Party like it's 1991!

I know it has been popular to say the Lions are partying like it's 1999 since they have made the playoffs for the first time since that seminal^ Bobby Ross led team^^, but I'd much prefer a 1991 remix.

^ Definition #1, not #2

^^ Who can forget that team, the most successful in the lifetime of new Lions fans?  Well, me, for one.  Here is a reminder.  With the likes of Gus Frerrote under center and Greg Hill filling in for Barry Sanders^^^, the Lions squeaked into the playoffs with four straight losses then lost 27-13 to the Brad Johnson/Stephen Davis era Redskins.  Yikes.


^^^ I did an exhaustive (> 5 minutes) internet search, but I can't find the play by play for Barry Sanders's last game as a Lion, but I have this distinct memory of him having  more than 1500 yards (that would have made five straight seasons), but then having a negative run or two to bring him back to 1491, and the Lions, typically, didn't get the ball back.  That would be the perfect end to Barry's career on many levels - a negative-yard run, a pathetic loss ending a pathetic season (5-11), and the franchise not caring/noticing a milestone for their greatest player.


In 1991, the Lions won the good-old Black and Blue Division, then beat up on the not-yet-Super Bowl-winning Cowboys 38-6 before losing to the eventual champion Redskins.  This year, there is a real chance at winning a playoff game, which would be a great springboard to sustained success.  If the Packers rest their stars, as expected, a win would have to be expected - and a win would give the Lions a game at the NFC East winners, either the Giants or the Cowboys.  Neither team is that strong, and the Giants would be an especially great match up.

I haven't come to expect greatness every week, but I have come to expect respectability, and I have been pleasantly surprised with this late-season run.  The Lions are hitting their stride and there's a lot to look forward to in the future.  This team has pulled pieces off the street (Kevin Smith) to patch together a run game, so imagine what things will look like with Mikel Leshoure and Jahvid Best - or anyone else who could manage 200 carries a year.  The future is bright...but the present isn't too dim either.