At Least One Person in Detroit Thinks Lions Won't Go 0-16

I wonder if the Detroit Free Press' Drew Sharp wrote this prior to Rod Marinelli's rambling post-loss press conference. You'd imagine that if Sharp had caught just a few minutes of the "Why I'm a failure" self-lecture, he might've been less adamant about the whole "there's absolutely no way the Lions go winless this season" angle.

Whatever, from today's edition:

Let me reiterate -- it ... is ... impossible ... to ... lose ... all ... 16...games ... in an NFL season. This league is rigged for the accidental victory, and the Lions came awfully close Sunday against Carolina to being the blind squirrel stumbling upon that acorn.

I'd like their chances of finally getting that first victory against Tampa Bay next week if they played it in Tampa, because this team plays better away from the poisonous climate of Ford Field. Now, the Lions are wholly responsible for creating that toxic environment, but they seem more comfortable knowing that they're the villain when they first take the field as opposed to when they commit their first dumb mistake.

I'm still not convinced the Lions will win in 2008, but Sharp's last point is an interesting one. It says a lot when the team is so dreadful, and the front office has such a history of futility, mismanagement, and general disdain for the fan base, that every game is an away game. And the actual away games -- those that require the players and coaches to board a plane and travel to another city -- are more a more welcoming prospect than Ford Field.

In any event, Detroit's 0-10, and they have six shots and mustering a victory. After the Bucs come to town, the Lions host the Titans, Vikings and Saints, and travel to Indy and Green Bay. Yeah, I'm having trouble seeing how this doesn't end with a big, fat oh-for-'08.

Of course, nobody had the Bengals beating the Jaguars, or tying the Eagles, for that matter, so who knows. As a side note, if the Lions earn two ties over the last month and a half of the season, I'm counting that as one win. Marinelli could use the confidence boost right before he gets canned.