Despite the sentiment in Detroit - a city starved for an NFL team in contention for more than a decade - Head Coach Jim Schwartz won't acknowledge that the Lions had a "great" season in 2011.
He will acknowledge that it was good, but not great.
Ultimately, he judges the greatness of a season by the team's final game. This past season, Detroit made the playoffs, but was swiftly defeated at New Orleans.
So, when will the Lions be "great" and considered a Super Bowl contender?
This past week in Indianapolis, Schwartz cited the Green Bay Packers playoff berth in 2010: securing a spot in Week 17 and going on to handedly win a Super Bowl Championship.
He also noted the New York Giants this season, making the playoffs by the skin of their teeth by defeating the Dallas Cowboys in the regular season's final week. Now the Giants are Super Bowl Champions.
While those facts may not seem relevant to the Lions, they actually show that Detroit proved itself a team that should contend for the Super Bowl next season.
A WORTHY CHAMPION?
Looking at the Giants, they weren't given much of a chance by fans and football analysts (how many Lions fans hoped Detroit drew New York instead of New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs?), but they methodically ran the table to earn their second Super Bowl victory in five seasons.
In an interview with NFL Network following Sunday's win, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said, "Yes, a 9-7 team won the Super Bowl," as if to acknowledge skepticism that the best team earned the championship.
That skepticism actually began prior to the Super Bowl itself after the Giants earned the NFC Championship over the powerhouse Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints.
But should that be a surprise?
At first glance, the fact that the Giants ranked 32nd in rushing seems to contradict the title of "Super Bowl Champion", but when looking at the other 11 playoff teams, New York is actually in similar company.
The question to be raised is: what building blocks must exist to have the makings of a Super Bowl championship team and where do the Lions fit into that picture?
Ultimately, the answer is that there isn't one single answer.
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT
Amidst the salary cap age, no single team will possess every available weapon.
It simply isn't possible for any one team to afford it, which is actually the beauty of the NFL. At the outset of each season, it's any team's ballgame.
This year's crop of playoff teams proves that point perfectly.
The 12 teams that earned playoff berths this season included five of the top eight NFL offenses: New Orleans (1), New England (2), Green Bay (3), Detroit (5) and New York (8).
Five of the top seven defenses were also represented: Pittsburgh (1), Houston (2), Baltimore (3), San Francisco (4) and Cincinnati (7).
That leaves Atlanta and Denver, both of which lost their first-round playoff games. The Falcons finished 10th in overall offense and 12th in overall defense; the Broncos 23rd in overall offense (though they had the league's top running attack) and 20th in overall defense.
When looking at the playoff teams that excelled on one side of the football, it was almost always the case that, statistically, there was a glaring difference on the other side.
The four worst-ranked defenses amidst the 12 playoff teams: Green Bay (32), New England (31), New York (27) and New Orleans (24).
The four worst-ranked offenses: San Francisco (26), Denver (23), Cincinnati (20) and Baltimore (15).
ANY GIVEN POSTSEASON
Of course the ranking of teams goes far beyond simple offensive and defensive numbers.
Some teams thrive on forcing turnovers while others find success with a powerful run game or run defense.
Injuries are a factor every season for every team, but some are more debilitating (or plentiful) than others (prior to losing three key defensive players on Thanksgiving Day, the Lions had the ninth-overall defense in the NFL).
Regardless of the details, though, playoff teams have accomplished the most difficult part of winning a Super Bowl championship: becoming one of the final 12 teams.
Perhaps the New York Giants are receiving so much grief because they don't have the top-ranked anything.
While they rank eighth in overall offense, their run game was dead last. Their defense finished sixth in sacks per pass play, but their defense ranked 27th overall.
When it came down to it, though, the Giants are a good team with good players that performed well at exactly the right time.
What that means for a team like the Lions - a team with a top-tier quarterback, a top-five offense and a stout defensive front - is a legitimate chance to contend for a championship in 2012.
Detroit has the tools in place to be in that final 12 and history continues to show that getting in is all that matters.
From there, it's any team's ballgame.
