Like many we were pretty optimistic about the Detroit Lions at the start of the season.  Who can forget the team’s incredible performance in the preseason?  The team looked great.  The defense was brutal.  Matthew Stafford was getting healthy.  Jahvid Best was a pleasant surprise in the rushing department.  And even the backup quarterback Drew Stanton looked great.

Calvin Johnson's now infamous almost touchdown/almost catch helped kick off the Detroit Lions season of "almost". (Image Courtesy of AP)

Today the Lions are 2-6.  Well that’s great news, you might say, had you not been following the team closely.  After all, that means in theory the Lions could end the season with four whole victories if they stay the course — two more than last season!  Well 2-6 might be happy news for the Lions, were it not for how much potential the team seemingly had or the kind of heartbreak the team has put its fans through during those six losses.

You could call 2010 the “season of almost” for the Lions.  They almost won their season opener with a late jump-ahead touch down (they lost after Calvin Johnson through the ball down in celebration and the catch was ruled incomplete on a technicality).  They almost upset a very competitive, if a bit weary Jets team (this mess deserves its own paragraph below).  They almost were 4-4.  But as they say, close is own meaningful in horseshoes and hand-grenades.

Give the Lions some credit.  Compared to last season (or, God forbid, two seasons ago) they’ve play with a lot of “heart”, as the old sports cliche goes.  They only lost two games by a touchdown or more.  And they decimated a competitive Rams team (which is 4-4), finishing with a score of 44-6.

But the season of almost really begins and ends with the Lions great quarterback hope — Matthew Stafford.  To call Stafford “a bit injury prone” might be a tad generous in retrospect, but hindsight is always 20-20.  Entering the season Stafford looked ready to finally fulfill his potential and jump above his QB class peers like Mark Sanchez, whom he was drafted ahead of.  Sure he’d had knee problems, a separated right shoulder, and various other aches and pains, but most QBs can come back form a bit of abuse.

Then came the “almost opener” special.  A crushing blindside sack by Chicago Defensive End Julius Peppers left Stafford writhing in pain near the end of the first half.  He left the game and returned with his arm in a sling.  He had a Grade 2 separated shoulder — a moderately severe skeleto-muscular injury.  Shaun Hill would go on to lead the Lions in their almost victory, almost touchdown, and losing box score.

Shaun Hill went on to win in impressive fashion playing against the Rams, raising the hopes that his play might make Stafford’s recovery time a moot point.  Then in season’s fourth game Hill suffered a broken arm, while playing against a vicious Giants defense.  Hill was out for the season.

Feeling the pressure, Stafford and Detroit’s coach staff made the decision to test the shoulder and let him play.  According to rumors, they made that decision against the device of some doctors and trainers who preferred to give Stafford more rest and recovery time.

It seemed to pay off, though, as Detroit rattled off an impressive win over Washington.  Then came the fateful Jets game last Sunday.  Harassed all of the first half, Stafford still looked poised to make the decision to come back early further pay off with another win.  Then he took a sack that sent him falling onto his should — the same right shoulder he injured in the season opener.

Stafford left the game in obvious pain.

Still, Detroit managed to put on an impassioned almost performance even without its almost reliable QB.  Detroit almost kicked an extra point when defensive whiz Ndamukong Suh stepped in for Detroit’s injured kicker Hansen (except he missed).  Detroit almost stopped the Jets from executing a tying late drive (except they committed a costly penalty on a late hit).  And they almost drove for a score in over time (had they not gone three and out on a pass play by Stanton).

Now comes the real bad news.

Stafford, according to reports, has a Grade 3 separated shoulder.  A Grade 2 injury took him 5 games to return from.  The new injury means, according to reports, that Stafford’s season is likely finished.  With Hill out that leaves only Stanton.  And Stanton isn’t exactly playing great.

Lion's QB Matthew Stafford is likely out for the season. (Image Courtesy of: Daniel Mears / The Detroit News)

But maybe ultimately that’s a good thing, Lions fans.

The team has signed seventh round-drafted QB Zac Robinson.  Hailing from Oklahoma State, Robinson has potential, despite being tossed by the Patriots and released on waivers by the Seahawks.

Newly signed QB Zac Robinson and Drew Stanton are the only two Lions QBs -- unless Ndamukong Suh decides he might like to play QB in addition to kicking extra point attempts and sacking people. (Image courtesy of AP)

Of course it’s foolish to think that Robinson will turn around Jim Schwartz’s team, which has been spent the past season specializing in “almost”.  He might almost turn them around.  (Okay that was cheap…)

But getting to the point, assuming Coach Schwartz is still at the helm at the end of the season, which seems probable, hopefully he and the Lions management recognize that Stafford is not their “QB of the future” and make the moves necessary to either draft a good quarterback or trade for one.  In that regard Stafford’s injury is good news for Lions fans sort of like how it’d be good news if someone let you know your girlfriend was cheating — at least you found out the bad news sooner rather than later and could make the necessary changes (this analogy seems doubly apt considered how cheated most Lions fans feel).

At this point there’s really no expectations on the Lions after all that has gone wrong.  Maybe they can pleasantly surprise.  Or maybe they’ll continue to pain fans with more “almost”.  Either way, most Lions fans would agree that just from first half of the season, this season has shaped up into an “almost” monster that few would have predicted or wished upon their worst rival (okay, maybe some would wish it on their worst rival).