Las Vegas and offshore bookmakers have released their 2011 NFL regular season win totals and the Detroit Lions are predicted to improve on last season's 6-10 record. The opening odds had the Lions sitting at under 7.5 wins -120 (risk $120.00 to win $100.00), with the over at 7.5 wins +100. At the time of this article, the early money has pushed the total win count to over 7.5 -135/under 7.5 +115 in Las Vegas at the MGM properties and over 8 +125/under 8 -155 offshore at Bookmaker.

When reviewing the upcoming season for the Lions in the video below we put emphasis on Detroit staying healthy during the 2011-12 season. Just moments ago, it was announced by Lions head coach Jim Schwartz that rookie running back Mikel Leshoure tore his Achilles tendon in practice and is out for the season. This is a monster blow to the Lions as they were factoring in Leshoure to compliment Jahvid Best and be used for short yardage, goal line and when trying to kill the clock in the four-minute-offense. This injury follows up first-round pick Nick Fairley breaking his foot already (out for the preseason) and rookie WR getting injured in the first day of training camp and not practicing since.

The Lions come into the season following a 6-10 record, but closed out the year with four straight wins that included a victory over the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. If you break down the losses from 2010-11, the Lions had two close losses to the Bears, a 26-28 loss to Green Bay, three-point overtime loss to the Jets and a late 12-14 choke job versus the Buffalo Bills. Mind you, this was with missing starting quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Jahvid Best battling turf toe all year.

The oddsmakers and the betting experts expected this to be a break out season for the Lions, but with their top draft picks either injured or out for the season before the NFL preseason even begins, right now we are passing on any prediction on the 2011-12 pro football season win total.

NFL: Detroit Lions Season Win Totals
What NFL football bettors need to know about Detroit Lions 2011 Season from Pregame.com - Including predictions from Johnny Detroit and analysis from host Marco D'Angelo.