45-year old head coach inspired his troops to finish last season with a 6-10 record despite using three different starting QBs (Matt Stafford, Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton).  The Lions’ biggest problem last year was on defense, and they have improved big time on that side of the ball for 2011.  The Lions are now 8-24 (25%) in Schwartz’ first two years as the head coach.  I think the Lions are going to improve by 3 or 4 wins in 2011, and Schwartz is going to have a lot to do with that.

22-year old RB Jahvid Best struggled last season due to turf toe, but he’s healthy now and he is going to be the Lions’ main back once again in 2011.  Best played in 16 games (9 starts) for the Lions last year and he carried the ball 171 times for 555 yards (3.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 58 passes for 487 yards (8.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs last year.  Bell’s game is speed, so the Lions can’t afford him to get banged up again in 2011.

31-year old Maurice Morris will have to battle Jerome Harrison if he wants to remain the #2 back in 2011.  Morris played in 14 games (7 starts) for the Lions last year and he carried the ball 90 times for 336 yards (3.7 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 25 passes for 170 yards (6.8 avg) last year.  Morris has never been a true main man in the running game in his career, so he would likely share carries with other backs even if Best gets injured.  Morris has now played in 129 games (32 starts) in his first 9 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 787 times for 3,332 yards (4.2 ypc) with 12 TD runs.  He has also caught 125 passes for 933 yards (7.5 avg) with 4 TD grabs in his career.

28-year old Jerome Harrison is a pretty solid player whenever he gets the opportunity to prove it.  Harrison played in 12 games (2 starts) for the Eagles & Browns last year and he carried the ball 71 times for 330 yards (4.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 12 passes for 85 yards (7.1 avg) last year.  Harrison is on the small side but he runs much bigger and can handle a heavy workload if needed.  Harrison has now played in 59 games (10 starts) in his first 5 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 342 times for 1,640 yards (4.8 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  Harrison has also caught 69 passes for 487 yards (7.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs so far in his NFL career.

25-year old Aaron Brown will have to fight for a roster spot.  He played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Lions last year and he carried the ball 17 times for 58 yards (3.4 ypc).  He also caught 8 passes for 45 yards (5.6 avg) last year.  Brown has now played in 21 games (2 starts) in his first two years for the Lions and he has carried the ball 44 times for 189 yards (4.3 ypc).  He has also caught 17 passes for 129 yards (7.6 avg) with 1 TD grab in his career.

28-year old Mike Bell is a power back.  He played in 16 games (1 start) for the Eagles & Browns last year in which he carried the ball 47 times for 99 yards (2.1 ypc).  He also caught 7 passes for 67 yards (9.6 avg) last year.  Bell will have to beat out Aaron Brown for a roster spot if he wants to make the team.  Bell has played in 53 games (7 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 395 times for 1,475 yards (3.7 ypc) with 14 TD carries.  He also has caught 33 passes for 258 yards (7.8 avg) so far in his NFL career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LIONS RBS IN 2011:  C

The Detroit Lions hope this is the year that 23-year old QB Matthew Stafford can stay healthy for all 16 games.  Stafford keeps injury his shoulders.  He played in 3 games (all starts) for the Lions last year and he completed 57 of 96 passes (59.4%) for 535 yards with 6 TD passes and 1 INT (91.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 4 times for 11 yards (2.8 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  Stafford is the future of the Lions.  He reminds be a lot of a young John Elway due to his very strong right arm.  Stafford has now played in 13 games (all starts) in his first two years with the Lions and he has completed 258 of 473 passes (54.5%) for 2,802 yards with 19 TD passes and 21 INTs (67.1 QB Rating).  Stafford has also carried the ball 24 times for 119 yards (5.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his career.  Stafford is 3-10 (23.1%) as a starting QB so far in his NFL career but I look for that record to really improve by the end of this season as long as he can just stay healthy.

