ALLEN PARK, Mich. – It's hard to argue with Jim Caldwell's first season as Lions' head coach.
Unless, of course, you look closer at their 11-5 record and playoff berth.
Recommended Videos
Making the playoffs doesn't always mean you have arrived or turned the corner, especially not in the National Football League. Several teams have stumbled the season after a postseason trip.
"We talked a lot in the spring about how the mighty teams fall or are decent one year and end up being poor the next year," Caldwell said Sunday, kicking off training camp. "There's a lot of things that enter into that."
Many NFL experts don't expect the Lions to improve in 2015. Conventional wisdom figures they'll seven or eight games and miss the playoffs. Sounds about right.
Last season, the Lions feasted on weak competition. They were 10-1 against teams that finished at or under .500. They were 1-5 against teams that finished with above .500.
"I m certainly aware of any statistic that you can bring up in regard to our team,"
Caldwell said. "Every single win is important regardless of who it's against.
"But the fact of the matter is we want to be a better team than we were last year."
Their lone win against a good team was a home victory over Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
This isn't anything new. The Lions have had good luck against the Packers at home, even during Brett Farve's heyday.
When it comes to beating the Packers on the road, the Lions haven't won in Wisconsin since 1991.
Caldwell had a chance to change all that in the last game of the regular season. The stakes were high for the Lions.
A Lions win at Lambeau last season would have quieted negative talk about a franchise that hasn't won a playoff game in 24 years.
The Lions entered the game with the league's best run defense. Yet, they allowed a season-high 152 yards on the ground to the Packers.
A hobbled Rodgers, playing with an injured left calf muscle, threw for two TDs and rushed for another in the Packers' 30-20 win.
It gave Green Bay its fourth straight NFC North championship. The Pack got the bye and a home playoff game.
The Lions went to Dallas and lost to the Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs.
The way the Lions ended the 2014 season leaves this team much to prove in 2015.
Caldwell said he doesn't live in the past - good or bad. He has warned his team not to think they are entitled to anything this coming season.
"Last year was last year," Caldwell said. "It does not hurt that we were able to win a decent number of games.
"Our goal is to be better than we were last year. There's no question about it, building upon that kind of platform helps you. It gives you a little bit of momentum heading into the season, but it certainly doesn't answer a lot of questions."
And yes, the Lions have questions. Will the defense be as good without Ndamukong Suh? Will Matthew Stafford finally arrive as the elite NFL quarterback fans are expecting?
For sure, there are reasons for Lions fans to be optimistic. Caldwell's first season produced the second most wins in a Lions' season.
Plus, they believe, despite the loss of Suh, that the defense will still give them a fighting chance each and every week.
But a stumble, a fall backward, back out of the playoffs will signal that Caldwell's first season was nothing special, nothing this franchise could build on.
Let's see if Caldwell can prove most wrong about him and his team.