Howdy Weng!

Apparently I have a new reader and he is a budding Lions fan. I rarely acquiesce to requests like this but building an international presence is a major step toward knocking EPSN off their pedestal.

Anonymous Mar 5, 2012 04:44 PM

你可以做一块上Detriot狮子，我会觉得这很有趣。他们赢得超级杯明年。

翁

Translated from "Google Translate":

You can do one on the Detriot lions, I think this is very interesting. They won the Super Bowl next year.

Weng


Anonymous Mar 7, 2012 05:04 AM

谢谢你的回应。我会解释您的理解。我是新来美洲两个月作业。赢得季后赛关于狮子和老虎在工作中谈话的人，我想知道，如果他们能够赢得超级碗。你认为谁拥有更好的机会赢得超级碗，狮子或老虎。我会看一下，看你怎么想。我要感谢你为你的时间和写作。我的工作在他们所谓的汽车城。它是冷的，有时外。你知道在赛季开始时。我听到的训练营地。谢谢。

Translated via "Google Translate":

Thank you for your response. I will explain your understanding. I am new to the Americas two months of operations. To win the playoff conversation at work on the lion and tiger, and I want to know if they can win the Super Bowl. Who do you think has a better chance to win the Super Bowl, the lion or tiger. I will look to see how you would like. I want to thank you for your time and writing. My work in their so-called Motor City. It is cold, sometimes outside. Do you know the start of the season. I have heard of training camps. Thank you.

Sorry Weng, I don't understand Chinese but this was about the best I could come up with on short notice. From what I can gather from the rough translations provided by Google Translate, you are curious about the Lions chances at a Superbowl berth, and whether the Lions or Tigers have a better shot at reaching their respective championship games.



I think that the Lions have a fair shot at a Superbowl berth in the next few years but there are a few key factors that will likely ultimately decide whether or not they make it to the big game.

Firstly, Matt Stafford needs to stay healthy. This isn’t much of a revelation, but remains the biggest potential problem for them on a year to year basis. In Stafford’s first full season of his career he turned in a top 5 quarterback performance statistically and has a legitimate argument for being considered a top 10 quarterback. He helped to showcase Calvin Johnson dominance and turned one of the league’s most inconsistent offenses into one of the most explosive ones.



Their offensive line has been playing better year after year despite the fact that they have made few changes and haven’t made a conscientious effort to add talent to it. This leads me to believe that their offensive strategy has stabilized, and that execution and scheme, not talent alone, is now the deciding factor behind this offensive line’s success. If the offensive line can continue to protect Stafford well enough to keep him healthy then the playoffs are a real possibility.



However, making a deep playoff run typically requires a team to have a more balanced attack and a more complete offense. Cases in point, the Saints are a perennial playoff team and they have an explosive passing attack, and while the Bress did manage to break Dan Marino’s single season passing yards record the Saints rushing attack was still rank 10th in the league. Having a reasonably successful ground attack has proven to be a critical factor in making it a deep playoff run. The good news for the Lions is that they have a lot of talent at the running back position. The bad news is that all of it is injured.



Jahvid Best is a game breaker but has been the most concussion prone player in the league since being drafted in first round in 2010. Mikel Leshoure was picked in the second round less than a year ago, but he tore his Achilles tendon before the season ever got underway and has yet to start running again. On and off starter Kevin Smith has shown the three down ability and elite production when healthy, but has shown frighteningly little durability his entire career. If all three backs were totally healthy, they could very well form the most productive committee attack in the league…but that is a big “if.” There isn’t much the Lions can do about their backfield situation at this point because they have made their investments and spent their draft picks, so for the time being need to stand by them to see how they play out.



So if Stafford can stay healthy and the running game can build some consistency then a deep playoff run is a possibility, but to really have a good shot at a Superbowl their defense needs to continue to make strides. The power shift from the AFC to the NFC is complete and with a majority of the offensive powerhouses now residing in the NFC, having a merely average defense paired with an explosive offense is no longer an acceptable formula for success. Since Detroit’s road to the Superbowl will go through such elite teams as Greenbay, New Orleans, New York, Dallas, Philadelphia and Carolina; building a defense that can handle elite aerial attacks is job one for NFC coaching staffs.

The Lions aren’t without talent of course. Louis Delmas and Amari Spievey are a fine, young safety duo when healthy and I still believe that cornerback Chris Houston is a top 20 talent at the position based on his raw athleticism alone. Their linebacker corps really could use an infusion of young talent, but adding to it is going to be difficult when you consider the ridiculous amount of money they have invested into their starting front four:

Cliff Avril: Franchise Tagged for 2012 (10.6m), seeking a long term contract worth over 50m.

Corey Williams: Signed a 6 year deal in 2008 worth 38.6m

Ndamukong Suh: Signed a 5 year deal in 2010 worth 60m.

Kyle Vandenbosch: Signed a 4 year deal in 2010 worth 26m.

The four pass rushers form one of the most dangerous defensive lines in the league, but at an absurdly high cap price. Still, the strategy fits the need and if their defense can continue to improve by leaps and bounds then a Superbowl berth is a possibility. It is worth noting that they drafted DT Nick Fairely 14th overall in 2011 to potentially replace Corey Williams after this year, but more on this later.

Historically, the biggest issue for the Lions have on the defensive side of the football is their highly inconsistent secondary. Between injuries and a simple lack of talent, their secondary needs to step up their play if they really expect to the slow down quarterbacks like Drew Brees, Aaron Rogers, Tony Romo, Michael Vick and Cam Newton.

This is the very reason that I was expecting the Lions to draft cornerback Prince Amukamara when he fell to them in last year’s draft. Instead of adding to a position of need, they went with another defensive tackle (Fairely) and made what one can only call a luxury pick.




I wouldn’t be surprised if the Lions took a hard look at the cornerbacks available on the second day of the draft coming up in April, because no defense can get by on their pass rush alone. Case in point, the Giants took home the hardware this year due to not only their league best pass rush but also because of their pass defense ranked fourth in the 2012 post season despite playing against Greenbay and New England.



So in summation, if Stafford can stay on the field, the running backs stay off of the trainer’s table and their secondary continues to improve then I believe they have a shot at a title in the next few years. The Lions are a solid team and they have a lot of potential, but their biggest issue is going to be entirely outside of their control: the competition.

The Giants are going to continue to be a hot and cold team, the Packers seem to keep getting better, the Saints should still be a 10 win team as long as Brees is back and everyone thinks that the Eagles and Cowboys have underachieved for their team’s talent levels.

Weng mentioned the Detroit Tigers in his comment but since I don’t follow baseball at all I have no ability to compare the franchises or their potential for a championship. Sorry Weng.

Anyway, I hope that my input is helpful and that you found my rambling insightful. I wish you and your Lions luck, and if you get a chance try to watch some of the NFL draft’s first round. There aren’t too many shows on TV that feature 32 young men coming out of small towns and cities from across America to become multimillionare superstars in a matter of hours.