Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions: 2016 Season a Mix of Good and Bad

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 2:50 p.m. ET

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With their loss to the Seahawks, the Lions’ season is officially over. Now it is time to examine the 2016 season. What went right, what went wrong, and what should the team do going forward?

Bob Quinn’s Gambles at Wideout Paid Off

After a disappointing 7-9 season in 2015, the Detroit Lions saw the loss of future hall of fame receiver Calvin Johnson to retirement. Rookie general manager Bob Quinn, an import from the New England Patriots organization was tasked with the unenviable task of replacing the hole Johnson’s departure left on offense. His solution came in the form of former Bengals wideout Marvin Jones, and future Hall of Famer Anquan Boldin.

Despite the signings coming to little to no fanfare, both receivers proved to be vital to the Lions’ playoff push. Marvin Jones established himself as one of the most reliable #2 receivers in the NFL, posting a solid 930 yards and 4 touchdowns over 15 starts.

In addition, the sure-handed Anquan Boldin sustained his success, accumulating 584 yards and eight touchdowns as the team’s best red zone threat. Though he had two costly penalties in the game against the Seahawks last week, Boldin was a net positive for this Lions team overall.

TJ Jones also showed some signs of promise in his limited snaps. If Boldin ends up leaving Motown this offseason, expect Jones to be productive in the three slot next season. Even Eric Ebron has emerged as a productive receiving tight end, though he does still suffer with drops on occasion. Despite all of the offseason worries, the future looks bright for the Lions’ receiving core.

Matthew Stafford’s Emergence

A good receiving corps can only be productive if their quarterback can get the ball to them. Matthew Stafford proved to all of his doubters this year that fewer players are better at that task than him. The 2014 Pro Bowler put everyone in the league on notice, throwing for 4,327 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, with a 65.3% completion rate.

Despite being left off the Pro Bowl roster this season, the Detroit Lions’ star quarterback spent the majority of the season in the MVP conversation. He led the Lions to an NFL record eight fourth quarter comebacks, and brought the team within one game of their first division title in 23 years.

Unfortunately, Stafford’s fantastic season was derailed by his finger injury late in the season. In the five games since his torn finger ligament, Stafford only managed to throw for 300 yards once, while putting up only three touchdowns compared to five interceptions.

However, the good news is that when healthy, Matthew Stafford is clearly a Franchise quarterback; something the Lions have not had since the great Bobby Layne. Stafford is reportedly expected to receive one of the most lucrative contracts in NFL history, and he is worth every penny.

He is the only franchise quarterback the Lions have had in the modern era, and the team absolutely cannot afford to let him walk.

The Defense Needs Work

Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin seems primed to leave Detroit for a head coaching job of his own this offseason. In his three years with the team, the Lions have ranked second on defense once (2014), and eighteenth twice (2015, 2016). The holes left after the loss of defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley have never properly been addressed.

The Lions traded for, and extended Haloti Ngata to fill that role, but he has not lived up to his billing. Aside from breakout defensive end Kerry Hyder, the Lions’ front four failed to pressure opposing team’s quarterbacks. Granted, Ziggy Ansah spent most of the year battling injury, and looked better down the final stretch, but the defensive line as a whole still needs improvement.

The secondary didn’t fare much better. Aside from “Big Play” Darius Slay, and perhaps safety Glover Quin, the rest of the secondary is barely serviceable. The Lions’ pass defense was so awful, that they set the record for the highest opponent completion percentage in NFL history (72.7%).

It will be interesting to see how the 2017 Detroit Lions will perform with a new coordinator. I expect defensive personnel to be the focus of Bob Quinn’s offseason.

Caldwell Can’t Get Over the Hump

For the second time in three seasons, Jim Caldwell has led the Lions to the NFC wildcard round; and yet another wildcard loss. Historically, getting to the playoffs is an accomplishment for the Lions franchise, but if Detroit is serious about winning a Super Bowl, that standard needs to change.

I had posted earlier in the year about how the mid-season schedule was going to be do or die for the Lions, and that ended up being the truth. The Lions went 4-1 in that stretch, while having a  5-6 record the rest of the season.

Despite the emergence of Stafford, Caldwell and crew could not get the Lions to play well consistently. Their 1-3 start and 0-3 finish absolutely buried their division championship hopes. To make matters even worse, the Lions 0-3 finish came at a time when their fate was in their own hands. A 2-1 record, or just a win against the Packers in that final stretch would have assured the Lions a division title and a home playoff game. Instead, the Lions played some of their most disjointed and dysfunctional football of the season, backing into the playoffs on a three game losing skid.

The Caldwell led Lions have felt like they’ve been in a rut for a while now. Being good enough to beat mediocrity, yet bad enough to lose to playoff teams consistently, spells doom for a franchise. That type of stagnant standing absolutely kills fan-bases, as fans realize that their team is neither getting a stud in the draft, or a shot at the Lombardi trophy. If the Lions fail to make the playoffs, or are bounced in the first round next season, don’t be surprised if Caldwell is fired.

2017 Expectations

2017 will mark the 60th anniversary of the Lions last NFL Championship. For the last sixty years Detroit Lions fans have put up with mediocrity, stagnancy, and even down right embarrassment (here’s looking at you 2008).

The franchise has only won one playoff game since 1958. Two generations of Lions fans have only witnessed failure and futility. Enough is enough!

The fan-base is tired of treating the two regular season games against the Packers like it is the Super Bowl; they want to cheer for a real contender.

The Lions have shown that they can make the playoffs, now they must show that they belong there.

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