NFL 2000 Preview - NFC Central
By: James AlderDateline: August 17, 2000
Detroit Lions
Charlie Batch, the Detroit Lions starting quarterback, is coming off a broken bone below his right knee that he suffered in an off season practice session. Since Batch has shown a tendancy to be injury prone, the Lions front office decided to bring in a veteran quarterback to back him up. Mike Tomczak, a 15-year veteran, is a very capable backup quarterback, but he will not take the Lions far if Batch goes down.Whoever is at the helm of the offense will benefit from one of the best trio of receivers in the league. Johnny Morton had 80 catches for 1,129 yards last season, and in place of the injured Herman Moore emerged former first-round pick Germane Crowell. The return of a healthy Moore should provide an interesting competition at starting wide receiver. Watch for head coach Bobby Ross to try to get all three of these guys into the game at the same time quite often this year.
James Stewart was picked up from Jacksonville to replace Greg Hill at starting running back which should provide an immediate upgrade at the position. Hill managed to rush for only 524 yards last season as a replacement for the retired Barry Sanders. Sedrick Irvin should see time backing up Stewart also this season.
The running backs should benefit from a huge offensive line that has added Aaron Gibson, a 375 pound tackle who missed all of 1999 with a shoulder injury, and first-round draft pick Stocker McDougle, a 361 pound guard. McDougle is an excellent run blocker but needs to work on his pass blocking skills. Right guard Jeff Hartings could very well be a Pro Bowl lineman this season.
The defensive line is led by Pro-Bowler Luther Eliss and Robert Porcher is an outstanding force at left end. Tracy Scroggins should start at right end and Travis Kirscke will start at tackle next to free agent James Jones.
The Lions are solid at linebacker with Pro Bowler Steven Boyd in the middle. He will be flanked by Chris Claiborne as the weak-side linebacker and Allen Aldridge playing the strong side.
Detroit's secondary finished eighth in the league last year in yards allowed through the air. Bryant Westbrook is a solid corner and Kevin Abrams could be if he is fully recovered from the foot injury that cost him most of last season. The lions also brought in strong safety Kurt Schulz from the Buffalo Bills.
So Detroit should be a strong well balanced team that could compete for the division championship, but if Charlie Batch goes down for any length of time, then so will the Lions Chances.
Chicago Bears
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
How Will They Finish?
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