Detroit Lions: Improvement is overshadowed by growing pains
By Robert Jones
Are these the ‘same old Lions’?
Every Lions fan has experienced plenty of misery, no matter how young or old they are. This has been the calling card of our Motor City football squad. When you’re first becoming enamored with Honolulu Blue and Silver, you’re excited and anticipate that the winning is going to start right now.
Next thing you know you’ve been checked into the Heartbreak Hotel with a life sentence.
In all honesty, I don’t believe the least bit in curses or destiny. However, it is hard to argue with those who keep complaining about how cursed this franchise is.
My viewpoint when it comes to matters of the Detroit Lions continually being pathetic is more along the lines of, they are where they are because of the mistakes this franchise has continually made. It’s as simple as that.
They have drafted poorly for years, hired incompetent general managers and head coaches, and never played the free agency game well. If you have trouble with those fundamentals of the game your team is going to struggle.
You could apply the ‘same old Lions’ tag to any season this franchise has played over the last 60 years. Whether we’re talking about the 0-16 2008 team or the 1991 entry that was able to get Detroit’s only postseason win since 1957 only to be violently unmasked for the frauds they were the next week by Washington.
As amazing as the concept is, the Lions have been the blind squirrel that couldn’t find a nut.
So while we can all sit around and say ‘only the Lions could lose on a 66-yard field goal attempt that bounced off the uprights and over’, I’m not yet convinced that these truly are the ‘same old Lions’. Not yet.
Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell are stripping this team down and getting rid of the driftwood, like Jamie Collins who they released upon not being able to consummate a deal with another team. Building a team from the ground up takes time, good drafting, and growing pains.