Wednesday open thread: Will the Lions win more than 8 games in 2017?

Now that rosters for all 32 teams are starting to take shape in the aftermath of the 2017 NFL Draft, predictions are starting to roll in. We’re already starting to see analysts across the league update their power rankings. With only organized team activities, training camp and the preseason in between now and the regular season, predictions are almost no longer premature. Almost.

With that in mind, it’s time to make some predictions of our own. On Monday, online gambling site Bovada listed every team’s over/under totals for projected wins in 2017. If you are unaware of what over/under totals mean, they essentially set a baseline prediction for each team (in this case: wins for the 2017 season), and you can bet on whether the team overperforms that prediction or underperforms.

For the Detroit Lions, Bovada has set that number at eight wins for the 2017 season. So today’s Question of the Day is:

Will the Detroit Lions win more or less than eight games in 2017?

My answer: More, but not a lot more. Before the draft, I would have likely said less, because this roster had a ton of holes, especially at starting roles on defense. In terms of positions, I thought the Lions did an excellent job at filling holes in the draft, though the jury is obviously still out on the talent of the individuals.

The result is a defense that should be better, but may take some time to show it. As for the offense, the upgrades on the offensive line and the—fingers crossed—health of their backfield should be enough to make a good unit great in 2017.

But we all tend to look at this roster as it is and preface our optimism with “if they can stay healthy...” but the truth is, they won’t. The Lions will incur a handful of injuries, and they are pretty vulnerable if/when that happens. Just imagine how devastated the offense would be if Golden Tate or Marvin Jones Jr. goes down. What happens if the Lions lose a starting linebacker, or anyone on the defensive line?

Detroit, on paper, looks a lot better than their 2016 squad, there’s little doubt in my mind about that. But as soon as the injuries kick in, we could be looking at a team very similar to that of last year. And with the NFC North slowly getting more and more competitive, that could mean another year of hovering around .500. Still, I’ll give the Lions the benefit of the doubt and give them a slight “over.”

Your turn.