Now it’s time for the offense to shine as I unveil my picks for the Detroit Lions’ All-Time Offensive Team. Time to score some touchdowns!
Last week, I shared my selections for the Detroit Lions‘ All-Time Defensive starters and if you missed that list, you can check it out right here.
I’m switching over to offense this week and my choices for this list were just as difficult as their defensive counterparts.
Still though, I think it’s a safe bet to say that the players I’ve selected would be able to score points with the best of ‘em!
Here we go…
Quarterback
Matthew Stafford: DET 2009-current
Lions Career Stats:
34,749 passing yards, 216 touchdowns, 62 percent career completion average
Fastest/Youngest quarterback to 30,000+ yards
2011 NFL Comeback Player of the Year
1x Pro Bowl (2014)
Offensive Pro Bowl MVP (2014)
NFL single season record for 4th quarter comebacks (8)
Statistical leader in all Lions passing categories
115 consecutive starts streak
Case for making the team: Bottom line, Matthew Stafford is the Lions’ greatest quarterback of the Super Bowl era.
Look at his career accomplishments and remind yourself that he only just turned 30!
Center
Ed Flanagan: DET 1965-1974
Lions Career Stats:
139 games played, 6 fumble recoveries
4x Pro Bowls (1969-1971, 1973)
Case for making the team: Ed Flanagan provided Detroit with steady, workman like production in the middle of their offensive line for ten years. He was dependable and capable, which are two traits that NFL coaches will gladly take in all of their personnel.
Guards
Kevin Glover: DET 1985-1997
Lions Career Stats:
177 games played, 8 fumble recoveries
3x Pro Bowls (1995-1997)
Case for making the team: Kevin Glover’s strength was dominating the interior of the trenches up front which allowed for some spectacular between the tackle runs by Barry Sanders. More often than not, Glover was always able to finish strong on every single snap he played.
Harley Sewell: DET 1953-1962
Lions Career Stats:
120 games played, 10 fumble recoveries, 1 interception, 1 touchdown
4x Pro Bowls (1957-1959, 1962)
2x NFL Champion (1953, 1957)
Case for making the team: Sewell found his niche in the NFL through his indelible effort. He never took plays off and during an era where the run game was dominant throughout the league, blockers like Harley help make that possible.
Tackles
Lomas Brown: DET 1985-1995
Lions Career Stats:
164 games played, 2 fumble recoveries
1x All-Pro (1995)
6x Pro Bowls w/ Detroit (1990-1995)
Case for making the team: Brown served as an anchor of blindside protection on the Lions’ offensive line from the mid eighties to mid nineties. He was also a leader on the offensive lines that helped pave the way for some impressive rushing statistics.
Lou Creekmur: DET 1950-1959
Lions Career Stats:
116 games played, 3 fumble recoveries
6x All-Pro (1951-1954, 1956-1957)
8x Pro Bowls (1950-1957)
3x NFL Champion (1952-1953, 1957)
Pro Football Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
Case for making the team: During his career, Lou Creekmur was the model of health and consistency. He only missed a grand total of four games during his 10 year stretch in the NFL.
Running Back
Barry Sanders: DET 1989-1998
Lions Career Stats:
3,062 rushing attempts, 15,269 career rushing yards, 99 rushing touchdowns, 5.0 rushing yards per attempt, 99.8 rushing yards per game, 2,921 receiving yards, 10 receiving touchdowns, 8.3 yards per reception, 18,190 yards from scrimmage
6x All-Pro (1989-1991, 1994-1995, 1997)
10x Pro Bowls (1989-1998)
1989 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
2x Bert Bell Award Winner (1991, 1997)
4x NFL Rushing Leader (1990, 1994, 1996, 1997)
1994 NFL Offensive Player of the Year
2,000+ Yard Rushing Season (1997)
1997 NFL Offensive Player of the Year
1997 NFL Most Valuable Player
1990s All-Decade Team
Detroit Lions All-Time Leading Rusher
Pro Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2004)
Case for making the team: I don’t think there was really any doubt as to who the running back would be on this team! Barry is widely considered by many as the greatest of all time at his position and I echo that sentiment.
