Are the Lions now the furthest Detroit team from a championship?

The ‘same old Lions’ aren’t going anywhere

Do Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia have a viable plan in place to turn the Lions into contenders? So far it has been an exercise in drafting players that either hasn’t been good enough to contribute or simply aren’t able to.

The answer to almost everything so far for Matt Patricia, especially on defense, has been to throw ex-New England Patriots at the problem.

And oh yeah, the problem hasn’t gotten any better.

With a game against the banged-up Carolina Panthers next and a bad Houston Texans team on Thanksgiving, they have an opportunity to be sporting a 6-5 record at this time next weekend.

A record that would indeed put them in the postseason race and allow them to play at least a couple of ‘meaningful games in December’. But the truth is that this isn’t a playoff team.

The postseason is about defense and grit. Sure the Lions’ offense might be able to look respectable in a playoff game but imagine this defense against any of the NFC contenders.

The Detroit Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons all seem to actually have a future. What is the Lions’ future? Continuing on the Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia express to nowhere isn’t a future. Especially given how many veterans aren’t performing that well on this roster and no reliable depth behind them.

For the die-hard Honolulu Blue and Silver supporters, your beloved Lions are the furthest Detroit team from winning a championship. No rebuild is ever a guarantee to create a championship team. The Lions have proven that by endlessly rebuilding since their last championship in 1957 and never getting it right.

But that doesn’t mean you give up and decide to be satisfied with pretending a team that not only hasn’t shown any real progress or potential will suddenly turn it around. Sometimes we have to throw all the stats and analytics out the window and believe what our eyes are seeing. Not that the stats or analytics are all that favorable.

In this case, it’s a mediocre team that can’t play defense being coached by what was heralded as a defensive genius. It’s also a team relying very heavily on veterans because it hasn’t drafted enough players to start making a difference.

I will be honest and say that I still think the 2020 draft class isn’t that bad, but there are still many holes on a team that this regime has had three offseasons to address. Instead almost every year there have been wholesale changes.

Like it or not the Lions are at the bottom of the barrel of Detroit sports. When the season is over Sheila Ford Hamp will have an opportunity to make changes that could give these Motor City cats an exciting new direction. Until then, these are the ‘same old Lions’ going nowhere as they watch all of Detroit’s other franchises actually giving themselves a legitimate shot at a better future.