Rod Beard, James Hawkins, John Niyo and Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News offer their predictions for how the Detroit Lions will fare this season.
Rod Beard: After a 9-7 finish and another playoff flameout last year, the Lions will have an uphill climb to get back to the postseason. They’ll have a tough first half of the schedule — and if they can make it through that somewhere near .500, they’ll have a good shot for a strong finish. But waiting at the end of the road is a matchup versus Green Bay, which hasn’t turned out well in recent years.