Admit it, it could have been a lot worse than it was.
The Lions may have fell, 45-27, but, for what it's worth, they looked a lot better than the Lions that went 0-16. They put a decent amount of points on the board. They made some big plays. They hung in there until the fourth quarter, which is saying something considering the fact that last year most of their games were over in the first quarter. Heck, half of them were over before they started.
The best part of the game may have been watching Louis Delmas. The safety drafted in the second round from Western Michigan showed on Sunday that he can be quite a playmaker. He made a big play when he scooped up a New Orleans fumble and ran it for a touchdown. More importantly Delmas does something that we haven't seen any Lion do in a while: He actually tackles players.
Of all the Lions draft picks this year, I have always liked Delmas the best. I have a feeling that the hard-hitting safety just might be able to spark a new era on the defensive side of the ball.
And it's not just Delmas that should give us some confidence defensively. With Julian Peterson, Ernie Sims, and Larry Foote, the linebacking corps actually looks a bit (I can't believe I'm about to use this adjective to describe the Lions) intimidating. The line is still shaky, but the secondary might be able to improve once Phillip Buchanon returns from injury.
On the offensive side of the ball, meanwhile, the Lions looked pretty good. Rookie Matt Stafford threw three interceptions, but also made some nice throws. Mistakes are bound to happen if you're a rookie quarterback that doesn't go by the name of Matt Ryan. Calvin Johnson reminded us why he was the lone bright spot in 2008. Kevin Smith didn't do anything great, but I still remain sure that he is in for a very good year.
There is also talk that the offensive line, last year considered by many, the weakest part of the team, has shown improvement. It's hard to tell from the first game, but I'll say it probably looked better than it did last year.
As far as coaching goes Jim Schwartz appears to know what he's doing. As a guy who worked under Bill Belicheck, Schwartz looks pretty good to me. I love the choice of Scott Linehan as offensive coordinator. As for the defense, Gunther Cunningham is a guy who pushes his players, which probably means harder tackling, something that was in devastatingly short supply last year.
The Lions do appear to be rebuilding, or at least improving. Remember that the process of going from the bottom of the league to a Super Bowl-calibar team rarely happens in the time of just one season.
There is a column in the Detroit Free Press by Michael Rosenberg titled: "The Road to to I" which is about the Lions going for their first victory (Rosenberg is also the author of last year's column, "The Road to XVI", which spoke of why the Lions were bound to go 0-16). Prior to Sunday's game Rosenberg announced that, in order to back up his column, he had decided to pick the Lions every week until they win. I like it, but there's one problem: Why didn't I think of it first?
At any rate the Lions are headed into the 2009 season, as a hungrier, stronger team with good coaching. And although their early schedule appears to scream "0-6!", I have a feeling that we're in for a season that has somewhere between 4 and 6 wins.
And only in Detroit does that sound optimistic.
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