Down in the Big Easy, it was not easy for our Detroit Lions as they got overwhelmed in the second half of their first NFL Playoff game since 1999 by the New Orleans Saints, 45-28.
The Lions kept the game close, even taking a 14-10 lead in the first half, but the playoff savvy Saints, who won Super Bowl XLIV in 2010 with mostly the same key players, showed all how much further the Lions have to go to get to their level.
My late publisher, Sam Logan, and I talked about the Lions’ progress this year and what it could mean to the Detroit area as a whole. He and I reminisced about the days when the Lions were very relevant in any NFL title chase conversation.
Sam could recall the Barry Sanders era when the Lions, starting in 1991 through 1999, made the NFL Playoff six times. They only advanced past the first round once in 1991when they made it to the NFC title game.
So it has been a long playoff drought for the Lions and that is why Saturday’s game versus the Saints galvanized the entire state, but the Lions simply could not overcome the Saints — a better team at this point.
Every team’s goal at the start of training camp is a possible Super Bowl appearance. For us long suffering Lions faithful this 10-win season — no matter the heartbreaking loss — was an elixir and panacea for many.
But now that we have tasted NFL Playoffs, next season all want and expect the Lions to step up another level. Their 2011 success has elevated the fans’ expectations for the 2012 season.
Can this collection of Lions erase the fact that they have the second-longest NFL championship drought behind the Arizona Cardinals, and, the fact the Lions are one of four current NFL teams that have yet to qualify for the Super Bowl?
I say no!
But based on the stellar job General Manager Martin Mayhew has done since he took over the reigns in 2008, he will make the right moves and additions necessary to get the Lions one more step closer to competing in a Super Bowl.
At the Superdome the Lions showed all they have two of the best young players in the NFL in quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Calvin Johnson, and they have two young beasts on the defensive line in Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley.
But that was not enough as evidenced by New Orleans gaining over 600 yards in total offense and possessing the ball for over 37 minutes.
The Saints never punted and put up a playoff record 626 yards. When told how they had been rolled over Lions, defensive end Cliff Avril exclaimed, “That’s what they had? You can’t take anything from them, they have a heckuva quarterback and a lot of weapons. But it’s also us. We’re better than that. The defensive line takes the blame more so than the defensive backs. We didn’t get enough pressure.”
No, they did not! But in the offseason the Lions do need find a way to get a Pro Bowl potential safety and cornerback. Help at linebacker is also a priority.
Mayhew must sign Avril and linebacker Stephen Tulloch. Both players were the rocks that held the Lions’ fragile defense together for 16 games. Also running backs Mikel Leshoure, whose rookie season ended before it began with an Achilles injury, and Jahvid Best have to come back from injuries to help take the pressure off Stafford.
No matter their problems and pain at losing, the team and players tried to keep an upbeat spirit about the future of the franchise.
“We have a great team with a lot of young guys and we’ll be back,” Stafford said. “I’m sure we’ll make regular appearances in the playoffs from this point forward. We learned a whole lot. We learned we need to win our division, so the next time we can have a home game and benefit from our crowd like the Saints did. It hurts, that’s for sure, but I like the direction our team is going.”
“I don’t think in the future people around the league are going to be surprised that the Detroit Lions are in the playoffs,” defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch said. “This is where we belong and this is where we’re going to be for a long time.”
Wow! I sure hope so.
Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@aol.com or Twitter @LelandSteinIII.
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