1-0 is a Good Place to Be

First off, please excuse my shoddy headlines. My first copy editing class is Tuesday, and we're supposed to work on those.

Our faithful readers (all four of them) will have to wait at least another week for a good one because we don't actually do anything the first class...knock on wood.

I was going to vent on the Wolverines Saturday afternoon, but I decided to sleep on it first.

Guess what, it didn't work. I still don't want to talk about it.

But stay tuned to this here blog contraption in the coming days for an extensive breakdown of what went wrong and my take on this program and what needs to change and whatnot.

Or you can simply ask any Michigan fan between the ages of 4-95, I'm sure they've got some strong opinions.

Anyway, it's time to talk Lions.

The men in Honolulu blue and black and silver and white got the big 17-3 win over the Packers today, and while it wasn't the flashy offensive show we were all hoping for, it was a surprisingly dominant performance by a much-maligned defense, and a masterful job of play-calling by the oft-criticized Dick Jauron.

(Speaking of which, what are the odds both Jauron and Jim Hermann's defenses would come out and play this good against quality opponents in the same week? Unreal. Oh, and in case any Sparties happen to be reading this screaming at the monitor for me to shut up about UM already-yes, Drew Stanton is amazing, now go and knock off those annoying Domers for us again, please.)

The front seven of the Lions seemed to have gotten with an attitude transplant. They were stunting, blitzing, weaving, and getting in Brett Favre's face most of the day.

The Lions' personnel is more suited to an aggressive style, and Jauron seems more willing to trust them on the blitz with Dre Bly and Fernando Bryant healthy in the secondary.

Terrence Holt and Kenoy Kennedy will make some mistakes, but they'll also make plays, and that's more than you can say about Brock Marion and Bracy Walker.

Hopefully Jauron will continue to call games this way all season.

As for the offensive playcalling, sure, it wasn't great. A couple of those draw plays were ridiculous and the booing was justified.

But there's not really much you can do when your offensive line is getting pushed back all day- by the likes of Cullen Jenkins and Big Fat Grady Jackson, no less. Not a good sign.

Can the line still improve? Sure. Kelly Butler will only get better, and he and Rick DeMulling need time to mesh with the rest of the O-line.

But I see this as being a major problem for the rest of the season. Jeff Backus isn't going to get any quicker, and Dominic Raiola isn't going to get any bigger and will always struggle with interior bull rushers.

The big key is how Joey Harrington handles the rush. He's going to have to learn to live with it.

He made some plays stepping up into the pocket, but he got frustrated as the game wore on and rushed his throws.

At least he didn't put any balls up for grabs. He managed the game and that's all the Lions needed against a surprisingly lifeless Packers team.

Even Brett Favre looked like he didn't really want to be there. He was basically talked out of retirement and then came back with designs on making one last run, and what's his reward?

The Packers got rid of two of his top three linemen, not to mention the entire secondary.

Despite the Packers' woes, this was a solid win and a crucial one, but we won't know for sure what kind of team the Lions have until they face some real adversity.

We'll still get the same old "We need to look at the film and correct some things" jargon at the press conference tomorrow, but it'll sound a whole lot better coming on the heels of a win, and that's a beautiful thing.

On to Chicago.