The Detroit Lions may not be ready to surpass the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North, but that doesn't mean ESPN's Cris Carter and Bill Polian don't have high expectations.

The words "dominant" and "Super Bowl" were lumped together when the Lions were mentioned during ESPN's "SportsCenter Special" that previewed the division Tuesday night.

"It's a division that has a dominant team in Green Bay, a team that looks like it's on the verge of dominance in Detroit and two teams, Chicago and Minnesota, that could go either way," said Polian, the former president of the Indianapolis Colts.

Carter added: "I believe Detroit could sneak in and represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. They have that type of young talent on their roster. Might be a year or two away."

ESPN's one-hour special recapped the 2011 season for all four teams and well as previewed any major issues heading into 2012. With the Lions, the obvious topic of the offseason arrests came up.

Polian suggested it could be the only thing holding Detroit back.

"They're this close, talent-wise, to being a great football team," Polian said. "They've got really everything you need except for the dominant running back. Everything else is in place. But these kinds of distractions are problems, and they've got to get it solved."

• When it came time to highlight a player within the division who could be posied for a breakout season, both Polian and Carter selected Lions.

"I think it's going to be Titus Young of Detroit, because Megatron (Calvin Johnson) is going to get so much coverage his way that another receiver can make a lot of money over there," Polian said.

"I'm going with Mikel Leshoure, the running back. He's going to break out in Week 3 because he's suspended the first two weeks. He's going to have a big year," Carter said.

• While Carter said Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen is the division's best defensive player, Polian picked Ndamukong Suh.

"This guy does it all," Polian said. "And it's hardest position to find in the National Football League, a defensive tackle who can play the run and is a dominant pass rusher. He's the man."

* Carter took several opportunities to mock himself

, and even suggested he could challenge Randy Moss' single-season record of 22 touchdown catches.



Email Josh Slagter at jslagter@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JoshSlagter