The Detroit Lions went 0-16 in 2008 and 2-24 in 2009, but Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz proved themselves capable of turning around the franchise by building a 10-6 playoff team around Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson.

RealGM has been using a statistic called the Trench Counter to rank NFL teams since the 2007 season.

The Trench Counter accounts for average yards per pass, yards per carry, penalty yards, first downs and turnovers to determine how well teams control the game in the most meaningful ways.

The Lions rank 27th in Trench Counter from the 2007 season through 2011.

Below are Detroit’s season-by-season rankings, Trench Counter totals and actual record in parentheses.

2007: 21st, -2.9 (7-9)
2008: 32nd, -12.0 (0-16)
2009: 29th, -9.4 (2-14)
2010: 23rd, -2.7 (6-10)
2011: 9th, +3.0 (10-6)