Detroit Lions -- Turning the corner?

When an NFL team is 1-4 going into a bye week, you don't usually have a lot of positive things to say. Except maybe, "thank God it's a bye week."

This is not necessarily the case with the Detroit Lions.

After a big opening day win over Arizona, the Lions got smacked around against the Packers, and they got dropped at home against the Vikings.

They then made their way to Denver, to take on the 3-0 Broncos. Forget for a second that the Lions were beaten 20-16. Forget that they still gave up too many big plays. Forget that they could not make a big play of their own to finish off the game.

The point is, they were IN this game until the final whistle sounded. The Lions teams of the last few years would have gone into Denver, wilted under the pressure, and been blown out. Following the defeat in Denver, the Lions went into San Francisco to face a team that was embarrassed the week before in a 35-7 loss to the Vikings. Detroit fell behind early in this one, at one point trailing 17-0.

Again, if this were the Lions of old, that would have been it. Forget again, if you will, that we lost this game 24-17. Forget that Joey Harrington threw two more interceptions. Forget that the defense couldn't get a stop when we needed it the most, and they couldn't get the offense one more shot at a tie.

The point is, these were two games that Lions should never have had a chance to win, but in both situations, they were a matter of one or two plays away from stealing a victory.

These are not the Lions of old.

I know, we're still only 1-4. No need to remind me of that. However, you have to admit, this is not your average 1-4 team. A team that was 1-2, and considerably more talented (the Oakland Raiders) went into Denver and was destroyed. The Lions gave that same Denver team everything they could handle.

Call it cautious optimism. Call it craziness. I don't care what you call it, but I think this team is about to do something big. As I watched the Lions fall behind 24-10 to the 49ers, I knew the game was over. I knew we were going to give up. Less than seven minutes to play, hostile territory, the odds were not in our favor. After all, we're the Detroit Lions.

Then I saw the Lions do something I hadn't seen them do in almost three years. They kept fighting. They put together a perfect drive, scored a much-needed touchdown, and they were within one score of taking the game to overtime before they finally ran out of gas.

The Lions, while being the oldest team in the NFC (their average player's age is 38), are still very young at the key positions. Harrington started just his 17th game last Sunday, Charles Rogers is only a rookie, and other key positions (linebacker, cornerback and running back) have starters who are only in their third or fourth NFL season.
Yet, in spite of these things, the Lions are fighting harder than they have fought in three seasons.

Don't get me wrong. I know we're not going to the playoffs this year. We may not even get seven wins this season. The odds are sure against it, anyway. However, watch this team over the next few Sundays. The Cowboys (3-1), Bears (1-3), and Raiders (2-3) are coming to town, and we go visit those same Bears in Chicago. Before you realize it, the Lions could be a .500 or better team.

Steve Mariucci, the Lions' head coach, said that he felt this team was about to "turn the corner." For the Detroit Lions, not going backwards is an accomplishment. Now, we're actually going somewhere.