Lions a model franchise for downtrodden Rams

Jim Schwartz. Enlarge

DETROIT -- Even before Jim Schwartz was hired by the Detroit Lions in 2009, he joked it was time for the franchise to replace Bobby Layne.

The Lions were the butt of jokes, coming off the first 0-16 season in league history, and were widely expected to take Matthew Stafford with the No. 1 overall pick back then. Detroit has regularly been a league laughingstock in large part because of a futile, decades-long search for a star quarterback since winning the 1957 NFL title and trading Layne the next year.

No one, though, is chuckling about the proud-again Lions anymore.

Martin Mayhew has mostly made all the right moves in his three-plus years in charge as the general manager who replaced Matt Millen. Schwartz has proven he can lead a turnaround, from the meeting room to the field. Stafford has shown he has the talent, moxie, and leadership it takes to play his pivotal position.

Stafford led the Lions to 10 wins last season, their most since 1995, and helped them end an 11-year playoff drought.

Instead of looking back at the feat, Stafford is focused on what's ahead, starting with today's opener at home against the St. Louis Rams, and toward helping the Lions make consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since the mid-1990s.

"It's been a while since we've been good on a consistent basis, back when Herman [Moore] and [Robert] Porcher and all those guys were playing," Stafford said. "We're trying to get back there.

"You want to win and give the city something to cheer about."

Rams QB Sam Bradford, coach Jeff Fisher, and GM Les Snead do too.

Bradford, selected by St. Louis No. 1 overall a year after Stafford was picked, is hoping to return to his form when he was the NFL's offensive rookie of the year in 2010. The Rams won seven games that season, then endured an injury-stunted two-win season.

That setback after seeming to step toward success sank St. Louis to the dubious distinction of having the worst winning percentage over a five-season span since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, according to STATS LLC, and the fourth lowest in league history. The Rams went 15-65 over the last five years, giving them a .118 winning percentage that was lower than Tampa Bay's .203 clip from 1983-87, Houston's struggles just before that, along with a pair of recent skids in Detroit.

James Hall almost saw it all.

Hall played for St. Louis the last five years after losing a lot of games during the first seven years of his career with the Lions. That gives him a unique perspective on what has gone wrong for both franchises.

"The similarities would have to be draft classes that had a lot of guys that didn't pan out," Hall said. "It's huge for any organization to find what they need in the draft."

Hall likes the chances both teams have of winning in the future because of Stafford and Bradford.

"Quarterback has always been the most important position, but that's become even more true because it has become such a pass-oriented game," he said. "If you have a franchise quarterback, you have a better chance to win."

Good GMs and coaches help, as well, and the Rams have new men in those spots.

St. Louis beat out the Miami Dolphins for Fisher, who took a one-year hiatus after a 16-plus season run with the Tennessee Titans franchise in which he went to a Super Bowl and won 142 games to trail just Bill Belichick and Mike Shanahan among active coaches.

Fisher and Snead have drastically reshaped their roster, hoping an influx of veterans such as standout cornerback Cortland Finnegan and Pro Bowl center Scott Wells -- along with drafting Michael Brockers at defensive tackle and Janoris Jenkins at cornerback -- can lead a turnaround.

"We've made a lot of change," Fisher said. "We've got 17 rookies. I believe there are 32 or 33 new players on this team that weren't with the Rams last year. So, you know, we're young, but that's not necessarily a negative. I think it's kind of exciting."

The Rams should have a shot to improve if Bradford can connect with a pair of receivers, Danny Amendola and Steve Smith, trying to regain their form and strike a balance with the Steven Jackson-led running game.

Bradford, though, is the key for the franchise's hopes. Fisher likes the team's chances with him under center.

"I believe he has a chance to be an elite quarterback very, very soon in his career," Fisher said.