Loyal readers know that I was targeting the Lions-Bears game as a crucial contest, one that would show exactly how good (or how bad) the Lions are. Well, of course, the Lions won, but I am still not sold. Why’s that? Well, because the Bears looked sluggish. This wasn’t your average Black and Blue Division slugfest. In fact, it looked more like a pre-season game to me. But as the saying goes, a win is a win. With the Lions facing the enigmatic Washington Redskins today, I am psyched to see the Lions prove once and for all, that they are for real.

Of course, the Eagles totally dismantled the Lions 4000 - 0 (or something close to that), and the Lions looked like more like last year’s Lions than the Mike Martz Rams. The defense was pitiful. Flat out pitiful. Donovan McNabb had a career day, Brian Westbrook had a career day - heck, even Kevin Curtis, the free agent WR that the Lions failed to acquire in the offseason had a career day. Sure, that little dude is fast, but oh, the irony!

So how good are the Lions? Or should we be asking, how bad? The Lions are probably not as bad as last week, and probably not as good as they looked in the first two weeks. In other words, the truth lies somewhere in between. This might be a .500 team at best, and in a surprisingly tough NFC Central (Favre has the Packers looking amazing, and how long before Adrian Peterson has the Vikings on a roll), the Lions could be on the outside looking in before we even hit mid-season.

The real test, as I have been saying for a while now, will be this week’s contest against the Bears. The Bears got crushed at home by the Cowboys, that vaunted Chicago D is starting to show some cracks and Rex Grossman is finally on the hot seat, where he belongs. If the Lions defense can muster a pass rush and get to Grossman early, we all know that sexy Rexy will implode. If the Lions can capitalize on the turnovers and rack up a few early scores, the Lions could be the upset pick of the week. Of course, if they lose to the Bears, we’ll have a much clearer understanding of just how far this team has yet to go.

Will this week be another step forward, or another step back? I don’t know about you, but I’m really looking forward to the Bears game.

So the Lions are now 2-0 and hoping for an upset win in Philadelphia in week three. I’m actually hopeful in this game. If Kitna’s concussion is cleared up, and Tatum Bell can get back to running like he did in week one, the Lions might have a shot. Then, my fellow Lions fans, the Lions would return home to Ford Field riding a three game win streak. Wow. Could the Lions actually be turning the corner? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Lions fans know better than to get too excited. How many times have we watched our beloved silver and blue look good, start to win a couple games, only to break our hearts in the end. Coaches not taking the ball after winning the coin toss in overtime. Scott Mitchell throwing interceptions as fast as he can. Barry Sanders retiring in disgust over the lack of passion that was rampant throughout the organization. We all know the drill.

And yet, the team looked pretty darn good on Sunday. Jon Kitna looked comfortable running the Mike Martz offense and all of the receivers got into the mix, including the rookie Calvin Johnson. Sure, the defense is still horrible (we gave up 313 passing yards to ex-Lion QB Josh McCown), but at least we know we have the offensive firepower to stay competitive. We’re not the Colts but at least we can score points when we absolutely need to.

So, back to our original question - are the Lions for real? We’ll have to see them compete against tougher opponents to really get a true sense of where this Rod Marinelli led team is at. Let’s face it: the Raiders are not the Patriots. The Lions play the Vikings this week, and if they can pull off an upset there, we might have a better idea. But we won’t truly accept this team as “for real” until they beat the Bears. And do you really think that will happen? Exactly.

But who really cares? The last pre-season game is really a lost cause. The offense and defensive schemes are plain vanilla. No one wants to show their cards in a meaningless game one week away from the start of the season. No major starters played for Detroit, so it was almost akin to a pickup game that one sees in the backyard. The final score? Lions 13, Buffalo 16. The biggest news was that no one got hurt. Whew!

On a side note, all indications are that Kevin Jones will go on the PUP list, making him inactive for the first six weeks. Told ya.

Bring on the real games!

This guy walks into a bar wearing a Lions jersey and carrying a little dog that also has a Lions jersey on with a little Lions helmet, too.

The guy says to the bartender, ‘Can my dog and I watch the Lions game here? My TV at home broke and my dog and I want to see the game’

The bartender replies, ‘Normally, dogs in the bar would not be allowed, but it is not terribly busy in here, so you and the dog can have a seat at the end of the bar. But, if there is any trouble with you or the dog, I’ll have to ask you to leave.’ The guy agrees and he and his dog start watching the game.

Pretty soon the Lions kick a field goal and the dog jumps up on the bar and walks down the bar and gives everyone a high five.

The bartender says, ‘Hey, that’s cool! What does he do for a touch down?’

The guys answers, ‘I don’t know, I’ve only had him for 3 years.’

To make matters worse, the Lions offense played poorly without Jon Kitna (back spasms) at the helm. J.T. O’Sullivan struggled early on the receivers had a tough time getting separation. Tatum Bell injured his leg (no news yet on the severity), Boss Bailey suffered a concussion and safety Daniel Bullocks injured his knee. Overall, a bad night. With Bell out, the Lions used Bryan Calhoun and TJ Duckett. They were average at best. Calvin Johnson, the Lions promising rookie wide receiver, had three catches for 25 yards.

But it’s true. The Lions kicked the Browns’ butt on Saturday and even though the score ended up 23-20, with the silver and blue coming out on top, the game was not really that close. Rookie Browns QB Brady Quinn rallied his team to rack up some last minute points, but that was against the Lions’ third stringers and they were playing soft. The team looked impressive on offense (as usual) and the defense even stepped up for once, recovering a fumble and grabbing two INTs to keep the Browns from gaining any momentum.

Conventional wisdom states that only the third pre-season game is a good indicator of where an NFL is at. The other games are merely showcases for rookies and free agents to see how well they are picking up their team’s systems. So it would be unwise to get too optimistic at this point. But with two solid pre-season wins under our belts, and an offense that seems to be ready to surprise many around the league, it is easy to be hopeful. Just don’t tell anyone about it.

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The amazing Lion’s offense threw 47 passes (completing 30) for 489 passing yards. With Kevin Johnson on the bench, the Lions running game was sluggish, compiling only 59 yards rushing on 19 attempts. Kitna and the first string did not really perform that well, but the second and third string offense, run by JT O’Sullivan (who?) and Dan Orlovsky stepped up when called upon.

We aren’t going to get too excited (after all, it’s the first pre-season game) but the “Pass First, Ask Questions Later” offense that the Lions ran on Thursday looked pretty darn good. We know it won’t last. Or will it? We can hardly wait for the next pre-season game.

Lions 27, Bengals 26 Box Score