Everyone is talking about the Detroit Lions these days, even the New York Times.

The Lions started the season 1-6, and then, something changed. They turned it around in a heartbeat, now having won five of their last six games.

The New York Times is taking note. In a new article published on Dec. 14 titled, “The Lions Are Finally Playing Up to Their Coach’s Tough-Guy Image,” writer Mike Tanier says some insightful things about the team.

Tanier also says some funny, and true, things about Lions head coach Dan Campbell.

“Dan Campbell is practically a caricature of a football coach,” Tanier writes. “The Detroit Lions’ leader carries himself like a cross between a drill sergeant and a big-game hunter. His remarks in news conferences are peppered with tough-guy clichés and Scotch-and-cigar one-liners. It often sounds like he’s punching you in the arm while he speaks. Campbell is the sort of man who seems to have been born with a whistle around his neck.”

Elsewhere in the article, Tanier gives the Lions praise and says the team is the real deal.

“The Lions’ sudden improvement does not look like a lucky hot streak,” he writes. “They are beating competitive opponents convincingly, and they are doing so without big-name superstars, thanks in large part to the Campbell regime’s nouveau spin on traditional gravel-chomping strategies.”

My personal favorite line from the story is that the Lions, who have only won one playoff game in the past 65 seasons, “May finally be slow-building something special.” I couldn’t agree more.

Read Tanier’s full commentary via the New York Times here.