31-year old Shaun Hill never seems to get respect, but he proved last season once again that he is more than capable of running a football team.  Hill played in 11 games (10 starts) for the Lions last year and he completed 257 of 416 passes (61.8%) for 2,686 yards with 16 TD passes and 12 INTs (81.3 QB Rating).  Hill also carried the ball 22 times for 123 yards (5.6 ypc) for the Lions last year.  Hill doesn’t have a strong arm but he knows how to get the job done.  Hill has now played in 30 games (26 starts) in his first six years in the NFL and he has completed 579 of 938 passes (61.7%) for 6,176 yards with 39 TD passes and 23 INTs (84.6 QB Rating).  Hill has also carried the ball 68 times for 320 yards (4.7 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.  He is very underrated.

27-year old Drew Stanton finally got a chance to show what he can do last year and he looked pretty good.  Stanton played in 6 games (3 starts) for the Lions last year and he completed 69 of 119 passes (58%) for 780 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 INTs (78.4 QB Rating).  Stanton also carried the ball 18 times for 113 yards (6.3 ypc) with 1 TD run last season.  Stanton has now played in 13 games (4 starts) in his first three years with the Lions and he has completed 104 of 187 passes (55.6%) for 1,158 yards with 5 TD passes and 9 INTs (63.1 QB Rating).  Stanton has also carried the ball 30 times for 166 yards (5.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his NFL career.  Stanton is now 2-2 (50%) as a starting QB so far in his NFL career.

24-year old Zac Robinson will be around if the Lions suffer any injuries before the 2011 season begins.  He doesn’t have much of a chance of making the roster.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LIONS QBS IN 2011:  B+

24-year old WR Derrick Williams and 24-year old RB Aaron Brown will likely duke it out in training camp for the kickoff return job in 2010.  Williams played in 11 games for the Lions as a rookie last season and he returned 42 kickoffs for 931 yards (22.2 avg).  Brown played in 15 games as a rookie for the Lions last year and he returned 42 kickoffs for 951 yards (22.6 avg).  Both of these guys put up the same kind of numbers last season so they probably come to training camp on even ground.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LIONS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  C-

The Lions didn’t bring in much help for the O-Line in 2010 but they should have.  LT Jeff Backus had one of the best years of his career in 2009 for the Lions.  He will be 33 in September so there might not be a lot of tread left on his tires.  He is a good run blocker and a decent pass blocker.  LG will belong to Rob Sims who is a solid run blocker but he doesn’t have a lot of range to make plays meaning he might need some help on passing plays.  Center will be manned by Dominic Raiola is a tough guy especially in the running game.  He makes all of the line calls and he has really helped Matt Stafford in his development.  Stephen Peterman will be the starting RG for the Lions in 2010 if he can stay healthy.  He missed the final seven games for the Lions last season and they can’t afford to be without him in 2010 for any length of time.  Like Rob Sims, Peterman is a mauler in the running game but a so-so pass blocker.  RT Gosder Cherilus is a player the Lions still have high hopes for but he needs to start showing more on the field.  He has issues with his pass blocking but he’s a solid run blocker.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LIONS O-LINE in 2010:  C-

44-year old head coach Jim Schwartz took over a team coming off a 0-16 season and he improved them to 2-14 last year.  That might not sound like much progress but the Lions were in a lot of close games that they lost last year.  The Lions have tweaked the roster adding quite a bit of talent especially on offense.  With 2nd year QB Matt Stafford having more weapons I think the Lions have 5-6 wins in them in 2010.  Schwartz is the right guy for the Lions right now.

40-year old Jason Hanson will be the Lions’ placekicker once again in 2010.  He played in all 16 games for the Lions last season and he made 21 of 28 field goals (75%).  He also made all 25 of his extra points as he finished up last year with 88 points.  Hanson has now played in 287 games in his NFL career and he has made 427 of 522 field goals (81.8%).  He has also made 554 of 562 extra points during his career as he now has 1,835 points.  Hanson will likely be limited to kicking field goals and extra points to limit how many times he kicks this year.  Aaron Pettrey will likely be the Lions’ kickoff specialist in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LIONS KICKERS in 2010:  C

This might be the season that 24-year old Calvin Johnson has a true breakout season for the Lions.  He played in 14 games (all starts) for the Lions last season and he caught 67 passes for 984 yards (14.7 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 7 times for 73 yards (10.4 ypc) last season.  Johnson has now played in 45 games (40 starts) in his three years with the Lions and he has caught 193 passes for 3,071 yards (15.9 avg) with 21 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 14 times for 124 yards (8.9 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.  I really think this is the year that Johnson will make a Pro Bowl….if Matt Stafford stays healthy most of the year.

