Detroit Lions Rating – 83
While the Detroit Lions aren’t the joke that they used to be, after the loss of Ndamukong Suh, I don’t see how they should be rated higher than they were at the beginning of last season (80). Matthew Stafford, once promising, now looks to be an average QB with flashes of greatness.
The Lions do have a great receiving core and still have a strong defense even without Suh but the 83 rating puts them ahead of teams such as the Arizona Cardinals (82), Kansas City Chiefs (82) and only one point behind teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Maybe with Suh, the Lions would still deserve to be #11 overall, but the Lions didn’t do enough in the offseason while other teams around like the Dolphins, Bills, and even division rival Vikings (by virtue of getting AP back) got a lot better.
