There are already a lot of people talking about the Detroit Lions ahead of their very exciting 2023 season. There is a lot going right for this franchise. Maybe 2023 is the time where it will all click and the team can finally claw itself out of the depths of mediocrity.

A lot is going right for the Lions in all of the right ways, but it is also fair to say that expectations need to be fair for this franchise. Going from decades of being bad to a Super Bowl champion overnight isn't exactly being realistic.

No, the expectations for the Lions need to be fair in the regular season. That doesn't mean doing anything crazy like predicting a losing season or anything like that, but a hint of skepticism until we are proven wrong is key.

Either way, the wins and losses don't really matter at the end of the day. This team should still win enough games to make it into the playoffs on the pure basis of how weak the NFC North is. 

Instead, the Lions have to focus on tangible, incremental gains on a weekly basis to put the team in the best position to win by the end of the year. Again, growth is the focus, wins and losses aren't.

This is going to be a tough pill to swallow for some people. They might want the Lions to jump out to 12 wins and dominance immediately, which is on the table, but it certainly isn't a guarantee.

These people may take issue that it takes time to put all these moving pieces together for good, but that is just a part of the game. Wins without growth don't help with playoff football.

Don't let the box score fool you this season. Wins and losses are nice, but it is hard to say enough just how important it is for this group grow above all else through the year.