Lions Share

The Detroit Lions have been a stranger to success, but some members of the 2014 version are bullish on their chances this season, including the team’s best player.

Wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who discussed with NFL Network his No. 2 ranking on the network’s Top 100 players list this week, said the Lions feel they have what it takes to win a Super Bowl.

Calvin Johnson says the Lions are “definitely in a place” where winning a Super Bowl is doable.

“We need to win a Super Bowl,” Johnson said Wednesday. “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.”

Earlier this offseason, new Lions safety James Ihedigbo said he believed the team has a “championship DNA,” a thought that defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh recently agreed with.

The Detroit Lions haven’t won their division since 1993 and have played in just two playoff games since 2000. The team finished 7-9 in 2013.

Johnson credited new coach Jim Caldwell for the team’s optimism heading into this season.

“It’s an overall change and vibe here, and we love it,” Johnson told NFL Network. “We’re going to go out and bust our butts every day because Jim is such a great guy, a great leader for our team. And he’s helped bring us together, and we’re doing a lot of stuff on our own off the field to keep that camaraderie going.”

The Lions have only made the playoffs once since Calvin Johnson’s rookie year in 2007. That playoff berth came in 2011 when the Lions went 10-6 and lost in the Wild Card round.

Besides that, Detroit hasn’t really come close to the postseason. The Lions recent struggles haven’t done anything to deter the confidence of Johnson though. Megatron said on Tuesday that he believes this year ‘is our best chance’ to win a championship.

“I honestly believe that,” Johnson said, via the Detroit Free Press. “And you’ve got to buy in. You’ve got to buy into the coaches’ philosophy, and we have. I believe that everybody is doing exactly what the coaches want us to do, and if we’re not, if something is not like he wants it, he’s going to tell us and we’re going to get better at it and he only has to tell us one time.”

The coach Johnson is talking about is Lions head coach Jim Caldwell, who will be the third coach Megatron has played for since 2007. However, unlike Johnson’s first two coaches — Rod Marinelli and Jim Schwartz — Caldwell has a Lombardi Trophy to his name.

Caldwell, who coached the Colts to Super Bowl XLIV, doesn’t disagree with Johnson’s assessment of the team, “I think we have the foundation to be champions,” Caldwell said. “Without question.”

Everyone in the country will get to decide for themselves this week if they think the Lions are any good when they host the Giants. It’s not open the Lions get to open the season on a national stage. This will be Detroit’s first Monday Night Football opener since 1971.

This Monday’s game is also the Lions first primetime season opener since 1991 when they lost to the Redskins 45-0 on Sunday Night Football in Week 1. That Detroit team went on to the NFC title game.