2012-13 Expectations

[ElectricMayhem]

We ended the regular season 10-6, but had to make four big 4th quarter comebacks to get there. We could've just as easily ended 6-10. In place of the optimism, what would we have had? A fired coach? Would Stafford & CJ's stats be considered empty? Would things get blown up before they even got started? I think it's important to realize just how close we were to appearing like a bad team when looking toward next year.

With out 10-6 record, we should have a tougher schedule next year. A tougher schedule next year plus a shinier than actual record this year could be a recipe for disappointment. If we brought this same team into next year, I think we could expect about an 8-8 record. This is how I see things for next year:

7-9 or worse: If we are plagued by injuries, the poor discipline becomes a trend and not just a one year news story, or players get soft with feelings of contentment that the Lions have "arrived".
8-8: If we don't really make any improvements. An 8-8 record against a somewhat tougher schedule is what I expect from this team. This year we pretty much beat all the lousy teams and lost to all the good teams.
9-7: What I'd expect next year if we show natural growth. Fans might be disappointed, but I see 9-7 next year as an improvement over 10-6 this year.
10-6: Another 10-6 season would mean we did a good job of shoring up our weaknesses during the offseason.
11-5 or better: We made great signings or draft picks With our strengths as strong as they are, all we need is to be adequate in our defensive backfield/LB/OL to be a contender. A record like this would show we've arrived.
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What we need to get better:
Defensive Backfield! The unit we have now is horrible. The past few years we've continued to try to patch it up with cheap veterans that lost their spots on other teams. We really need to look into getting quality guys this offseason. We need people who can play within the modern day touch football rules to limit the effectiveness of Rodgers and Brees.

Tackling Czar: Nobody on our team seems to know how to tackle.....and it's kind of an important aspect of defense. Or if they can't figure out how to teach the current group how to do it, get us some new linebackers.

Offensive Line: This group stepped it up the most this year. I wanted OL in the worst way at the start of the year, but it's more of a back burner need now.

Running Back? I'm not sure if Best is coming back, but even if he is, we'll have 3 guys in him, Smith, and LeShoure that we can't count on making it through a season. Is 3 enough? How many roster spots can you realistically devote to RB?

With the Stafford/CJ connection on offense and our Defensive Line, we have enough talent to beat anyone. This offseason, we need to take care of our weaknesses so we can stop saying that we can lose to anyone as well.

My pre-offseason prediction for next year: 9-7
I think we'll take a lot of necessary steps to shore up our Defense, but we had a lot of things bounce our way this year, and were relatively injury free (except for RB of course). So I think we're 9-7, and as I detailed above, I DON'T think it's a step back.

[Piston Pete]

Early prediction - (DISCLAIMER) a lot can change between now and the beginning of next season - would be 10-6 again. A more-solid 10-6. A lot of late comeback wins this season, we could have easily been 8-8.

[cochiseuofm]

I think the Lions will improve next year. It may not show up in the win column, but I'd be surprised if they did finish with less than 10 wins given the talent they have as long as they stay healthy. I also don't think the schedule is tougher next year. We get the AFC South and NFC West for eight of our games and that is a pretty good division draw IMO, even if Peyton comes back fully healthy.

I think the defense can only get better through the offseason, the ground game can only get better through getting guys back from injuries, and the team should be both confident and motivated to play well next year after the last two games. Plus we have a legit top-five QB in Stafford, and any team with a great QB should win a good amount of games (the old rule of needing a great defense seems to be out.)

Anything less than 10 wins would be disappointing.

[morgeen]

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