Can the Detroit Lions finally conquer the demons of their past?
By Robert Jones
It’s been a long, long time since the Detroit Lions were legitimate contenders. Is this franchise finally ready to exorcise the demons of their past?
Today, the Detroit Lions will begin their second season of the Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia regime. Today will be the opportunity to take their first step towards what we hope, and they expect will be an exciting journey to the playoffs and a bright new era.
We all are very aware of what happened last year. Matt Patricia arrived on a tidal wave of expectation and then all the hopes and dreams of Lions fans everywhere were burst as the New York Jets, led by a rookie quarterback, slammed this franchise and its fan base back to reality in the opener on Monday Night Football at Ford Field.
A season is never really over on opening day, or night as the case was last year, but after what could only be described as kidney punch with a sledgehammer, the air was not only knocked out of the fan base but seemingly out of the Lions as well.
The joy of high expectations was turned into misery. Many fans were left believing that championship magic can simply never happen with the Detroit Lions.
It was a season of Jim Bob Cooter’s predictable offense not only sputtering but embarrassing themselves and their fans. A season of baby steps before we started to see some much-expected results on defense.
When the dust had settled the Lions were 6-10. They never seriously challenged for any postseason consideration and were looked upon as the ‘same old Lions’ by many of their unhappy fans.
Yet without any apologies for a much more disappointing season than had been expected, they moved full speed ahead into the offseason and addressed their deficiencies. They sent Jim Bob Cooter packing and hired veteran offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell to fix the offense. They also addressed many personnel issues in free agency and the draft.
So today starts a new season with new hope. The question is; can these Lions finally conquer the demons of their past?