Are the Lions sort of the Bills of the NFC?

[GRHater69]

They were absolutely robbed in the playoffs four years ago against the Cowboys.

 

Yes they were and then the NFL paid the Cowboys back with interest the following week in Green Bay with the non catch by Dez Bryant which was a catch.

 

 

[corta765]

Truthfully the Lions are their own level of ineptitude and awfulness. Consider this:

 

• The Lions have won a single playoff game since 1957. Literally one game. One. By comparison every single team in the NFL has won at least two games since 1988 including expansion teams like the Titans, Jaguars, and Panthers
• People like to throw the Browns into the conversation but remember the Browns from the 1960s-1980s were one of the NFLs premiere teams despite not have a SB ring. They went to three AFC title games in the mid 1980's and prior to the year of moving made the playoffs and actually beat the Patriots of all teams with Belichek really throwing off the cosmos
• They have hosted exactly two home playoff games since 1957 with their last being in 1993. By comparison even the lowly Arizona Cardinals hosted more home games in their two years of playoff appearances with Kurt Warner then the Lions.
• Literally the best RB of his time retired in his prime because of their ineptitude in an era where football was exploding with money for players. A decade later one of the best WR's ever did the same despite every luxury available to players. I can't even think of a team that has had one player example retire like this let alone two
• If the Browns beat the Lions to hosting a playoff game first they will have literally moved, came back, and hosted a game before Detroit
• The Matt Stafford "era" is actually the second most successful since the SB era began. Only the 1990's period saw more playoff games and success.
• The Lions are one of four teams to never appear in a SB (Browns, Jaguars, & Texans). Of those two are expansion teams and technically Cleveland's original franchise now the Ravens have won two Superbowls
• The Lions have exactly six players who have made the HOF post merger era. One of those is DT Curley Culpy who played exactly two seasons with the Lions (1980-81). The Browns are close with just eight players in but remember the move completely sabotaged their history and teams future for a decade plus.
• They have had three different stretches of playoff droughts lasting over 10 years

Those are just the big stats that most diehard Lions/NFL fans can tell you. The team truly is an insane picture of mediocrity. Even the Arizona Cardinals who are actually their closest competition for being awful have managed to right the ship for the past decade and make a SB plus play in an NFC title game. My understanding from Lions fans is the Ford family is very hands on but weirdly cheap when it comes to spending at points. Their finger prints are all over the issues the team has had and only the recent take over by Martha Ford and appointment of Bob Quinn as GM has represented some true changing of the deck. The Lions every year with Stafford just seem like a team that's 60% built but always have leaks springing and not enough talent to compensate.

 

The Bills seem in a different stratosphere after reading this.

Edited December 11, 2018 by corta765

[buffalostu2]

2 hours ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said:

Without digging into the research as a franchise however, have they ever had a real, sustained playoff run over the course of 5+ years like we did (we at least have 2 solid franchise eras to refer back to)? Even when they had Sanders, he was often a one man show IIRC, and the team still went nowhere. 

They have a championship pre superbowl era

2 hours ago, Another Fan said:

It seems like it.  Does their fan bases passion equal Buffalo though overall?

They are passionate and get defensive however they always think they are going to lose in the last minutes.  Way more than Bills fans.  I am not sure if that makes them smarter or less passionate but they seem to have more last minute losses.  They never celebrate before zeros are on the clock.

[Coach Tuesday]

11 minutes ago, corta765 said:

Truthfully the Lions are their own level of ineptitude and awfulness. Consider this:

 

• The Lions have won a single playoff game since 1957. Literally one game. One. By comparison every single team in the NFL has won at least two games since 1988 including expansion teams like the Titans, Jaguars, and Panthers
• People like to throw the Browns into the conversation but remember the Browns from the 1960s-1980s were one of the NFLs premiere teams despite not have a SB ring. They went to three AFC title games in the mid 1980's and prior to the year of moving made the playoffs and actually beat the Patriots of all teams with Belichek really throwing off the cosmos
• They have hosted exactly two home playoff games since 1957 with their last being in 1993. By comparison even the lowly Arizona Cardinals hosted more home games in their two years of playoff appearances with Kurt Warner then the Lions.
• Literally the best RB of his time retired in his prime because of their ineptitude in an era where football was exploding with money for players. A decade later one of the best WR's ever did the same despite every luxury available to players. I can't even think of a team that has had one player example retire like this let alone two
• If the Browns beat the Lions to hosting a playoff game first they will have literally moved, came back, and hosted a game before Detroit
• The Matt Stafford "era" is actually the second most successful since the SB era began. Only the 1990's period saw more playoff games and success.
• The Lions are one of four teams to never appear in a SB (Browns, Jaguars, & Texans). Of those two are expansion teams and technically Cleveland's original franchise now the Ravens have won two Superbowls
• The Lions have exactly six players who have made the HOF post merger era. One of those is DT Curley Culpy who played exactly two seasons with the Lions (1980-81). The Browns are close with just eight players in but remember the move completely sabotaged their history and teams future for a decade plus.
• They have had three different stretches of playoff droughts lasting over 10 years

Those are just the big stats that most diehard Lions/NFL fans can tell you. The team truly is an insane picture of mediocrity. Even the Arizona Cardinals who are actually their closest competition for being awful have managed to right the ship for the past decade and make a SB plus play in an NFC title game. My understanding from Lions fans is the Ford family is very hands on but weirdly cheap when it comes to spending at points. Their finger prints are all over the issues the team has had and only the recent take over by Martha Ford and appointment of Bob Quinn as GM has represented some true changing of the deck. The Lions every year with Stafford just seem like a team that's 60% built but always have leaks springing and not enough talent to compensate.

