Detroit Lions fan confidence drops to 3rd-lowest in NFL

The Detroit Lions are currently 1-3 at the bye week. As the Packers look like they’re true contenders and the Vikings and Bears are starting to show signs of life, the Lions appear to be headed in the opposite direction. There’s nothing they do particularly well right now, and there aren’t any individual players that stand out as game-changers.

Things seem bleak, and that’s probably because they are. It would take a monumental shift in this team’s performance and identity for them to come out of the bye week and turn things around in a meaningful fashion. Historically speaking, a 1-3 team makes the playoffs 15 percent of the time, and while an extra wild card spot may help increase that this year, there isn’t just much hope for this team beyond a favorable schedule.

Sorry for all the doom and gloom, but according to our latest Reacts results, I’m not exactly alone in these feelings. Our latest poll suggests that only nine percent of Lions fans are confident in the direction of the team, which is the third-lowest figure in the entire NFL:

The only teams with a lower confidence level are the 0-4 Falcons (0%) and the 0-4 Jets (3%).

Undoubtedly, part of the concern among Lions fans is the uncertainty around ownership. Sheila Ford Hamp is new on the job, and fans aren’t sure how she’ll manage the franchise. Will she continue with some of the mistakes of her parents or will she be the beginning of the new era? With no moves yet made on the coaching staff, some are beginning to question Ford Hamp. Contrast that with the Houston Texans, who saw their fan confidence jump from zero to 79 percent after firing Bill O’Brien earlier this week.

Of course, simply firing a coach midseason does little to make the team better in the immediate. It simply placates the fans for the time being. Ford Hamp—and the rest of the Lions organization—will be judged on their long-term performance, and we’re still waiting to see how that plays out.