After the Lions finished preseason with a 4-0 record, they were excited for the regular season to start. Unfortunately, that the preseason was the last time they saw a single win in 2008.
Detroit Lions Become First Team to Finish 0-16
The 2008 season was a season to forget if you were a member of the Lions. In what was supposed to be a memorable season, in which the team celebrated its 75th season under the Lions name, they failed to win one single game in the regular season. They even lost all eight of their home games by an average of 22 points per game.
Overall, the Lions have lost 23 of their last 24 games played during the regular season. They enter the 2009 with a handful of new faces to help recover from the franchise's most embarrassing season in team history.
Along with new head coach Jim Schwartz, who spent the last 10 seasons working with the Tennessee Titans defense, the Lions also hired Scott Linehan as offensive coordinator and Gunther Cunningham as defensive coordinator. They also hope to have found their quarterback of the future after drafting Matthew Stafford out of Georgia.
No. 1 Draft Pick Matthew Stafford Takes Over At Quarterback for Lions
In the NFL, it can take some time for a rookie to adjust to the jump of playing at a professional level when making the leap from college. Stafford may take some time to develop into the quarterback the Lions expect him to be. However, he will have an advantage during his rookie campaign since he has one of the best wide receivers in the league by his side in Calvin Johnson. Last season, Johnson led the league in touchdown receptions (12) and finished with 1,331 receiving yards.
Stafford decided to make the jump to the NFL early and skip his senior year at the University of Georgia. After being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, he signed a six-year deal with the Lions worth around $78 million. Of that $78 million, $41.7 million of that is guaranteed.
Even though the Lions hope Stafford is their quarterback of the future, he will have to compete for the starting job in 2009. Last season, the team convinced quarterback Daunte Culpepper to come out of retirement and start the last five games of the season for the Lions. He will compete with Stafford to be the starting quarterback for the team this upcoming season.
No matter who Schwartz decides to start at quarterback for the Lions in Week One, the presence of Culpepper will provide that veteran leadership to Stafford to help him adjust to playing at a professional level. If Stafford does end up starting for the Lions in '09, a few wins may be considered a successful rookie season considering what happened last season.
Dan Parzych - I just finished my college career at the University of Dayton. For the last three years, I have worked at WUDR 99.5, which is Dayton's ...
