Vegas expects the Lions to win the NFC North this season for the first time in 30 years. So do the Lions themselves. Dan Campbell reiterated that Tuesday when he said at the NFL owners meetings, "We're positioned much better to swing with the big boys this year. That is the goal, man, we gotta go get this division."
So, is it division or bust? The boys got into it Wednesday on the Karsch and Anderson Show.
Gator says, "It's winning a playoff game or bust. If you win the division, it's a success. If you don't win the division but win a playoff game, it's a success."
As Jim Costa points out, "The Lions haven't won the division since '93. The Buccaneers have won the division more recently than they have, despite not being in the division (since 2001). So it's quite the statement to say, 'You gotta win the division.' But it feels like the Lions have the team to do it. If they don't, something went wrong."
The Lions already had one of the best offenses in the NFL last season, which should carry over to this season. And as Gator points out, their defense made big strides down the stretch, and then added three starters to the secondary in free agency:
"The last 10 games, when the Lions went 8-2, their defense was good. They allowed 20 points per game. Their QB rating against was 80, which would have been best in the league. 20 points a game would have ranked third. That is how much they improved in the last 10 games. This is before they made additions in the offseason.
"So I'm expecting this defense to do their part and be a top-half-of-the-league defense."
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