Former QB: The Detroit Lions are right on the cusp!
How close are the Detroit Lions to winning it all? According to one former quarterback for the Lions, this team is on the cusp of greatness.
Hope. It’s not a concept well known to fans of the Detroit Lions. The Lions’ legendary run of losing has made many a pessimist within the fanbase. Even the fact the team has made the postseason twice in the past four years, and posted a winning record three times in that same span, still leaves some fans without hope for the future.
But the fact is, the Lions are in a great situation to win. And if you don’t believe me, take it from former Detroit quarterback Jon Kitna.
"“They have a franchise quarterback (Matthew Stafford) and a good defense,” Kitna told DetroitLions.com. “Now they have a chance to work on other pieces that may be behind in the development. I think the run game is going to be excellent this year … They’re going to be in every game. I just feel like they’re right on the cusp, from the ownership on down. It feels like people are in alignment.”"
In Stafford, the Lions have the greatest hope of winning a title in Detroit in decades. And his recent contract extension, a six-year, $135 million contract he signed last year, keeps him in the Motor City for the foreseeable future.
Now the Lions, under relatively new general manager Bob Quinn, have started to task of building the team around Stafford. Players like Golden Tate, Marvin Jones Jr. and Kenny Golladay make up one of the top wide receivers corps in all of football. And last offseason, Quinn went about adding veterans like T.J. Lang and Ricky Wagner to an offensive line that already featured 2016 first round selection Taylor Decker at left tackle.
Earlier this month, the Lions officially signed defensive guru Matt Patricia to become their newest head coach. Under his tutelage as defensive coordinator, the New England Patriot’s defense helped to win two Super Bowl titles. His presence helps secure a positive future for a Detroit defense stock full of talented defenders like Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay, veteran safety Glover Quin and young linebacker Jarrad Davis, the Lions first round selection in 2017.
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The biggest weakness for this Detroit Lions’ team is their lack of a running game. But if Bob Quinn can find a solution to that problem this offseason, you have to believe this team will perform a lot better than they did last year with a 9-7 record. In one word, hope.