ALLEN PARK, Mich. — By the end, the Lions basically looked like a playoff team. By the start of next season, they should look exactly like a playoff team, as long as they keep playing the draft and trade games astutely.
How did the Lions get from there (3-13-1) to here, one of the NFL’s rising rogues after an 8-2 finish and a 9-8 record? They’ll explain it with Dan Campbell’s favorite word — grit. I’ll explain it with a slightly different word — fearlessness.
It’s reflected in Campbell’s renowned gambles, and we’re not just talking about fourth-down passes, or the occasional hook-and-lateral in the closing minute of a tight game in Green Bay. It’s reflected in Jared Goff, who played with remarkable poise through dire circumstances to become the team’s starting quarterback for the foreseeable future, no questions asked.
Ultimately, it’s reflected in GM Brad Holmes, who isn’t afraid to gamble on himself and his team, and has orchestrated two extremely fruitful drafts, as well as a couple huge trades. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised by his boldness. His first major act as a first-time GM was to trade a 12-year star quarterback to a team that subsequently won the Super Bowl. The Rams got what they wanted in Matthew Stafford, but the Lions got more than anyone expected. The trade was requested by Stafford, but it was still up to Holmes to shed the franchise’s cloak of complacency with a direction-altering move.
Now the Lions have Goff, who wrapped up a career year by throwing 324 consecutive passes without an interception. They have the Rams’ first-round pick, No. 6 overall. They have their own first-rounder, No. 18. They have two second-rounders. They used the Rams’ first-rounder last year to trade up for receiver Jameson Williams, who dropped because of a knee injury but should prove worth the risk.
The Lions haven’t seen a GM like this because, frankly, they’d never looked for one. And perhaps that’s the newfound boldness in owner Sheila Hamp, who took a gamble on a novice head coach, Campbell, and a novice GM. When the Lions were faltering early this season, she strongly stood behind them.
“I think we've got the right people in place to pull this off, and I truly believe that," Hamp told the media. "I wouldn't say that if I didn't believe it."
It took some guts for Hamp to double-down then, and it takes that kind of trust for a front office to succeed. Perhaps she learned from previous mistakes. When Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia stumbled through a second losing season, she tacitly issued a playoff mandate to keep their jobs, instead of firing them. Quinn then drafted cornerback Jeff Okudah at No. 3 instead of a potential franchise quarterback, and they were fired midway through the following season, which turned out to be Stafford’s last.
Now for the first time in forever, the Lions are operating with calculated fearlessness. In addition to trading Stafford, Holmes dealt tight end T.J. Hockenson, the team’s leading receiver, when they were 1-6. Holmes swore he’d make the move whether they were 1-6 or 6-1. The Lions then used an array of tight ends — Brock Wright and Shane Zylstra each had four TD catches — to help boost an offense that finished fifth in the league in scoring.
Did the Lions automatically change course simply by moving Stafford and Hockenson? Well, no. But you have to like the symbolic message. The franchise had been tied to Stafford for more than a decade, never once considering anyone else. And it had been tied to overvalued tight ends — Eric Ebron before Hockenson — which was a roster-building gaffe.
One good thing about inheriting a losing team is, you don’t have to deal with untouchables, and you can practice controlled aggressiveness, right?
“Yeah, I think that’s a good way to put it,” Holmes said Tuesday. “I know me and Dan are both aggressive, but I will say, we’re aggressively smart, so we’re going to put the work in. It’s going to be well thought-out. It’s going to be planned and prepared. We’re not knee jerk, we’re not impulse.”
That means no impulse-buying in free-agency. The Lions did land D.J. Chark last offseason and have reason to keep him. For the most part, they’ve retained the free agents they like.
But Holmes and Campbell aren’t afraid of consequences. Campbell’s gambling nature is well-established, but it’s usually rooted in sound analytics, contrary to how he was viewed before the Lions won a few.
Trust emboldens leaders to make tough choices. Campbell made two difficult decisions with his staff, firing offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn last season and defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant midway through this season. Both moves provided dividends, and now the Lions have a nice problem, trying to keep rapidly rising coordinator Ben Johnson. His creative, high-powered offense revived Goff, and has attracted the attention of multiple teams looking for a head coach.
Holmes talked excitedly about upcoming possibilities in the draft and free-agency, but stopped far short of promising a big-time signing. The plan is, build through drafting and developing, and it’d be silly to veer now. With their depth of young talent — Aidan Hutchinson, Kerby Joseph, James Houston, Malcolm Rodriguez — and their excellent offensive line, there’s clearly a foundation.
Yes, contending for the NFC North division title next year should be the minimum standard. But the leap from three victories to nine often is an easier task in the NFL — based on how many teams do it — than a jump from nine to, say, 12. Holmes doesn’t quite agree.
“I don’t think it’s more difficult as long as we continue to stay the course and stay disciplined in our approach,” Holmes said. “I would expect more improvement, and if more improving means the difference between being right on the cusp of the playoffs and being in the playoffs, then yes, that’s exactly what I would expect.”
One adjustment will be necessary. The Lions won’t be able to play the disrespect card anymore, not after their 8-2 finish turned all sorts of talking heads. Now, certain things will be expected, such as Holmes pulling more gems out of the draft. Sure, anyone could’ve plucked two of his first-rounders — Penei Sewell, Hutchinson. But later-round prizes such as Joseph and Amon-Ra St. Brown are the reasons the Lions’ approach seems to be working, with the appropriate caution.
“I still think we’ve got enough work to do,” Holmes said. “I wouldn’t put us in the ‘We’re one player away’ bucket. I don’t even know when that ‘one player away’ window comes, and it doesn’t matter. We’ll be wise and smart and strategic in how we add. It’s got to be the right fit and it’s got to be the right guy, and if it’s not the right guy, then it doesn’t matter what the outside world thinks.”
Holmes and Campbell like grit with fit, that’s clear. If they stick to their plan, they won’t be afraid to take the next leap, at the right time, for the right player.
