2015 Detroit Lions: A Slappy’s Guide

The Team is Actually Deep at Multiple Positions

Once upon a time, the Detroit Lions were doomed the moment one of their starters left the field.  Much of the time, they were doomed even with their starters. The 2015 offseason has been different.  With Calvin Johnson off the field, Golden Tate stepped up in a number one role.  The guys that filled Tate’s spot weren’t terrible, and were even good at times.  Offensive line depth is still an issue, but not as bad of one as it was last season when only the good players ever got hurt.

Going heavy on defense, the Detroit Lions have three legit starters at DT (when Reid is healthy), and enough depth that they had to carry 5.  Remember that starter Haloti Ngata hasn’t even played yet.  The same is true at DE, where Jason Jones has yet to even play (a trend).  They went 5 deep there as well, but also kept 7 LBs to highlight their deepest defensive position. With three strong starters in DeAndre Levy, Stephen Tulloch, and Tahir Whitehead, the Lions are relying on depth guys like Josh Bynes and Travis Lewis, both who flashed this preseason (Though not in a good way in coverage). Kyle Van Noy struggled for most of the preseason while hurt, but once healthy had a strong outing against the Bills.

This might be the deepest team the Detroit Lions have fielded since the 70s.  I’m even passing over the 90s teams, which were good, but weren’t deep at this many positions.  This team has the makings of something special, and all we need to do is watch it unfold.  They might not win every game, but they have a chance to win each game they will play.  Home or away, good team or bad, this Detroit Lions team can win every single game, and ought to win enough to get into the preseason and push all the way to SB50!