28-year old Nate Burleson will give Calvin Johnson a nice running partner for the first time in his career.  Burleson played in 13 games (12 starts) for the Seahawks last season and he caught 63 passes for 812 yards (12.9 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 90 games (65 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 263 passes for 3,547 yards (13.5 avg) with 27 TD grabs.  Burleson will be a solid #2 WR for the Lions in 2010 and beyond.

29-year old Bryant Johnson will likely be the Lions #3 WR in 2010.  Johnson played in 16 games (all starts) for the Lions last season and he caught 35 passes for 417 yards (11.9 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 109 games (67 starts) in his seven years in the NFL and he has caught 290 passes for 3,638 yards (12.5 avg) with 15 TD grabs.  Johnson will be a solid #3 guy for the Lions in 2010.

32-year old Dennis Northcutt gives the Lions a very deep WR corps for 2010.  He played in 16 games (2 starts) for the Lions last season and he caught 35 passes for 357 yards (10.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Northcutt has now played in 144 games (61 starts) in which he has caught 399 passes for 4,941 yards (12.4 avg) with 18 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 52 times for 366 yards (7.0 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.

24-year old Derrick Williams didn’t show much as a rookie last season for the Lions.  He played in 12 games (11 starts) for the Lions last year and he caught 6 passes for 52 yards (8.7 avg).  He also carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards last season.  Williams will have to step up if he wants to keep getting paid to play football.

Rookie 7th round pick Tim Toone will have a hard time making the Lions’ roster.  He is only 5’10″, 185 pounds and he played his ball at Weber State so he will be behind the eight ball when training camp opens.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LIONS WRs in 2010:  B

25-year old Brandon Pettigrew was solid as a rookie last season for the Lions.  He played in 11 games (all starts) for the Lions last year and he caught 30 passes for 346 yards (11.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Pettigrew blew out one of his knees last season but the Lions expect him to be ready for training camp which is excellent news.

27-year old Tony Scheffler will be a huge addition for the Lions as they acquired him from the Broncos this spring.  Scheffler played in 15 games (9 starts) for the Broncos last season and he caught 31 passes for 416 yards (13.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 57 games (28 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 138 passes for 1,896 yards (13.7 avg) with 14 TD grabs.  Scheffler will give Matt Stafford another solid target down the field.

29-year old Will Heller will be #3 at TE in 2010 for the Lions.  Heller played in 16 games (9 starts) for the Lions last season and he caught 29 passes for 296 yards (10.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 86 games (18 starts) in his 7 years in the NFL and he has caught 65 passes for 553 yards (8.5 avg) with 10 TD grabs.

2nd year TE Dan Gronkowski will have a hard time making the Lions’ roster this year.  He played in 2 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Lions last season and he caught 1 pass for 4 yards.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LIONS TEs in 2010:  B

24-year old Jerome Felton is a solid all around fullback.  He played in 13 games (8 starts) for the Lions last season and he carried the ball 15 times for 46 yards (3.1 ypc).  Felton also caught 13 passes for 133 yards (10.2 avg) last season.  Felton has now played in 26 games (14 starts) in two years with the Lions and he has carried the ball 17 times for 50 yards (2.9 ypc).  He also has caught 22 passes for 186 yards (8.5 avg) in his NFL career.

26-year old converted TE Jake Nordin will likely back up Felton.  Nordin played in 4 games (1 start) for the Lions last season and he caught 2 passes for 26 yards (13.0 avg).  He played one game previous to last season and he didn’t touch the ball in it.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LIONS FBs in 2010:  B