The biggest reason the 2019 Detroit Lions could surprise everyone

MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 21: Matthew Stafford #9 of the Detroit Lions relays a play to his team against the Miami Dolphins during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium on October 21, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 21: Matthew Stafford #9 of the Detroit Lions relays a play to his team against the Miami Dolphins during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium on October 21, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Vegas has laid the Detroit Lions odds of doing anything remotely good next season somewhere between no chance and Hell freezing over. Which is actually as bleak as it sounds. So if the Lions have no chance at any success, like most of their seasons have been, is everything they’ve done this offseason for naught?

Was there even a point to attempt the climb from unimpressive cellar-dweller to contender? Let’s be honest, every season there is some forlorn franchise that everyone picks to be nothing that suddenly comes out of nowhere to do something.

Maybe they don’t win a title or even a playoff game, but every year there is some sad sack team that makes the jump to respectable and become a factor in the playoff race or possibly more.

In 1990 the Detroit Lions finished 6-10 and outside of having the game’s premiere and flashiest runner in their backfield, the experts continued to believe that these blind squirrels didn’t know what they were doing. As a matter of fact, neither did the fans.

Then something miraculous happened in 1991. Like I said before, they had a horrible ending and certainly had a few breaks go their way over the course of the season to get where they did, but the point was that they got there.

That’s not exactly every other season stuff around these parts.

So all of that being said, what correlation do the 1991 Detroit Lions have with this current team almost 30 years later? An across the board comparison position by position or statistical trend doesn’t bring too many similarities to light, but there is one general similarity both teams hold; they both have some talent but are imperfect.

You may ask why that means anything. The answer is simple; because there are no perfect teams in today’s NFL.