I should be absolutely ticked off for the sorry display the Lions put on in New Orleans yesterday.  Yet I'm not.  What's wrong with me?  Has not winning a game since 2007 reduced me to accepting a humiliating loss?  Why am I feeling some sense of strange optimism?  Why have I lost the ability to pass the usual judgement of "Same Old Lions"?  I can't put my finger on it.  I have no structured argument to back up my optimism but here's some thoughts about yesterday:

Stafford played like . . . well . . . a rookie.  Yet, surprisingly, I don't want to hang him out to dry.  I actually kind of felt sorry for him.  That's a big step for me since I still wish we could go back and draft Curry or an O-Lineman.  Seeing him on the sideline after each unsuccessful drive, I got the impression that he really took things to heart.  Like I said, I have no structured arguments here, just gut feelings that this kid wants to make this team a winner.  I almost got the feeling that if he could, he would send out an apology note to every Lions fan saying that he'll try to do better next time.

I cringed when that first Backus penalty occurred.  I got that sour, Matt Millen feeling in my gut.  You know that feeling.
The one where you wonder why this guy is still with the team even though he's an example of why everything is wrong.

The team fought hard.  They were obviously not ready and way outmatched, yet something was different about the way they kept clawing their way back.  I don't remember a Lions team that, even down by 18 points, I still felt like they had a chance.

The other rookies impressed me.  Aaron Brown and Louis Delmas were bright spots.  The kick-off return that almost got there and the fumble recovery and return that did get there has me looking forward to better days.

Jay Cutler made Stafford look good.  I felt better last night when I saw that Jay Cutler managed to throw 3 int's in the first half (4 for the game)  I remember that, at one point, people were wanting to trade for this guy.  He has ability but I've never been sold on it.  He really hasn't done anything to justify the hype that earned him a Pro Bowl birth last year.

The Bears, Packers, and Vikings do not scare me.  The Bears and Packers played a sloppy game last night.  Neither team looks like the team that pundits have made them out to be.  How can a quarterback throw 4 int's and still come close to winning a game?  Urlacher is out for the season.  If Cutler keeps playing like he did, the fans in Chicago will chain him to a cement block and throw him in Lake Michigan.  The Packers, picked by many to win the division, failed to capitalize on a dismal showing by the Bears.  I don't understand all the Packer hype.  Didn't they just come off a 6-10 season.  Their defense may win them the division but I don't see a return to glory.  Then there's Minnesota who won soundly yesterday.  Why don't they scare me?  Because they beat the Cleveland freaking Browns. (I have Cleveland right up there with Oakland on the list of teams that could join the Lions in 0-16 infamy)  Brett Favre did nothing to win the game except handoff to Adrian Peterson.  The Lions always seem to play Minnesota well.  So what am I trying to say?  I think the Lions stand a chance on any given Sunday against the other 3 teams in this division.  Not that they'll win all those games, just that I think they'll put on a good, competetive show.  My opinion is that the NFC North is going to be like last year's AFC West.  Some 8-8 or 9-7 team will win the division because the other 3 teams will piddle away the opportunities.

I still think the Lions will win about 4 or 5 games.  There were flashes of improvement yesterday, even though it was hard to see.  I feel a strange optimism.  Call it foolishness.  Call it Kool Aid.  Schwartz can't right the ship in one year but I sense that the change may finally be coming.  I hope I'm right.