26-year old cornerback Chris Houston has been outstanding this year for the Lions.  He has played in all four games for the Lions so far this year and he has 20 tackles, 6 passes defensed, 3 interceptions (1 returned for a TD) and 1 tackle for a loss.  Houston has now played in 19 games in his first two years with the Lions and he has 76 tackles, 18 passes defensed, 4 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 1 forced fumble and 2 tackles for a loss.  Houston is turning into a true lockdown corner and playmaker for the Lions and they need him to keep up the good work.

32-year old DE Kyle Vanden Bosch is off to an outstanding start for the Lions so far this year.  He has played in 3 games for the Lions so far this year and he has 9 tackles, 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.  This is what the Lions signed Vanden Bosch for, so they are very happy with him.  Vanden Bosch played in 11 games in his first year with the Lions in 2010 and he had 49 tackles, 4 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles and 1 pass defensed.  The Lions hope that Vanden Bosch can stay healthy the whole season, unlike last year.

23-year old QB Matthew Stafford is off to an outstanding start for the Lions in 2011.  He has played in the first 2 games for the Lions this year and he has completed 47 of 72 passes (65.3%) for 599 yards with 7 TD passes and 2 INTs (112.0 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 2 times for 1 yard (0.5 ypc) for the Lions so far this year.  Stafford has the potential to be one of the very best QBs in the NFL and he’s showing that so far this year.  The Lions just need him to stay healthy as his first two seasons in the NFL were cut short by shoulder injuries.

24-year old DT Ndamukong Suh has won the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and he deserved it.  He played in all 16 games for the Lions last season in which he had 66 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, 3 passes defensed, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble and a fumble recovery that he returned for a TD!  He also missed an extra point attempt when the Lions’ kicker was injured.  Suh is as strong as an ox and he’s freakishly fast for a player his size.  That combination will serve both Suh and the Lions’ defense well over his career in Motown.

No matter who the Lions started at QB last season, they produced.  22-year old Matt Stafford is the starting QB, when healthy.  That wasn’t much last season.  Stafford played in 2 games for the Lions last season 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 season.  He has now played in 13 games 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 in his career so far.  Stafford is the future at QB for the Lions but they need to protect him better so that he doesn’t keep getting hurt.

31-year old Shaun Hill played the most for the Lions at QB in 2010 and he was rock solid.  He played in 13 games for the Lions last season 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) last season.  He has now played in 32 games in his NFL career 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 one of the best backup QBs in the NFL, period.

26-year old Drew Stanton played well also when he got his chance.  Stanton played in 6 games for the Lions last season 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.  He has now played in 13 games in his NFL career 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 career so far.  Stanton is one of the best #3 QBs in the NFL.

VERDICT:  The Detroit Lions are one of the only teams in the NFL that is truly set at QB, because they have 3 decent ones.

25-year old WR Calvin Johnson has turned in another big year for the Detroit Lions.  Johnson played in 15 games for the Lions so far this year and he has caught 77 passes for 1,120 yards (14.5 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  He has carried the ball 4 times for 32 yards (8.0 ypc) so far this year.  Johnson has now played in 60 games in his first four years with the Lions and he has caught 270 passes for 4,191 yards (15.5 avg) with 33 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 18 times for 156 yards (8.7 ypc) with a TD run in his career with the Lions.  Johnson has the potential to be the best WR in Lions’ history as long as he can stay healthy.

31-year old RB Maurice Morris had a rough start to the 2010 season.  In his first 7 games, Morris carried the ball 8 times for 10 yards (1.3 ypc) and he also caught 7 passes for 54 yards (7.7 avg).  But, when Jahvid Best and Kevin Smith went down to injury, Morris stepped up.  In his last five games, Morris has carried the ball 55 times for 283 yards (5.1 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He has also caught 14 passes for 79 yards (5.6 avg) in the last four games.  The Lions need Morris to finish the season strongly to help give the offense balance.

25-year old TE Brandon Pettigrew’s rookie season was cut short due to injury.  He played in 11 games last season for the Lions and he had 30 catches for 346 yards (11.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  This year he appears to be making up for lost time.  Pettigrew has played in 12 games so far this year for the Lions and he has caught 60 passes for 590 yards (9.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  No matter who has been playing QB for the Lions this year (Matt Stafford, Shaun Hill or Drew Stanton), Pettigrew has been the safety net for them.

The Lions might only be 2-7 this year but head coach Jim Schwartz has them going in the right direction.  Despite being 2-7 on the year, the Lions have outscored the competition 215-202!  The Lions are 2-2 at home this year so they are making it hard on teams coming to Ford Field to play and that’s a good sign.  I think the Lions would be close to a .500 team if Matthew Stafford didn’t miss so much time due to injury.  The Lions are now 4-21 (16%) in parts of two years under the 44-year old Jim Schwartz.

29-year old WR Stefan Logan is a small guy at 5’6″, 180 pounds but he’s making a huge impact for the Lions this season.  Logan has played in all 8 games for the Lions this year and he has returned 27 kickoffs for 793 yards (29.4 avg) with 1 TD return.  He has also returned 16 punts for 211 yards (13.2 avg) and he has also carried the ball 1 time for 21 yards.  Logan continues to give the Lions’ offense great starting field position which has led to a increase in points and offensive production.