Around the Division: Detroit Lions
For any other franchise in the NFL, a two win improvement might be a satisfactory mark towards short-term turnaround. Unfortunately for the Lions, each additional win of the season marked their only two wins of the season, as the 2008 Lions became the first team in NFL history to remain defeated for all 16 games (as opposed to undefeated). Well on their way towards becoming the football equivalent of the Los Angeles Clippers, the Lions seem to accrue top first round talent year after year, but with low returns on investment in the win column. While Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, Joey Harrington and Kevin Jones all flamed out early in their careers as NFL starters, at least the Lions current bevy of early round selections has seen some promising early returns. Calvin Johnson, the former 2 overall pick out of Georgia Tech, is widely regarded as one of the most talented receivers in the league, despite a rocky season with first year QB Matthew Stafford throwing passes his way. Stafford, the draft’s top selection in ’09 out of Georgia, showed flashes of greatness in his rookie campaign, highlighted by a gritty 5-TD performance against the Cleveland Browns, the last of which occurred with a separated shoulder.Assuming Stafford’s natural progression as he continues to learn the NFL quarterback position, the Lion’s should already show substantial improvement in the coming year. Adding to the equation is rookie running back Jahvid Best, a former Cal Bear. Best adds a home run threat to the one dimensional Lion’s run game, as incumbent starter Kevin Smith managed only one rush of over 20 yards last season. Best sprinted into the first round with a blazing 4.35 40 time, selected 30th overall, potentially going even higher had it not been for injury issues late in his senior season. The explosive rookie enters the season healthy and should see plenty of touches from the get-go with Smith coming off an ACL tear. While no one’s expecting Detroit to make a serious push for the NFC North title, signs of progress have been few and far between for the Ford Field faithful in recent years. They should certainly look forward more than two measly wins in 2010, of course when “more than two wins” is an optimistic prognosis, the franchise obviously has a laundry list of issues still to address.