The rookie class of 2011 for the Lions has a very nice upside as a whole but two of the five players they picked spent their rookie seasons on I.R.  This class might be looked upon in the future as a great bunch, but time will tell.  Here is a look at what the Lions’ draft picks did in their rookie years:

23-year old DT Nick Fairley had a rough rookie season as the first round pick was dogged by minor injuries that kept him off the field a lot.  He played in 10 games for the Lions last year and he had 15 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  The Lions expect big things out of Fairley in the near future.

22-year old WR Titus Young was picked in the 2nd round last April and he was easily the most productive player in this draft for the Lions in 2011.  Young played in all 16 games for the Lions last year and he caught 48 passes for 607 yards (12.6 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 15 yards (7.5 ypc) last year.

21-year old RB Mikel Leshoure was a 2nd round pick last April for the Lions.  He missed his entire rookie season due to an Achilles injury.  This was a blow to the Lions’ offense as they saw Leshoure as the thunder to Jahvid Best’s lightning.

22-year old OLB Douglas Hogue was a 5th round pick last April.  He played in 13 games and he had 6 tackles as he did most of his work on special teams.

23-year old OT Johnny Culbreath was a 7th round pick for the Lions.  He missed his entire rookie season due to an undisclosed illness.

GRADE FOR THE 2011 SEASON:  D

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B

The Lions had some bad calls go against them and they dropped a couple of easy interceptions (Eric Wright and Aaron Berry) that would have changed the outcome of this game.  The Lions were up 14-10 at the half, but then the roof caved in on them.  The Saints were playing keepaway from the Lions, as they had possession of the ball for 37:36.  That makes the numbers that Matt Stafford and his receivers put up all the more impressive.  Stafford completed 28 of 43 passes for 380 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 1 yard (0.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Kevin Smith led the way on the ground for the Lions in this game with 21 yards rushing on 6 carries (3.5 ypc).  Calvin Johnson led the way through the air for the Lions with an incredible 12 catches for 211 yards (17.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Nate Burleson (4 rec, 50 yards), Brandon Pettigrew (4 rec, 49 yards), Titus Young (4 rec, 33 yards) and TE Will Heller (1 rec, 10 yards for a TD) also pitched in for the Lions in the passing game.  The Lions finished up with 32 yards rushing on 10 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 43 passes (65.1%) for 380 yards as they had possession of the ball for 22:24.

The Lions’ defense was pretty good in the first half, but terrible in the second half.  LB Stephen Tulloch led the way for the Lions with 15 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 passes defensed.  Safety Louis Delmas (10 tackles) and LB Justin Durant (9 tackles and 2 fumble recoveries) also had solid games for the Lions.  The Saints finished up with 167 yards on 36 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 33 of 43 passes (76.7%) for 459 yards in this game.  The Lions had a great season and a good first half yesterday.

The Detroit Lions have won three of their last four games, earning them a spot in the playoffs for the first time since the 1999 season.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that they are playing the Saints.  The Saints are 8-0 this yearat home and they have outscored their opponents by an average of 41.1 points to 17.9 points per game.  The Saints beat the Lions 31-17 just five weeks ago in New Orleans.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Lions have the ball:  The Lions have a puncher’s chance in this game as they are going to fight fire with fire.  Matt Stafford is likely going to throw 40-50 passes tomorrow night against the Saints.  The Saints only had 33 sacks and 9 interceptions this year, so Stafford should have time to throw the ball without having to worry about throwing pickoffs.  Stafford will likely focus on getting the ball to Calvin Johnson (96 rec, 1,681 yards and 16 TD grabs) early in this game.  If the Saints start paying too much attention to Calvin Johnson, Stafford will start throwing ball around the field to Brandon Pettigrew, Tony Scheffler, Nate Burleson and Titus Young.  The wildcard for he Lions tomorrow will be RB Kevin Smith.  The Saints allowed  108.6 yards rushing per game and 5.0 yards per carry this year during the regular season.

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints are going to come out throwing the ball, as usual tomorrow night.  The Lions have 41 sacks and 21 interceptions so far this year, so Brees is going to have to be sharp to make plays down the field on the Lions.  That being said, the Lions are giving up 239.4 yards passing so far this year, so Brees could have a field day.  Brees will spread the ball around to TE Jimmy Graham and WRs Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem in this game.  The Saints are not just a passing team though, as the Lions will likely find out tomorrow.  They spread the carries around to Darren Sproles (also a great receiver out of the backfield), Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas against a Lions’ D that is giving up 128.1 yards rushing per game and 5.0 yards per carry this year.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 37, LIONS 27

23-year old Matt Stafford finally stayed healthy in 2011 and the result was a 10-6 record and a trip to the playoffs for the Lions.  Stafford played in 16 games (all starts) for the Lions this year and he completed 421 of 663 passes (63.5%) for 5,038 yards with 41 TD passes and 16 INTs (97.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 22 times for 78 yards (3.5 ypc) this year.  Matt Stafford has now played in 29 games (all starts) in his NFL career so far and he has completed 679 of 1,136 passes (59.8%) for 7,840 yards with 60 TD passes and 37 INTs (84.7 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 46 times for 197 yards (4.3 ypc) with 3 TD carries so far in his career.  The Lions are 13-16 (44.8%) with Stafford at QB during this first three years in the NFL.  The sky is the limit for Stafford as long as he can stay healthy.

31-year old Shaun Hill is one of the better backup QBs in the NFL.  Hill played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Lions this year and he completed 2 of 3 passes (66.7%) for 33 yards without a TD pass or INT (103.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard last year.  Hill has now played in 32 games (26 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 581 of 941 passes (61.7%) for 6,209 yards with 39 TD passes and 23 INTs (84.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 69 times for 319 yards (4.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Hill is 13-13 (50%) as a starting QB in his NFL career so far.

UPDATE:  (2/5/2012) – The NFL has named Matthew Stafford as the Comeback Player of the Year for 2011.

The Lions fought fire with fire but they still lost yesterday in Green Bay.  Can’t blame the loss on Matt Stafford as he completed 36 of 59 passes for 520 yards with 5 TD passes and 2 INTs.  Kevin Smith got some work in with 35 yards rushing on 9 carries (3.9 ypc) and 4 grabs for 26 yards (6.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Calvin Johnson had a monster game yesterday with 11 catches for 244 yards (22.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Brandon Pettigrew (7 rec, 116 yards), Tony Scheffler (4 rec, 65 yards, TD), Nate Burleson (6 rec, 45 yards) and Titus Young (4 rec, 24 yards, 2 TD grabs) also pitched in with solid games for the Lions.  The Lions finished up with 73 yards rushing on 15 carries (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 36 of 59 passes (61%) for 502 yards as they had possession of the ball for only 28:20.

The defense got torched repeatedly by QB Matt Flynn, who was making his first start of the season for the Packers.  LB Justin Durant (9 tackles) and CB Alphonso Smith (8 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) led the way for the Lions on D in this game.  LBs Stephen Tulloch (7 tackles and 1 fumble recovery) and DeAndre Levy (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit) also had solid games for the Lions.  The Packers finished up with 81 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 31 of 44 passes (70.5%) for 469 yards.  The Lions finished the season with a 10-6 record and they will play the Saints in the playoffs next weekend.