 

The Bills seem in a different stratosphere after reading this.

 

Consider also that they once had two starting cornerbacks named Light and Fair and they were both bad.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

2 hours ago, Santana said:

Nah i'd say the Lions are closer to the Browns than the Bills. The Redskins are a lot like the Bills in my eyes. JMO.

 

Best avatar ever.

 

[Like A Mofo]

The Bills are not the Lions. The Bills have actually made Super Bowls.

 

The team to me that most resembles Buffalo is the Minnesota Vikings. Both franchises lost 4 SB's and have had heartbreak in the playoffs and the regular season far too often

Edited December 11, 2018 by Like A Mofo

[dgrochester55]

Lions and Bills are very similar.   I think that the Lions are a little more relevant nationally due to having a thanksgiving game every year, and Barry Sanders has more of a national name recognition then any Bill besides OJ, who is now known for the wrong reasons.

Edited December 11, 2018 by dgrochester55

[Bray Wyatt]

2 hours ago, NoHuddleKelly12 said:

Without digging into the research as a franchise however, have they ever had a real, sustained playoff run over the course of 5+ years like we did (we at least have 2 solid franchise eras to refer back to)? Even when they had Sanders, he was often a one man show IIRC, and the team still went nowhere. 

 

So like our OJ then

[row_33]

the Lions and Bills both had a great 6-year span during the 20th century

 

so there is that

 

The Lions best players both wore the number #20, Sanders and the coolest daddy of all time Lem Barney

 

 

 

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

2 hours ago, CIrvine said:

Thurman and Barry were teammates in college.

 

 

...good call.....Barry was Thurmal's back up................

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

23 minutes ago, corta765 said:

 

• Literally the best RB of his time retired in his prime because of their ineptitude in an era where football was exploding with money for players. A decade later one of the best WR's ever did the same despite every luxury available to players. I can't even think of a team that has had one player example retire like this let alone two.

Yes, but did they retire at halftime?  Now that's panache!  ?

 

(Excellent post outlining Detroit's futility.  Well done!)

[Chuck Wagon]

Lions = Browns.  Both teams had a great run in ancient history, neither has played in a Super Bowl.

 

Bills = Vikings.  Both are 0-4 in Super Bowls.  Both have had some very exciting offenses at times and stunning playoff losses.

[chaccof]

2 hours ago, Santana said:

Nah i'd say the Lions are closer to the Browns than the Bills. The Redskins are a lot like the Bills in my eyes. JMO.

Except the Redskins have won the SB three out of five times.....

[row_33]

43 minutes ago, Like A Mofo said:

The Bills are not the Lions. The Bills have actually made Super Bowls.

 

The team to me that most resembles Buffalo is the Minnesota Vikings. Both franchises lost 4 SB's and have had heartbreak in the playoffs and the regular season far too often

 

you realize that all dates starting with 19 are completely dinosaur era to anyone born after 1990, so there is no diff in pride levels in the Bills being good in the early 1990s or the Lions in the late 1950s

 

it would be like us listening to some old fart talk about teams from the 1920s in the 1970s, tuned out 100%

 

 

[uticaclub]

The Lions are the Bills, with much less Hall of Famers & zero Super Bowl appearances 

[row_33]

25 minutes ago, uticaclub said:

The Lions are the Bills, with much less Hall of Famers & zero Super Bowl appearances 

 

Lions 20 Bills 9 in the Hall of Fame

 

sorry to interject actual facts, sport....

 

 

[row_33]

 

and the Bills wouldn't have made the last 3 SBs if they played in the NFC, the Lions of the Sanders era would have squeezed out a few SB appearances if they were in the AFC

 

 

[RyanC883]

3 hours ago, matter2003 said:

 

I believe the Lions have one of the worst playoff winning stats of all time...they have only had one season since 1957 where they have won a playoff game.  They won 2 in 1991 and lost in the conference championship game in a blowout to the Redskins 41-10(sound familiar---they blew us out the next game).  Their playoff record in that timespan is 2-12 in 60 years.

 

 

wow.  yeah, that is MUCH worse. 

[uticaclub]

45 minutes ago, row_33 said:

 

Lions 20 Bills 9 in the Hall of Fame

 

sorry to interject actual facts, sport....

 

 

Should have been more clear. How many HoF’ers since the merger? You are right. But Detroit’s success is much like the Montreal Canadians, there were only like 6 teams so of course, they won championships and had HoF’ers before newspapers were printed in color

[row_33]

13 minutes ago, uticaclub said:

Should have been more clear. How many HoF’ers since the merger? You are right. But Detroit’s success is much like the Montreal Canadians, there were only like 6 teams so of course, they won championships and had HoF’ers before newspapers were printed in color

 

Lions were the Bills of the late 50s

 

and any year started with 19 is totally lost to history for nuance....

 

So you go around telling 75 year old fans that their championship teams don't count?  Do they club you in the face for being such a rude jackass?