Back To Back Winning Seasons and the Detroit Lions

[Brian wolf]

With the Lions only two wins away from back-to-back winning seasons, I decided to look back at Detroit's last pair of winning seasons in 2016-2017. Head Coach Jim Caldwell actually had the Lions in the playoffs in 2014 with an 11-5 season but the Lions lost a heartbreaking game in Dallas, that Lions fans still cry foul about, particularly the officiating ...

The Lions regressed in 2015 before putting together their back-to-back winning seasons that still cost Caldwell his job after the 2017 season. Why?

Detroit was led by the tough, hard throwing Matthew Stafford, who could get hot or cold throwing the football but had the talent to at least get this team to the playoffs with a good supporting cast.

Before Caldwells arrival, with Jim Schwartz bringing this team literally from an 0-16 grave, Stafford mostly zeroed in on Calvin Johnson, whose great talent made him a first ballot election to the HOF but had retired by the start of the 2016 season. One of Caldwells' first good decisions was bringing in Golden Tate from the Seattle Seahawks to help Stafford develop his talent for utilizing more wide receivers, while bringing toughness, possession receiving grit and leadership to an offense that would have the talent to help produce winning records if not playoff berths other than 2014.

Ironically, with Johnson frustrated and retired, the Lions brought in Marvin Jones, who produced numbers that were not far behind Megatron but with a weaker offensive line, regressing running game--the team couldnt keep Joique Bell healthy--and a defense that was outmanned and unable to produce turnovers, the team couldnt make the postseason in 2016-2017 that cost Caldwell his job. Had the defense brought in more talented defenders to go along with the soon-departed Ndamukong Suh, Ansah and young Darius Slay--they had already lost talented Cliff Avril to Seattle--Caldwell and Stafford might have made the postseason.

Its easy to blame Caldwell for not consistently developing the line and running game with more talent other than Abdullah and the pass catching Riddick but from what I saw, the Lions offensive line simply pass blocked better than run blocked, even though Stafford, as tough as he was, still took alot of sacks, trying to make throws downfield.

Another disappointment for Caldwell and Detroit was the lack of development of often-injured TE Eric Ebron, who had the talent for everyone to draft him for their fantasy leagues but rarely produced. Ebron in my opinion, is the poster boy for todays modern NFL player, where the talent is there but for whatever reasons, the injuries and lack of consistent games starting and finishing, frustrate fans and FF followers, everywhere.

The sky was the limit for this offense if Stafford-to-Ebron could have been more of a threat, especially when Ebron caught the ball. In defense of Eric though, Stafford wasnt always particularly gifted in utilizing all the talent around him and elevating their play. Once injuries set in, whether he played or not, Stafford couldnt be affective again till he was traded to a team that gave him more of a supporting cast and offensive line with the newer, LA Rams, where he finally proved he could be a champion, though the team has had a strange relationship with the city, fans and league since returning in 2016. Many fans and NFL critics have felt the League was zealously trying to help the team produce a winner to bring fans--and local television audiences--back to prominence.

Which leaves us to Jared Goff, who was traded from LA for Stafford and is trying to duplicate what Stafford and the Lions did in 2016-2017 ... have back-to-back winning seasons while going to their first playoff game since the the end of 2014.

[Brian wolf]

With back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2016-2017, Goff becomes only the third starting Lions QB to finish the season leading his teammates to consecutive winning seasons, since the Bobby Layne era ending in 1958.

Detroit had winning seasons three years in a row in 60, 61 and 62 but Jim Ninowski and Earl Morrall split the job before Milt Plum had a stand alone winning starting year in 1962. In 69 and 70, Bill Munson and Greg Landry split the wins before Landry had consecutive winning seasons in 71 and 72.

The Lions had their last, triple consecutive winning seasons in 93, 94, and 95 but once again, QBs Rodney Peete and Erik Kramer shared the job before Scott Mitchell and Dave Krieg replaced them in 1994. Mitchell started and won for the team in 1995 before having a terrible playoff game. Nothing but losing until Stafford produced winning seasons in 2011, 2014, 2016-17. Goff has earned his right to keep the job if the Lions can stay successful. This team had been bottom of the barrel way too long.