The biggest reason the 2019 Detroit Lions could surprise everyone

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(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

For years the NFL has fought to gain parity, while the Lions seem to have misread the memo and gone for parody. Yet we truly live in a world where there are no perfect teams. The salary cap and free agency have made dynasties almost impossible to build. Although no one seems to have told Bill Belichick that.

However, even that vaunted New England Patriots dynasty was considered to be over by many last season. The defense struggled and the offense spent much of the year finding itself. Then when push came to shove and the Patriots once again returned to the playoffs, they did what they always seem to do; win another championship.

The truth is that those Patriots were noticeably not the caliber of team we are used to seeing, but despite being a team with noticeable flaws, they found a way to win.

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Think about it, there were no great teams in the NFL last season and the two that garnered the most hype due to their explosive offenses, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams, were both dispatched by the imperfect Patriots.

Looking ahead to this season, the truth is that there are no infallible powers. The Chiefs have taken a step back defensively and the whole Tyreek Hill situation could certainly hamstring any potential runs to a title. Meanwhile, the Rams are hoping for Todd Gurley to return to form and have also spent this offseason trying to find answers for their own defense.

And while that is a broad view of the very cream of the NFL crop, what about the Lions own NFC North rivals? The Green Bay Packers haven’t gotten noticeably better and every year there seems to be a new Aaron Rodgers injury. When healthy, Rodgers is amazing, but with age and increasing injuries in recent seasons, it’s no sure bet he stays on his feet all season.

The Chicago Bears were dominant on defense, but they have lost their prized defensive coordinator Vic Fangio who left to become the Broncos head coach. While the Bears are still very talented on defense they have lost a few faces and change could hurt this unit. Meanwhile, the Bears offense is not infallible and Mitch Trubisky, while a talented athlete, hasn’t proven he can carry them if needed.

Then, of course, there is the Minnesota Vikings. They were the biggest disappointment in the division. They were considered the clear cut favorites to win the NFC North last year and instead they were nothing shy of disappointing on both offense and defense. As a matter of fact, outside of running relays into the Lions backfield when they played Detroit last season, they never resembled the defensive juggernaut we expected them to be.

The NFL is now an imperfect world with no real lock to win anything. So what does that make the Lions? Just one of 32 teams trying to catch lightning in a bottle and ride it as far as possible. Sure there are other teams that are more talented or have better coaching than the Lions, but the distance between themselves and the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, who both share the best odds to win the Super Bowl at 6-1, is not as far as many would have you believe.

Would many factors have to go the Lions way in order for them to make any kind of playoff run? Yes indeed. They would have to show much improvement as a team, both in the coaching staff and on the field. Not to mention any miscellaneous breaks they could catch throughout the season.

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But NFL parity is here and given some early success and actually building the right culture and mindset needed, the Detroit Lions could be in the playoff race and this season could be a successful stepping stone to actual contention. After all, in a league of imperfect teams, no other franchise has more experience at being imperfect than the Detroit Lions.

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