The Lions were in position to win the NFC North last season after they won six of their first nine games, but things fell apart down the stretch and Detroit watched the playoffs from home.
That memory may be keeping some people from buying into the Lions’ chances this season despite their 5-2 record. Linebacker Stephen Tulloch is out with a torn ACL, but he’s remained around the team and explained Tuesday why this year’s team won’t repeat the failure from 2013. It starts with the change of head coaches named Jim from Schwartz to Caldwell.
“It starts with the head man; it starts with coach Caldwell,” Tulloch said on 105.1 in Detroit, via the Detroit Free Press. “The person that he is, the coach that he is, I’ve never been around a man like that before in my life. He’s like a father figure. We don’t want to let him down. He treats us like men, all of us, from day one. He’s just an accountable person. He’s going to make sure every guy’s accountable, that we’re going to do what we have to do. We’re not going to cause any problems in the locker room. There’s no drama. Everybody believes in what’s going on and I think it’s translating to wins. And people can kind of move away from the ‘same ol’ Lions.’ The new Lions now because this is definitely a guy that believes in change and he’s done a good job doing that.”
The change from Schwartz to Caldwell is obviously impactful, but they addition of defensive coordinator Teryl Austin also seems pretty significant. The Lions have allowed the fewest yards and second-fewest points in the league this season after being in the middle of the pack in 2013. That’s definitely not the same old Lions and definitely a reason for optimism about the second half of the season this time around.
