Can the Detroit Lions Be as Good as Last Year.... or Better?

Can the Detroit Lions win 11 games again next year? So many are saying they see 4 to 6 wins only. Let me assure you, the Lions not only can win 11 games next year, but there is plenty of reason to believe they will.

So they lost the big nasty Ndamukong Suh. That has to definitely mean the defense will take a huge hit right? Not necessarily. Look, losing Suh hurt a lot only if you cant replace him. The Lions turned around and did what nobody thought they could do. They replaced him. Not with some scrub, but with a top-5 defensive tackle who has three all-pro's under his belt. Is Haloti Ngata as good as Suh? No! But he sure isnt that far away. He may even be a better run stuffer than Suh, but just not as good as getting after the quarterback. But all that means is you need to get after the quarterback a different way. Better defensive end play is one way. Blitzing more is another. Will the Lions defense be #2 again this coming year? Likely not, but it could still end up top-10 at worse, and maybe even top-5.

So how can they get better if their defense will be worse? Right? The answer to that is Offense!

I know there is a lot of people who think the Lions offense is really as bad as it looked last year. They are wrong! Very wrong! Look, there was basically two reasons the offense did not look good last year. And neither has to do with Stafford or Ebron.

1) Scheme - The line was supposed to be a good one last year, but what wasn't put out in public very loudly was that they changed it into a zone blocking line. This is a completely different way of blocking and it takes some time for each player to get used to it. It takes longer for the entire line to gel.
2) Injuries - Looking first at the offensive line, Waddle missed 4 games and Warford missed three games. Reiff missed a game, Raiola was suspended a game, and Sims was slow getting healthy after off-season surgery. Often players were out there while still fighting their injuries. This made the gel period even slower. Calvin Johnson missed three games and was nothing more than a decoy in two others. The Tight-Ends, which this offensive scheme is based around, were oft injured as well. At one point all three tight ends were injured and the Lions had to bring up players from the practice squad. Then of course there was Reggie Bush who was not very healthy all year.

I know. You cant always keep using excuses for them right? The way I believe it, you dont make up excuses for a player or a team, but if the excuse is there and it is legitimate, you need to consider it. The fact is, the offense was learning a new scheme last year. Not any scheme, but one that is widely considered to be one of the most difficult in the NFL. Getting all 11 guys on the same page takes time as it is, but when many of the key players are often injured, it makes getting the scheme down almost impossible. If this offensive unit is healthy this year, it will be much better by default. Add the fact they will have another off-season and preseason to get it together, there is every reason to believe they will be a better unit this year.

I am completely expecting this offense to be vastly improved this year. They should be more healthy, they will have a year of this system under their belt, and certain players will improve. Namely, Ebron. Many think he is already a bust, but not many TEs come into the NFL and look real good. It usually takes a year for them to develop and get acclimated to the NFL pace.

On top of that, there is a high chance the Lions add a good fast running back in the mix from the draft. Joique Bell is a decent RB, but the simple truth is, he just isnt very fast. Defenses did not fear him nor Bush last year. The Lions were one of the least blitzed against teams in the NFL. That means teams were dropping extra men into coverage rather than sending them in. That in turn made Stafford try to find an open WR among more defenders. If the Lions add a RB with real speed, he will force defenses to worry about giving up the big gains. They will be forced to bring Safeties in closer to the line and/or put more players in the box to stop the run. That opens WRs and makes life much easier in the pass game.

So all in all, we should have a defense that is a little worse, but an offense that is far better. Even if you believe the schedule is a lot harder this year, the Lions are likely to be just as good as last year and could actually be better.