Tuesday Notes: Orlovsky to Return to Practice?

by Sean Yuille on Dec 2, 2008 5:57 PM EST in Detroit Lions Notes

Rod Marinelli brought up the possibility of going 0-16 earlier this week and plainly said that that won't happen. Marinelli appears to have turned the Lions' winless record into a motivational ploy to get them to win a game.
This Sunday is probably the Lions' last chance to win a game this season. They should have beat Minnesota in the Metrodome earlier this season, but they were on the wrong end of a couple bad calls that led to the Vikings kicking a game-winning field goal. Obviously Dan Orlovsky's embarrassing safety was all his fault, but the refs certainly didn't make things any easier for the Lions.
Speaking of Orlovsky, he may return to practice this week, as his thumb injury appears to have healed enough for him to play football again. If he is healthy enough to play, I believe the Lions should start him. Before his injury, Orlovsky wasn't playing all that bad, and Daunte Culpepper hasn't exactly been playing all that well.
Staying on the injury front, Dominic Raiola, Stephen Peterman, and Edwin Mulitalo were back in practice on Monday after missing the Titans game. Kevin Smith and Gosder Cherilus missed practice but should play on Sunday.
Dave Birkett pointed out an interesting fact regarding the draft. Since the Chiefs won on Sunday, they now have two victories this season. That leaves the Lions at 0-12 as the league's worst team. The Bengals are the next worst team with a 1-10-1 record, meaning the Lions would have to win two more games to lose the #1 pick. Since the chances of that happening are beyond slim, it appears that the Lions will be the first team on the clock next April.
Lions rookies went through a charm school type of thing to learn everything from where to put your napkin when eating to how to write a thank you note.
Pro Football Talk thinks that the Lions' Thanksgiving game won't be taken away by Roger Goodell, as it would probably take a consensus among the owners to make a change.
The Buccaneers and Patriots are going to play in England next year.