Detroit Lions Open Season With High Expectations
DETROIT - The Detroit Lions' decade of losing football ended last season.
It remains to be seen if new coach Jeff Fisher can help the St. Louis Rams end their string of sub-.500 campaigns.
Looking to build off its first playoff appearance since 1999, Detroit opens its season with high expectations Sunday when the visiting Rams try to rebound from another last-place finish.
After going 2-14 and 6-10 following their winless 2008, the Lions finished 10-6 in 2011. A 45-28 wild-card loss to New Orleans was a tough way to end the year, but Detroit is finally enjoying some stability as it enters the fourth season with the same head coach, coordinators and general manager, Martin Mayhew.
"There's been continuity in the schemes," said coach Jim Schwartz, Fisher's former defensive coordinator in Tennessee. "It allows the scouting department to have continuity in the way that we scout, which allows our players to be productive."
