was often in management's dog house over attitude and weight issues. Now the Lions are wooing him to re-sign. Of course they are. Better a bad boy who can play a little than whatever scrubs they might have to sign in desperation and throw into the fire.

The offensive line remains a work in progress at best. The retirement -- finally!! -- of long time loser and loose cannon Dominic Raiola was a double edged sword. Good riddance to a guy that is likely the losingest player in the history of the NFL, but at least he took up a spot and showed up for work every day. The Lions have long played musical chairs with their O-line due to either poor play or injuries, but getting another center to anchor the line is a tall order.

Idle piling on thought: Only the Lions (and their media) would consider a career loser like Raiola a team leader. If being a leader is all about flapping one's gums, Raiola should be in the Oval Office. But if it's about wins and losses, he should have been the mascot for the Washington Generals since he came out of Nebraska. Oddly, or maybe not, the same college that spawned Ndamukong Suh. God bless their cornhusker hearts, but they grow some weird ones in Lincoln.

Granted, QB Matthew Stafford has made a lot of hay throwing to Calvin Johnson and the recently acquired Golden Tate.

Another idle thought: What was Tate thinking when he left a Super Bowl winning team in Seattle to come to Detroit? Seattle is beautiful. Detroit is the pits. Hello Golden? Anybody home upstairs?

But Stafford's gaudy passing success hid the lack of the Lions running game. They still don't have a featured back on their roster and cutting Reggie Bush loose, health issues or not, certainly didn't help.

The linebackers are maybe average. Some of them could play on other teams, and others likely not. The best one the Lions had, Stephen Tulloch, blew out his own knee while jumping up and down celebrating a good play. This could only happen to a Detroit Lion. It's both sad and comical.

The Lions have several tight ends. For every good play they turn in, there will be a bonehead. All in all, between catching passes and blocking they don't have a really good one in the bunch.

They need at least one starting cornerback and likely two, given Rashean Mathis will be 35 before the next season starts. He may know the game, but tell me a corner hasn't lost a step or three at that age, and I'll tell you I don't believe it.

The Lions seem to be in semi-decent shape at safety, having picked up a couple free agents in recent years. But the depth chart is shallow even there if injuries rear their ugly heads.

Place kicker Matt Prater has, so far, kept the alcohol related demons at bay that caused him to be suspended and eventually kicked out of Denver. If he stays straight, the Lions were lucky to get him, because he's amongst the best kickers in the league. As was once said by someone much wiser than yours truly, kickers don't do much on the field except decide the outcomes of games.

But there's irony afoot when one looks at the whole picture. What were once the Lions greatest strengths may well have become their possible weaknesses.

Sure, Stafford will likely throw another bazillion passes next year, but he's only a play away from being returned to "China doll" status, and will be playing behind a revamped O-line. Megatron Calvin Johnson has already begun showing signs of wear and tear. This is what happens when a guy is double or triple-teamed and the QB throws him the ball anyway. It might work, but the hits he's absorbed have begun to take their toll. It's no secret Johnson often didn't practice much last year and only showed up for the games. There's a reason for that, and it won't get any better in the future as he gets older. He'll turn 30 in September, no spring chicken himself in the world of the NFL (Not For Long).

But even if the Lions somehow overcome a personnel problem that appears to be trending down badly, something more ominous awaits them.

Remember, in 2013 the Lions went 7-9 and missed the playoffs again which resulted in then head coach Jim Schwartz getting fired. Because of that, besides a new head coach and his staff, the Lions got two good things. A relatively high draft choice and an easier schedule the following year. Along with the draft, in the cause of "parity" the NFL schedule makers make things harder on good teams and easier on bad ones the following year.

Indeed, look back at the Lions 2014 schedule. Other than their 6 mandated division games against Green Bay, Chicago, and Minnesota, they only played 2 games of the remaining 10 against really good teams. For that matter, even within their own division, only Green Bay was considered a contender.

The Lions pulled a few Houdinis last year and won games they likely shouldn't have. The two tough teams mentioned above? The Lions were blown out at New England, no great surprise, and beaten at Arizona, though the Cards had lost their starting QB Carson Palmer for the season the week prior.

As we know, in the end the Lions would wind up 11-5, qualify for the playoffs as a wild card, and be beaten by Dallas in the opening round.

But that's the thing. The Lions were 11-5 and a playoff team last year. When the new schedule comes out, look for the Lions to face a much more difficult road than they did in 2014. Instead of two non-division games against good teams, they might well have 6 or 7. A big difference.

The moral of the story? Here's the earliest of the early predictions. Methinks when all is said and done after next season, the Lions will be lucky to be 8-8, and possibly worse. Forget the Super Bowl nonsense. That's always been a fantasy propagated by the team and local media and hungrily gobbled up by the suckers in their best of years. Truth is, they've never been within sniffing distance of the Lombardi Trophy since Super Bowls started 50 -- count em -- FIFTY years ago.

Given how things are shaping up this year so far, it would appear somebody just pushed the "down button" on the Lions elevator one more time.

No biggie. Just another year for the puddy-tats.

And they raised their tickets prices. Imagine that. Did I mention suckers?