The Lions are an interesting story. They went 6-10 this season, but of those ten losses, six were by less than a touchdown. Not only that, they did it without Matthew Stafford for most of the season. Is that a call for Stafford to be let go? In a word, no. The Lions will be better off with him in the line-up, if all parties involved can keep him healthy.
Shaun Hill, a Maryland grad (sorry, had to bring that up), did very well in Stafford’s absence. But it was tough for him at times because their running back was playing with two turf toes throughout the season (both of Jahvid Best’s big toes were affected). The Lions need to make improvements on the offensive line before they look at any of their other problems. They have to protect their running back. They also need to protect their quarterback. Stafford has never started more than six consecutive games in his young career, but he looked really good early in the 2010 season. He still has a little way to go, but he’ll never get there if every hit he takes is uncontested by his linemen.
Once they get that situation squared away, the defense will need some attention. They have a very young secondary that is prone to mistakes. What’s worse, they might be losing their more talented coverage players to free agency. Even with the Defensive Player of the Year and one of the most talented defensive lines in the league, Detroit’s defense will be doomed if they can’t find a good route to take in fixing up that defense before next season starts.
No comments:
Post a Comment