Ndamukong Suh has been vocal this offseason about his lofty goals for the Lions, including going 16-0.
But as Suh continues to talk about the Lions as a team that can go all the way, he also mentions another goal: Changing the perception of the Lions around the NFL, so that players on other teams don’t just assume they’re going to be an easy win.
“Playoffs should no question be a goal, but that’s the first goal,” Suh said on ESPN, via the Detroit Free Press. “The second goal is to get to that next level, getting to the last round, getting to the Super Bowl and moving past that stigma of the Lions are just another team that, ‘Oh, we just beat you guys every, single year and that’s it.’ We’re going to be a team to be reckoned with.”
If that’s the way players on other teams talk to players on the Lions, it’s easy to see why: In 10 years since Matt Millen took over the team, Detroit has an 0-16 season, two 2-14 seasons, two 3-13 seasons, two 5-11 seasons, two 6-10 seasons and a 7-9 season. But Suh is extremely confident that the Lions can quickly turn those records into a distant memory.
“We can be 16-0 if we want to,” he said. “And the mind-set is that we want to be 16-0. Being able to have everybody fully healthy, all running on one cylinder, one engine — I mean, I think the sky’s the limit.”