If it wasn’t for his humility and early retirement, Sanders would have most definitely broken the NFL’s all-time rushing record which was held at the time by legendary Chicago Bear, Walter Payton.
Fullback
Cory Schlesinger: DET 1995-2006
Lions Career Stats:
197 receptions, 1,445 receiving yards, 7.3 yards per reception, 9 receiving touchdowns, 167 rushing attempts, 473 rushing yards, 5 rushing touchdowns, 1,918 yards from scrimmage
Case for making the team: This former sixth round draft pick outworked everyone en route to 181 games played over a 12 year career. A bruising player by nature, he made his name by making holes for his hall of fame backfield mate to dart through.
Cory Schlesinger was a “do your job”, blue collar style player that perfectly embodied the city of Detroit.
Wide Receivers
Herman Moore: DET 1991-2001
Lions Career Stats:
670 receptions, 9,174 receiving yards, 13.7 yards per reception, 62 receiving touchdowns
Lions Single Season Receptions Leader (1995)
3x All-Pro (1995-1997)
4x Pro Bowls (1994-1997)
3 Consecutive Seasons of 100+ Receptions (1995-1997)
Case for making the team: Even though most of Moore’s receiving records were later eclipsed by Calvin Johnson, that has no bearing on his significance in the history of the organization.
Moore was an ever reliable talent who contributed seven straight seasons of at least 930+ receiving yards.
Paired up with fellow wide receiver, Brett Perriman, Herman Moore was integral to Detroit’s success in the pass game during the nineties.
Calvin Johnson: DET 2007-2015
Lions Career Stats:
731 receptions, 11,619 receiving yards, 15.9 yards per reception, 83 receiving touchdowns, 11,786 yards from scrimmage
3x All-Pro (2011-2013)
6x Pro Bowls (2010-2015)
NFL Single Season Receiving Yards Record (1,964)
Most Receiving Yards in a Single Game in Regulation (329)
Detroit Lions All-Time Leading Receiver
Case for making the team: Calvin Johnson is the greatest wide receiver in Lions’ history. Despite playing the NFL’s notorious “diva” position, Calvin was anything but.
He played humbly and excellently and he consistently produced some incredible numbers on some not-so-incredible Lions squads (see stats above).
I really hope that the (petty) animosity that currently exists between him and the organization due to his early retirement and subsequent signing bonus recoupment gets squashed sooner rather than later.
Tight End
Charlie Sanders: DET 1968-1977
Lions Career Stats:
336 receptions, 4,817 receiving yards, 14.3 yards per reception, 31 touchdowns
3x All-Pro (1969-1971)
7x Pro Bowls (1968-1971, 1974-1976)
1970s All-Decade Team
Pro Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2007)
Case for making the team: The former Minnesota Golden Gopher enjoyed a distinguished career in Motown that spanned a decade.
Much like the starting running back on this list with the shared surname, Charlie jumped in and made an immediate splash as a rookie. It was during his first year in 1968, that he was the only rookie selected for the Pro Bowl with a stat line of 40 catches, 533 yards, and a touchdown.
Head Coach
Designating a leader for this all-time Lions team has in a lot of ways been tougher than establishing the offensive and defensive starters.
I actually even gave thought to putting Matt Patricia here even though he hasn’t officially coached a game with Detroit yet!
My selection though, came down to tenure, results, and player relationships.
Wayne Fontes is simultaneously the Lions’ winningest and losingest head coach with an overall record of 67-71 and he gets the nod for this gig from me.
His players rallied around him and backed him up during the tougher moments and they played hard for him.
Fontes coached the Lions up to their greatest successes during my lifetime which included a franchise best 12-4 record and a 1991 trip to the NFC Championship game. Fontes was also the recipient of the 1991 NFL Coach of the Year award.
Next: The Detroit Lions All-Time Defensive Team
Conclusion
As I mentioned last week, having the opportunity to go through Lions’ history and make my selections for the all-time team was a labor of love.
Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, and Barry Sanders on the same offense, accompanied by an intelligent and hard hitting defense almost isn’t fair, but man is it fun to dream about!
Ultimately though, I’m ready to move beyond dreaming and actually see in reality, an on field product that’s making serious strides toward bringing a much awaited Lombardi trophy to the Motor City.