Even Hope for the Lions shows an Improvement

In years gone by, I had always believed the Detroit Lions were only a couple of good players away from being a true contender. For the last 2 or 3 years, I have not had that belief. It is clear that the last decade has watched this franchise slowly degrade until last year there was simply nothing left.

This year is different. There is something about this team that excites me. Maybe I see some real possibilities, or maybe I am just excited to see the Lions regain mediocrity. Whatever it is, I am excited for the season to start.

I have been getting a bit frustrated by seeing comments from others who do not know the Lions saying they will be the worst team in the league again. A part of me wants to scream at them. "Have you not seen anything going on in the off-season in Detroit?"

One comment I saw said... "The Lions will be the worst team once again. Even with the addition of Foote, they have a long long ways to go." .... Excuse me? With the addition of Foote? What about Jullian Peterson? Phillip Buchanon? Anthony Henry? How about Grady Jackson? Anyone ever hear of him? Louis Delmas as well. Though he is a rookie, I have heard nothing but outstanding comments about the kid. Then of course, Stafford and Pettigrew, they wont improve the team at all, right? In fact, is there another team in the NFL that has improved on paper near as much as the Lions have in this off-season?

No, I dont believe the Lions are on their way to the Superbowl this year. I dont even believe they will make the play-offs. I do however, believe the Detroit Lions will gain some respect in 2009 as a team that is up and coming and not to be taken lightly.

Whether it is Daunte Culpepper or Matthew Stafford who lines up behind center, I am intrigued to see how they perform. I want to see if Pettigrew is as good as people keep saying. I am not so convinced that he is as good as I hear, but I am in the least, looking forward to seeing for myself. I cannot wait to see how this revamped defense plays and I am absolutely excited at the prospect of the Lions defense blitzing 40% of the time.

Though I have had times of being excited in recent years, I have not felt this excited to start a season since... well last year when they went 4-0 in the pre-season. But other than that brief time, I havent been this excited since Barry Sanders was playing.

If there is any silver lining to going 0-16, it is that even the prospect of gaining some respect again gives one a thrill.