The Lions are just outside the top five to start this year, but don’t take that as a sign that I’ve lost any optimism about this team. Replacing former coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn is a challenge, but this franchise has forged one of the healthiest infrastructures in the league, so I don’t think that it will take genius play calling on either side of the ball to hold steady.
There are still injury concerns in Detroit after the preseason, but the relentlessly bad injury luck that derailed what could have been the NFC’s best team last year should even out and keep the team atop its division and in contention for the no. 1 seed in the conference.