What the hell is going on in Detroit?
With a 4-0 Lions team and an ALCS-qualifying, Yankees-killing Tigers team looking like a serious World Series contender all of a sudden, things haven't been this bright in the Motor City for a while. Factor in a Red Wings team that will be a player in the Western Conference of the NHL like it is every year, and Detroit could be enjoying an unprecedented amount of success for any city, let alone one that suffered through an 0-16 mark just a few years back.
That winless season is what's particularly perplexing about what's happening in Detroit right now. As much as everyone watching the NFL could see the Lions were putting together a core group of very good young players, their stark turnaround starting at the end of last season (when they won four straight, including over the champion Packers) and the beginning of this season has been insane. Things change quickly in the NFL, but not usually when a team doesn't add a soul. Typically, when you've got the same guys playing as last year, you're going to improve in smaller increments.
Not so with this Lions team, a team that has to have Barry Sanders muttering and cursing under his breath whenever he's alone, wondering why Matt Millen couldn't surround him with one or two good players like Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson or Ndamukong Suh. (O wait, he's Matt Millen. Nevermind). The young, resilient Lions have been fantastic this season, and so far without showing much of a running game. That will eventually change, because a talented player like Jahvid Best cannot be shut down for an entire season. The really crazy thing about this turnaround is that looking ahead, there is no reason they couldn't be undefeated going into their Thanksgiving matchup against the Packers. The Lions have home games against the Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta and Carolina, and away games at Denver and Chicago. The toughest game in that group looks like at the Bears, but can the Bears really score with the Lions? The only way I see Chicago beating Detroit right now is with a turnover margin of at least +3, and at least one defensive touchdown.
Am I going crazy? The Lions have a legit shot of being 10-0?!? Writing that sentence any time before right now would have been a joke. And it wouldn't have even been funny. But heading into week 5, the Lions one of the best defensive lines in football, a good tight end, a good running back (I think), one of only two WRs in the NFL (Fitzgerald is the other) that you can waste two downs in the redzone knowing you can throw it to him for a 90% shot at a TD on 3rd or 4th, and a quarterback who can actually throw it to him (sorry, Kevin Kolb). This team looks good. I'm a Packers fan, but I hope injuries don't mess things up in Detroit. It could be a contending team for the next several years the way things are going.
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