After 0-16 season, Lions look to roar once again

ALLEN PARK, Mich. - The worst team in NFL history has designs on making the playoffs this season. Seriously.

The Detroit Lions are determined to put their infamous 0-16 season behind them, insisting they've got a new swagger and a legitimate shot to make the postseason with a revamped front office, coach and roster.

Matt Millen's mess set up Detroit for the ultimate failure last year, and the Lions are picking up the pieces in their first season without him since 2000.

Team owner William Clay Ford finally fired Millen three games into his eighth season as team president, ending a reign that turned a mediocre franchise into one bad enough to post the NFL's worst eight-season stretch since World War II.

A day after sealing infamy with the NFL's first 0-16 season, Ford fired coach Rod Marinelli and promoted Martin Mayhew and Tom Lewand to lead the front office. The much-maligned owner later gave Jim Schwartz his first chance to be a head coach.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was turned down when he offered to help Ford search for people whose decisions will shape the Lions' future.

Ford, his executives, coach and players are confident the new-look Lions will not be the same, old Lions - the one with a lone playoff win since taking the 1957 championship.

Jason Hanson has played in Detroit long enough - entering his franchise-record 18th season - to experience the optimism change creates, and the disappointment of watching new faces contribute to familiar results.

The veteran kicker is convinced the latest rebuilding project will truly be unlike the previous attempts to fix the franchise.

"It seems like we always have hope this time of year, but things are really different," Hanson said. "The turnover has brought in a new coach, new front office and a lot of new players.

"All of that makes it easier to have hope."

When the Lions report Friday for training camp, along with that hope will be a lot of work to do.

Quarterback Matt Stafford, the No. 1 draft pick overall in April, will compete with Daunte Culpepper to take snaps when the season begins Sept. 13 in New Orleans.

The offensive line, a weak link on flawed teams in the past, must give Stafford or Culpepper time to throw, running back Kevin Smith room to run, and receiver Calvin Johnson an opportunity to shine.

Detroit's defense gave up an average of nearly 35 points last year and almost set a single-season record for points allowed. Some veterans and a promising rookie might end up dramatically improving the unit.

The Lions addressed each area of their defense, adding linebackers Larry Foote and Julian Peterson, cornerbacks Phillip Buchanon and Anthony Henry, along with defensive tackle Grady Jackson.

Ultimately, Stafford's smarts and right arm will determine if the franchise is going to be a winner in the years to come after going 31-97 since 2001. That's the poorest eight-season stretch since the Chicago Cardinals won just 23 percent of their games from 1936-43.

Schwartz is getting a chance to lead a team for the first time after interviewing for previous openings in Miami, Atlanta and Washington. Schwartz welcomes the challenge of turning around the Lions, coming off their dubious season.

"Only through adversity are great men made," he said. "Think about the great presidents in the history of the United States, there were all presidents that served during times of great conflict or turmoil.

"Those challenges define who you are as a person. There's no way better way to define yourself as a person than to turn this thing around here."