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Detroit Lions — Five reasons it's OK to be optimistic
Detroit Lions fans have learned their lesson about being optimistic for a season even if it follows a successful season. I get that.
It’s just that it seems so many fans are wringing their hands about the Lions who were 11-5 in 2014 and went to the playoffs.
Here are five reasons it’s OK to be optimistic about the 2015 season:
- Yes, the Lions blew it in 2012 finishing 4-12 after a successful 2011 season and a trip to the playoffs. These are not the same Lions and it starts at the top with coach Jim Caldwell.
- The defense was ranked second in the NFL last year and will survive the loss of Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley thanks to the effective coaching of coordinator Teryl Austin.
- The offense is already looking better because they are in the second year of the new Joe Lombardi style offense. Last year they were working to get the basics, this year even before the start of training camp they are working on the details.
- The run game will be better with Ameer Abdullah and a new-look offensive line. This will take some pressure off Matthew Stafford and let him stretch the field.
- It’s hard to explain but the right mindset is there thanks to Caldwell. Every team’s goal is the Super Bowl and Stafford admitted (when asked) that certainly it is the Lions’ goal too. But first they have to improve on a daily basis.
(Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Pre-order her new book “Game of My Life Detroit Lions” which will be be published in October on Amazon.com. Also order her book, “100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die’’ here.)
posted by Paula Pasche at
11:19 AM
2 Comments:
All of which amounts to the usual Pollyanna hype. By definition, Lions fans and their ever-faithful media are crazy. They keep watching a sad movie over and over again hoping it turns out different in the end. You can change the cast for remakes, but the plot will always stay the same. Dorothy's still going to wake up in Kansas. All the rest was just a dream.
I think the key factor is coaching. When the Lion's had Schwartz as HC, half the time they were ill prepared and they usually got out coach in the 2nd half of games; a clear indicator of bad coaching. On top of aaaallllll that, they didn't even develop players, that includes Stafford. Now they have a superior coaching staff comqpred to what they had before and the mindset is night and day. I see them building off of last year's campaign and barring injury, making it back to the playoffs. Can't say they'll win the division but I don't think it's impossible either.
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