The Detroit Lions host the Chicago Bears Sunday for the season opener at Ford Field.

Normally, we have to wait a week or two for a division game but this Lions season starts with two division games back-to-back, the Lions vs Bears on Sunday and next week at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers.

The Lions won't meet their other division rivals, the Minnesota Vikings, until November 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

This will be the 12th season for Lions quarterback Mathew Stafford. When you look at his stats, he is one of the greatest QBs of all time, but has never made it to the Super Bowl or past game one in the playoffs.

It's not like the Lions don't get great players to go around Stafford, I just don't think the owners have ever put the money into the guys that protect the quarterback.

In my lifetime, I have seen some of the greatest running backs with Billy Simms and Barry Sanders. I can't say enough great things about former wide receiver Calvin Johnson. Let's not forget about some other former great players like Chris Spielman, Golden Tate, Lomas Brown, Ndamukong Suh and so many more.

The Lions have had some great players, not really great teams. Yes, they have blown some big money on single individual players, but have never spread the money out and built the perfect team.

By the time a coach starts to get a decent team built, he is usually fired before anything great can happen.

From what I have seen of great teams when they had great QBs like the New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers and now the Kansas City Chiefs, the one thing they all have in common was that their offensive lines protected the quarterback and opened up the running running game which allowed for a passing game.

Stafford has done some amazing things as QB for the Lions, but he's done it running for his life most of the time and he probably knows more about the roof at Ford Field than the guys who built it since he has spent most of his time looking up at it from being sacked.

I've said it my whole life, you protect that quarterback and the rest will work itself out. Hopefully Stafford gets the protection he needs, because odds are he will be gone next year to win big for another team if he doesn't get the job done this year with Lions, but he can't do it alone.

GO LIONS!

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