Leach's Lists: Why Maybe, Just Maybe, We Can Actually Start Trusting The Lions!
By: Dan Leach
Lions fans know that most free agency years come and go without much to write home about or much that makes sense for that matter. Well 2013 might have broken that string as yes, there is still work to be done, but so far the Lions look like a team that is serious about doing whatever it takes to put a contending team on the field. Early in the day news broke of the restructuring of Ndamukong Suh's contract freeing up some FA cash and with the issues that Suh has had in recent years, shows me he might be ready to be a true team player. You could see the Lions were going to be serious bidders for a lot of the talent out there, then it simply has seemed the Lions have signed everyone.
I know some disagree, but signing Reggie Bush is a big deal and one that will help the Lions instantly become a better team on crucial short yardage situations that killed them last year and likely on kick returns as well. Bush isn't what you can call a premier back anymore and might never have been, but he is a back that alongside Mikel Leshoure and Joique Bell ,makes the Lions running game much more of threat. And can take a tremendous amount of pressure off of Matthew Stafford.
The Leo's needed to two CB's; they locked down one in current Lion Chris Houston for five-years and at a fair price. I think Houston is a fine CB and had 56 tackles, two picks, and two forced fumbles for Detroit last year. They needed a safety so they went out and grabbed a good one in former Texan Glover Quin. There are still holes at DE, with Cliff Avril likely gone, but this is an upcoming draft that is rich in them and with the Lions shaving down what they will need to address in the draft, that will be much easier to get done.
Yes, there is not a great track record for this franchise and this front office over the past several decades, there is only one playoff win since the Eisenhower administration, but I have felt all along that this team was not nearly as far away from success as many think. That the Lions needed to get a few good free agents in place, have a successful draft in a year that will be tough not to, and they can show the NFL that 2011 was not an aberration. People think I am totally off my rocker when I say the Lions will be a playoff team in 2013, but it is days like this make me believe that even more.
This is an all-in year for the Lions so far are living up to that mentality. They have one of the better young QB's in the league who I feel will one day soon be elite, they have the best WR and maybe the best player in the game, and they are building a defense that won't be a liability, but actually a threat. With what the Lions did on March 13th 2013, I think the signal is clear; this really isn't the same old Lions. This is a team that wants to shed the lovable loser tag, and become something that is much more foreign in this town, a winner!
