Fans of the Detroit Lions have suffered through way more than their fair share of pain and embarrassment over the past decade, watching their team stumble through disappointing season after season with the same painfully bad result each time.
From suffering through the Matt Millen era to seeing their team become the first in NFL history to finish a season 0-16, fans who have stuck through everything with the Lions over the past ten plus seasons have witnessed almost every form of ineptitude that an NFL franchise can display.
However, after the seemingly endless streak of losing seasons Detroit has stammered through over the past ten years, the Lions finally look like they are on the road back to respectability and redemption.
Over the past few seasons, Detroit has gone from drafting bust after bust under the Millen administration to snatching up talented players left and right during Martin Mayhew's reign as general manager of the Lions.
Since their selection of Matthew Stafford with the first overall pick in the 2009 Draft, the Lions have continued making solid selections with their picks over the past few seasons, perhaps drafting better than any other team during that span.
During that span, Detroit has landed the following players in the NFL Draft: Stafford, Brandon Pettigrew, Louis Delmas, DeAndre Levy, Ndamukong Suh, Jahvid Best, Nick Fairley, Titus Young, and Mikel Leshoure.
Toss in star wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who was one of the few picks made by Millen that actually panned out for Detroit, and the Lions have one of the most talented young groups of any team in the league right now.
If the Lions can keep Stafford healthy this season, which has been a major issue through the first two seasons of his young career, then Detroit has the talent to become one of those teams each season that jumps out of no where and immediately into the playoff picture.
With a healthy Stafford leading the way, Detroit could have one of the most entertaining and most explosive offenses in the NFL this season with players like Johnson, Pettigrew, Best, and Young providing touchdown threats every time they touch the ball.
The Lions also could field one of the best defenses in the league this season, assuming everyone gets and stays healthy (Fairley is currently out after having surgery on his injured left foot, however, the team expects him to be ready to go by the regular season opener).
With Suh and Fairley in the middle/inside, as well as Kyle Vanden Bosch and Corey Williams on the ends/outside, Detroit could potentially have the most intimidating defensive line in the NFL this season.
While the team isn't exactly stacked at the linebacker position, they did make two huge moves in free agency, landing Justin Durant and Stephen Tulloch, formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans, respectively.
The team's secondary could definitely still use some improvements, despite the fact that they have already added cornerback Eric Wright, who spent last season with the Cleveland Browns, and re-signed Nathan Vasher.
While it's pretty unlikely, the Lions could potentially look for some more veteran help to add to their struggling secondary, with free agents Ken Hamlin and Darren Sharper immediately coming to mind.
Although Sharper will likely try to sign with a contender at this point in his career, Detroit could probably land Hamlin if they made the right offer without having to commit too much (if any) guaranteed money.
Assuming they don't bring in anymore players to fill out the secondary, I still think the Lions have a defense that ranks closer to the middle of the pack this season as opposed to their usual spot near the bottom of the league in recent seasons.
Considering two of the three other teams in their division were busy representing the NFC in the Conference Championship game last season, with the Green Bay Packers eventually winning the Super Bowl, Detroit definitely has a tough task in front of them if they want to start making noise this season.
In order for the Lions to have a realistic chance of making the postseason this year, they need to at least finish second in the competitive NFC North, ahead of either the Packers or the Chicago Bears, and have a winning record within their division.
Since they would most likely reach the playoffs as a Wild Card team as opposed to as a division winner, I think Detroit needs at least a 9-7 record to have a legitimate chance to beat out all of the other teams that will be competing for the last two spots in the NFC.
With their two toughest non-divisional games coming at home (against the Atlanta Falcons and San Diego Chargers), as well as very winnable games against the Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, and Oakland Raiders, I think the Lions have a very realistic chance of making the postseason this year for the first time since 1999.
After watching them in their decisive 34-3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in their first preseason game, I think the Lions have a chance to be a very special team this season, perhaps not only making a run to the playoffs, but also making some noise once they get there.
