Some people might pity Michael Brockers. His old team is preparing for the Super Bowl. His new team just finished last in its division for the fourth year in a row. But a year after being traded from the Rams to the Lions, Brockers doesn't pity himself.
The veteran D-lineman likes where things are headed in Detroit and says "it's going to be awesome" watching longtime former teammates like Andrew Whitworth and Aaron Donald try to win their first ring.
"The Rams are in the Super Bowl and people keep asking me, 'Man, how do you feel?' I’m happy for my guys," Brockers said Tuesday on the Jim Rome Show. "I’m happy. I’m in a great place. The city of Detroit is awesome, the fans are awesome, I really want to get this thing turned around for them."
Brockers, the most experienced player on a young Lions roster, said the club's 3-13-1 finish "definitely lit a little fire under me." He said it reminds him of the Rams' first season in LA when they went 4-12 a year before going 11-5 and winning their division, two years before going 13-3 and reaching the Super Bowl.
"Our progress and our growth throughout the season, I remember that first win vividly," Brockers said of Detroit's last-second victory over the Vikings in Week 13. "A lot of guys were coming into the locker room excited, they were dancing, they were just elated about us winning. The next couple wins, it was more professionalism in how we went about business. Everybody was like, 'Man, good job, good job,' we’re shaking hands. We were happy about the moment, but we felt like it wasn’t done.
"That’s the same feel I got in that 4-12 season when we first got here in LA. Everybody felt like, 'Man, we’re just so much better than where we are now."
Asked if the Lions can contend for a playoff spot next season, Brockers said, "Definitely. If you think about our season, we lost by a 66-yard field goal that bounced in, we were in that Ravens game. We were in a lot of games where we lost it in game situations, two minute, a lot of stuff where the young guys haven’t seen those situations before. Now that they’ve been through them, going into next season we can show tape of those situations, we can learn from them and I just think we’ll be a better team form those losses."
The Lions lost five games last season by four points or less, including three in the last second, and tied another game they should've won. Flip those results in 2022 and Brockers has a point: Detroit could triple its win total. In the NFL's seven-team playoff field, nine wins equals contention.
"I want to do better, I want my teammates to do better and we can do better. It’s just about applying it every day. We love the coaching staff, so we’re onto good things," Brockers said. "We’re onto good things and I’m happy where I’m at."