FanPost

Who will lead the team in interceptions?

Reading that headline in the lead articles made me wonder too, will this be a special year? The Lions have two leading candidates I think to make interceptions, but there are others. Walker and Okudah I hope will pace each other and show the rest of the NFL that the Lions are back. Yet, Oruwariye, Dunbar, Melifonwu, Harris, Elder, and others seem better than I remember having ready to do damage.

Last year, as much as I hoped Trufant might be an answer for the departing Slay, I also worried if he'd hold up and not quickly fall to injury. I wanted to believe Harmon and Coleman would be big, but I also have to admit to feeling angry that their additions were just more admonishments of the Lions being who they were, and looking to the Patriots to be the answer, which frosted me. As it worked out I think Harmon and Coleman were paltry contributors last year, and glad they're both gone.

This year looks like a Lions team. The majority of the players are Lions from the draft. Okudah, Oruwariye, Walker, Harris, and Melifonwu should play important roles. So many players are undrafted free agents originally signed by the Lions too; they include Ford, Moore, Price, Parker, and Jacobs. The players that have been added from the outside: Elder, Dunbar, and Marlowe seem like special role players and not coming in to impart their team's culture to our's deemed lacking. I like that much better!

We've all been told that the pass pressure ultimately determines how effective the pass coverage will be and I feel better about how that should go too. Unlike last year I doubted we had the horses from the start again. Danny Shelton and Nick Williams were supposed to be the run stoppers, but again Shelton looked more like another Patriot addition, than the type of player that would be a star Lion. Williams I felt was a veteran, but didn't come in with the pedigree of being a star - not like that of Michael Brockers.

Drafting our own Lions again seems like the key theme. Alim McNeil, Levi Onwuzurike, as well as John Penisini make me feel better about who the Lions building with. Brockers looks like the star seasoned veteran to serve as a sound mentor. Williams gave up salary to stay on-board with the Lions, so this actually made him feel like more of a team player to me too. Romeo Okwara, Julian Okwara, Kevin Strong, DaShawn Hand, and Austin Bryant also all feel like they're all really Lions too. I know, Romeo Okwara came as a free agent, but he's twice re-signed with the Lions, so he's proven something to me that he really wants to be here.

I hope others that have signed contribute and find success here. I feel good about all of them more so, simply because they're not brought in to change the identity of this team. I hope that they come to be a part of building something really good and special.

So, how many interceptions will the Lions get? Who will lead the team? I just feel happy to contemplate the question so much more so than last year. Do you get it? Do you feel better too? Let's face it we have always felt like Lions and wanted players, coaches, and the ownership to represent us as our own Lions.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pride Of Detroit or its writers.