The Killer is killing the Lions.

Tom Kowalski has no love for the Lions this year. I shouldn't say that, he must love the Lions if his job is to cover them on a daily basis, but his predictions don't say much. He thinks that Detroit will only go 3-13 this year and that they will not join the ranks of other worst-to-first teams, such as Miami and Atlanta. I would have to disagree with that.

I am not going to say that they definitely will, but they do have a chance. I really like what the Lions have done. To start off, Matt Millen is gone. They only thing that worries me about Martin Mayhew is his initials. After Marty Mornhinweg, Matt Millen, Rod Marinelli and Steve Mariucci, I don't want to see another "M". That brings me to the next change, the coach. They brought in Jim Schwartz...sounds good, right? The defense that he ran in Tenesse proves that he knows what he is doing. Then, they brought in two veteran guys on the defensive side (Foote and Peterson) and have drafted hyped-up players like Louis Delmas. As long as Matthew Stafford, or Daunte Culpepper, can prove to be a serviceable quarterback this year, I am going to have to give the Lions a little more credit than the Killer does. With that attitude, we are going to have a very long season.

Nine Wins and Seven Losses?

I have decided that the Lions will be 9 - 7 this year when the season is over. What does this mean? Well, a possible shot at the playoffs. I guess that all depends on how Green Bay does because I don't feel that Chicago or Minnesota have a shot at it this year. It will be Detroit or Green Bay.

You may think that I am being quite generous with this prediction. Let me start off by saying there should be four easy wins for the Lions this year. I am considering these games against Cleveland, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and San Francisco. I am also counting on two wins against Chicago; they don't have one person for Cutler to throw to. Minnesota is in the same boat as Chicago. They are weak at the quarterback/receiver position. This is why I'm splitting the series between Minnesota and Detroit. That leaves us with a total of seven wins. Where do the other two come from? Well, I'm giving us the Thanksgiving game, even though it is against Green Bay. There is a major change with the Lions this year and the fans are supporting it. There were 15,000 of us at the open practice! The new intensity will show with a win on national TV. The final win is my upset special, which will come in Baltimore. You may think its crazy, but if you can get through the Raven's defense, you should be able to win. I am not high on their offense at all this year, so I'm giving us a chance. That's it 9 - 7, call me crazy.

Week 1: at New Orleans Saints.....LOSS
Week 2: vs Minnesota Vikings......WIN
Week 3: vs Washington Redskins....LOSS
Week 4: at Chicago Bears..........WIN
Week 5: vs Pittsburgh Steelers....LOSS
Week 6: at Green Bay Packers......LOSS
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: vs St. Louis Rams.........WIN
Week 9: at Seattle Seahawks.......LOSS
Week 10: vs Minnesota Vikings......LOSS
Week 11: vs Cleveland Browns.......WIN
Week 12: vs Green Bay Packers......WIN
Week 13: vs Cincinnati Bengals.....WIN
Week 14: at Baltimore Ravens.......WIN
Week 15: vs Arizona Cardinals......LOSS
Week 16: at San Francisco 49ers....WIN
Week 17: vs Chicago Bears..........WIN

I really don't think that they will win nine games, but I do think that they have a chance to win nine games. Let's not forget what Miami did. They went from 1-15 to 11-5 overnight.