I have been a fan for the Lions fro a long, long time.  I became a superfan when this really funny charismatic overweight coach got the "interim" tag removed from his title and he drafted this short little dude named Barry Sanders.  I have known the elation of the '91 season and my faith and trust and hope have been repeatedly bludgeoned ever since.

I have been tricked.  I have been led on.  I have been fooled.  I have been heartbroken and i have been distraught and disgusted.

When the Lions were up by 14 in the fourth quarter...I was still wondering how they were going to give this game away.

And they didn't.

In point of fact, the Lions should have won this game by a much bigger margin.  Possibly by 21 or more points. 

Brandon Pettigrew dropped a touchdown in the endzone.  The Lions had two awful, stupid penalties by Stephen Peterman and Gosder Cherilus.  One that pretty much ended a drive and the other gave Tampa an extra 30 seconds to try and come back.  A ball bounced off the hands of Tony Scheffler into the hands of Aqib Talib who returned it for a touchdown.  The Bucs returned the opening kickoff to the Lions 20 yard line or so.

Take away all that bad luck, bad play, and a little downright stupidity and the Leo's utterly destroy the Bucs.

The Bucs didn't manage their first first down until well into the second quarter.  They went into the half up 20-13 and 10 of the Bucs points were pretty much hand delivered by the Lions.

The defense was dominant early, but did kind of fade as the 95 degree heat and 1 billion percent humidity sapped the life out of everybody as they went into the fourth quarter.

Stafford was 24 of 33 for 305 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception--and that interception bounced off of Scheffler's hands.  Pettigrew also let one go through his hands that would have been a touchdown...his 118.9 QB rating...is actually less than it could have been...

Wow, how long has it been said in Detroit that we "haven't had a real quarterback since Bobby Lane?"

Now, granted there were still A LOT of things the Lions need to improve on after this win...like minimizing the bone headed after the whistle penalties and improving a mediocre running game that simply wasn't able to grind out the tough yards to end the game, but that's probably the most exciting part about this victory...they can still do a ton better!

Wow, I've got to stop and take a breath...the Lions are actually getting my hopes up again...

So how are they going to lose to Kansas City this week?

So last night Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers put on an awesome offensive show in opening the season against the New Orleans Saints.  I will go so far as to say that the Packers, the reigning Super Bowl Champs, remain the team to beat this season...as long as Rodgers is standing...which is sort of a problem for the Lions and the rest of the NFC North...so....note to Ndamukong Suh...ahem....yeah....that guy...get him next.

The Leos open this season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  A team that features a big, talented, mobile and creative quarterback in Josh Freeman.  He is one of the big up and comers in the league and the team he leads is both the youngest and one of the more talented squads out there.

There were real honest to goodness reasons why there was genuine debate two years ago about who the Lions should pick with second overall selection, Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy.  McCoy was supposedly built better for rushing the passer.  His game was speed and technique while Suh was more power and...sheer destructive force...

Suh was the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year last season and led all defensive tackles with 10 sacks...so maybe there were some people who were mistaken in their arguments....but that doesn't by any means make McCoy a slouch.  The guy can bring it and he is part of a young and disruptive defensive line.

So let me break this down as simply as I can for you...

TB Offense vs Det Defense

Truly this is a question of "Can the much vaunted Detroit defensive line stop the run?"  This has been an issue in the past and also during the 4-0 preseason.  Laguerette Blount is a workhorse running back who may not always be able to take it to the house,  he will churn out a lot of yards 4 and 6 at a time.

It is paramount that the the linebacking corps, which is 2/3 new to Detroit, fill the proper holes and maintiain their assignments or else it'll be a long day for the Lions.  It's all well and good to have an awesome pass rush...but if they other team never has to pass...it's all for naught.

Advantage: Tampa Bay

Det Offense vs TB Defense

Here is where I think the Lions have a distinct advantage.  Because their running game proved to be so unstoppable in the preseason?  Heck no...because of Calvin Johnson.  Johnson rang up 3 TD's and 150+ receiving yards last year with Drew Stanton throwing him the ball.  This year Stafford will be able to air it out a lot more and the TB secondary doesn't appear to have improved greatly since last year.  Ronde Barber is another year older, which I think makes him 106 and the Bucs guy on the other side might be younger, but he hasn't proven much either.

I like Stafford to Johnson a lot for at least a touchdown, probably two.

Prediction: Detroit 30, Tampa Bay 21