ALLEN PARK, Mich. – If you believe in teams of destiny and such, you are probably starting to buy in that the Detroit Lions are headed to their first division championship in two decades.
That is, as long as you don’t place too much emphasis on history, of course.
Past failures aside, it all appears to be falling into place nicely for these Lions after that crazy finish two weeks ago against Dallas combined with injuries to key players of division rivals Green Bay and Chicago.
Add in a schedule the rest of the way that seems to favor the Lions and this really could be their year in the NFC North.
There’s an old saying, though: Never trust happiness.
Chuck Daly preached that throughout his Hall of Fame basketball coaching career with the Detroit Pistons. Daly warned that contentment is extremely dangerous, particularly in professional sports.
“It’s a fluid league, things can happen,” said Lions receiver Nate Burleson, who has returned to practice after missing five games with a broken forearm suffered in a car accident when he tried to save a pizza from sliding off the passenger seat.
“We have a long way to go. As soon as you start looking in the mirror and telling yourself how good you look, that’s when an even more handsome guy comes walking by and steals your girlfriend.”
Never trust happiness … it’s especially true for Lions’ fans, who have been burned so many times over the years. They got all excited about where the franchise was headed after a 10-win playoff season two years ago, only to watch their team collapse with a 4-12 record last season.
Detroit hasn’t won a division title since 1993 when current quarterback Matthew Stafford was 5 years old.
That’s also the last time the Lions hosted a playoff game, one of the perks for winning the division.
If not this year - under these circumstances - then when will it ever happen?
There’s a three-way tie for first place between the Lions, Packers and Bears, all of whom are 5-3 at the midway point of the season.
Green Bay, the division favorite, is currently without star quarterback Aaron Rodgers and All-Pro linebacker Clay Matthews.
Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler returned to practice this week amid reports that he could start Sunday against Detroit, but how effective will he be coming back so quickly from a torn groin? Lance Briggs, the Bears’ talented linebacker, is also still rehabbing a shoulder injury.
The Packers - and even the Bears to an extent - are mostly just trying to stay close in the race and get healthy. The Lions, on the other hand, must take advantage of their competitors’ weakened state right now.
“We want our players to feel urgency,” Detroit coach Jim Schwartz said. “There is urgency every single week.”
Running back Reggie Bush added: “It’s wide open. We still have a chance to do some special things. But we can’t worry about no Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers being hurt and all the talk that’s going on.”
Their focus is clearly on Sunday’s game at Soldier Field in Chicago. Green Bay, meanwhile, will be at home against Philadelphia.
All three teams have 2-1 records within the division, which happens to be the No. 2 tiebreaker after head-to-head results.
The Lions have already beaten the Bears once.
The Bears beat the Packers. (They’ll meet again the final week of the season in Chicago.)
The Packers defeated the Lions. (They’ll hook up on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit.)
The overall schedules over the final eight weeks are similar. All three play Minnesota and Philadelphia.
But Detroit gets Tampa Bay (0-8) at home while Green Bay and Chicago still face Dallas, which leads the NFC East with a 5-4 record.
The Lions’ remaining opponents have a combined record of 22-43 compared to 26-40 for Green Bay Bay’s opponents and 30-38 for Chicago’s.
“Every team has different issues that they’re dealing with right now,” Schwartz said. “We’re no different.
“Our story won’t be written from the first half of the season. Our story is going to be written in the second half and how well we deal with the issues that do come up.”
Issues such as?
“Guys spilling pizza boxes,” Schwartz said, jokingly. “Guys getting injured on the field. Going through Chicago. Maybe it’s weather.
“Everybody is going to have things that are going to come up. Nobody is 100 percent healthy. The teams that deal with all those things best, plug players in, get other players up to speed, are the teams that are going to succeed in the second half of the season.”
The Lions opened as a slight favorite in this game against the Bears. It’s a similar situation with the early line next week at Pittsburgh.
Detroit also should be favored in most, if not all, of its final six games, four of which are at home.
Maybe it’s finally time for Lions’ fans to start trusting happiness again, or at least not be afraid of it.
EXTRA POINTS
--- Calvin Johnson was thrilled to see Michigan State grad Ryan Riess wearing a No. 81 Lions’ jersey while winning the $8.4 million World Series of Poker pot earlier this week.
“He could have been wearing some stuff sponsors would have paid him to wear,” Johnson said. “That’s some love he’s showing for the Lions right there. I love it.
“People are definitely accepting the Lions. People are definitely happy with the way we’re going right now.”
--- Defensive end Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah (ankle) and cornerback Bill Bentley (knee) missed practice for the third straight day. Both were injured in the Lions’ last game on October 27 before the bye week. Offensive tackle Corey Hilliard (knee) also remains out.
--- Burleson has practiced all three days – at least during some of the individual drills - but he was not involved again in the offense’s scripted plays in a skeleton drill at the beginning of the workout.
