Calvin Johnson believes the Detroit Lions are Super Bowl contenders

The Detroit Lions are still in search of their first Super Bowl appearance, but that hasn’t stopped some of the players in Motown from making bold proclamations that the franchise is poised to win something for the first time in NFL history.

More from College Football

First it was James Ihedigbo who said the Lions have the DNA of a championship team to which defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh shared those same feelings, and now the team’s best player, Calvin Johnson, believes the Lions are on the brink of winning the Super Bowl and have what it takes to win it all.

“We need to win a Super Bowl,” Johnson said on NFL Network, via Josh Katzenstein of the Detroit News. “That’s the No. 1 thing. That’s the No. 1 thing [and] should be for every team going into the beginning of the year. We’re definitely in a place where we feel we could do that.”

Johnson cites new head coach James Caldwell as the reason for his optimism after getting out from under the Jim Schwartz era which featured its share of highs and lows, but mostly lows as the team consistently underachieved.

The Lions feature one of the more talented rosters in the NFL, particularly on offense, but shortcoming on the defensive side of the ball has prevented the Lions from making any noise in the playoffs.

Caldwell took the Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl in his first season as Tony Dungy‘s successor, but this team doesn’t have a Peyton Manning on its roster, so if the Lions are to back up their big words from Johnson, Suh and Ihedigbo, Matthew Stafford will need to have a career-year to win that elusive Super Bow.

Home/College Football