Let's Talk About the Detroit Lions and the Playoffs

There are certain things that playoff teams (generally) have in common. It is obviously not a revelation that the Detroit Lions lacked most of these things last season, but they have certainly added a large influx of talent this year, potentially making them a threat to compete for a playoff spot in a wide open division that thankfully won't be bothered by the presence of a purple—headed gun slinger. Let's take a look at what last year's playoff teams did well and how the Lions could potentially measure up: Obviously there were some very different styles in the playoffs last season, including powerful offenses (Arizona), smash mouth defenses (Baltimore, Tennessee, et. al.) and ball control run-oriented teams (Miami, Atlanta).   I'm not sure how to classify the Jim Schwartz—led Lions yet, but these are some of the characteristics shared by most of last season's playoff teams: All quarterbacks had a rating higher than 80.0; no offense gave up more ...