NFL offseason creates too much nonsensical buzz

If you watched either of the first two Detroit Lions’ games, you probably noticed the team still has several issues it needs to address.

The defense, the passing game and the line play could all use some work, but if you’d put any stock into preseason predictions submitted to local sports radio stations or proclaimed by the optimistic fan, you’d think the Lions should be on their way to the playoffs by now.

Hopeful fans have predicted as many as nine or 10 wins this season, with moderate forecasts in the four to six range.

Although home football fans can sound disillusioned and sports radio callers aren’t exactly the most qualified people to make predictions, the issue of why football fans annually have such lofty expectations for their favorite team could be much more than just a case of overly optimistic fans.

The NFL’s offseason spans the better part of six months from the Pro Bowl game, which was played Feb. 8 last season, to the beginning of training camp, which was July 31 for the Lions this year.

That layoff is by far the longest of any major professional sport, and in the case of teams like the Lions that failed to make the playoffs last year, that means fans have had to wait since the end of December to see their team in action.

Needless to say, fans can get a little stir-crazy when they have to wait that long to see their team win a game.

By comparison, the NHL has already opened preseason play even though it seems like it was just yesterday that the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins played for the Stanley Cup.

The Red Wings opened camp Sept. 12 after finishing play June 12. That’s roughly a three-month layoff between the end and the beginning of the NHL season.

NBA fans roughly have to wait from June to October before the action starts up again, and MLB fans must weather the wait from late October through February.

Still, none of the other sports has a layoff much longer than four months, which makes the NFL’s near six-month break seem like hibernation.

So the next time you tune into a crazed fan’s prediction of a divisional championship for the Lions, take a deep breath instead of changing the station and make a wish that someday football season will run into June, and if you’re really feeling lucky, wish that the Lions might be playing meaningful games then, too.