Defensive end Jared DeVries is going to be moved to the injured reserve, as his season is over after re-breaking his left hand during yesterday's game.  With DeVries going to the IR, a roster spot becomes available for Drew Henson.  According to Dave Birkett, Dan Orlovsky thinks he is "probably two weeks away" from being able to play again, so I guess he won't be moved to the IR after all.

Also via Birkett, the Lions will be one injured team going into Thursday's game.

Along with Stanton, Lions coach Rod Marinelli said right end Dewayne White (calf) and center Dominic Raiola (thumb) are doubtful for Thursday, and cornerback Keith Smith (groin) he probably won't be available either. Raiola said he should be back for next week's game against Minnesota.

Can the Lions just forfeit right now?

• I don't necessarily think there is suddenly a quarterback controversy within the coaching staff, because they unfortunately seem content with Daunte Culpepper.  However, I do believe that Drew Stanton should get more playing time.  Having both Culpepper and Stanton play can't be good for the rhythm of the offense, but does it really matter at this point?  Getting Stanton more experience is necessary, and although I don't want to see him get sacked over and over again, he needs to play.
• Both of the Lions' starting defensive ends left the Jaguars game due to injuries.  Dewayne White left early on with a calf injury and will be re-evaluated today.  Jared DeVries fractured a bone in his left hand and will have surgery on it tomorrow.  White and DeVries aren't expected to play on Sunday against Carolina, meaning the Lions' defense will be even weaker than it usually is.
• As Mike O'Hara points out, the Lions are in danger of losing their annual Thanksgiving game.  For years people have called for the Lions to give the game to another team since they have been so mediocre.  That is still the case this year, but how do you think the NFL will react if the Thanksgiving game is blacked out locally?  That is beyond a real possibility at this point, and my guess is that this could very well be the Lions' last Thanksgiving game until things get turned out.
• Another thing Mike O'Hara mentioned is this scary thought:
  

  Julius Peppers: He had three sacks for Carolina in Sunday's win at Oakland. He'll be lined up over Gosder Cherilus, the Lions' rookie right tackle, in Sunday's game.

  I feel really sorry for whoever starts at QB for the Lions.
  
• The paid attendance for yesterday's game was a Ford Field record low of 52,631.
• The Lions' 75th Season All-Time Team was honored at halftime yesterday.

• Jon Kitna missed practice again on Thursday, and it is looking more and more like he won't start for the Lions on Sunday.  It will probably be a game-time decision, but if Kitna doesn't play then Dan Orlovsky would likely step in to replace him, just as he did against the Bears.  I would hope Orlovsky plays better if he does start, but there really is no reason to believe he will.
• The Lions waived running back Marcus Thomas and signed fullback Moran Norris on Thursday.  Thomas was signed after the last round of cuts back at the end of August.  Before joining the Lions, Thomas was a member of the Chargers, who drafted him earlier this year.  Norris, the newest member of the Lions, played for the 49ers before being released during the final round of cuts.
• Detroit also signed defensive back Chris Roberson to the practice squad to fill the vacancy created by the departure of Kenneth Moore.  The Panthers signed Moore earlier this week from the Detroit's practice squad, giving Roberson, a former Eastern Michigan player, the chance to join the Lions.
• Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports thinks the Lions should trade Dewayne White, Brian Kelly, Roy Williams, and Cory Redding.
• Speaking of Brian Kelly, he isn't happy that he didn't play at all against the Bears and said something that Jim Mora would appreciate: "I'm not playing for the playoffs. Right now, I'm playing to win a game.''  That should be the focus of every Lions player and coach.  This team will not make the playoffs, so they should get their priorities in order.
• Offensive coordinator Jim Colletto admitted that the Lions' offense was terrible against the Bears.  What about the other games this season?
  
• SB Nation's Week 6 power rankings are out, and unsurprisingly, the Lions came in last place.
  

• Many fans are calling for the Lions to bench Jon Kitna, and although I really can't disagree that his three interceptions on three straight drives is uncalled for, do you really think Dan Orlovsky would be any better?  Once Drew Stanton is healthy again (supposedly at the start of October), I can understand benching Kitna for him if the season is already over, but for right now, at least, Kitna sadly is the Lions' best option at QB.
• George Foster was benched and replaced with rookie Gosder Cherilus after one half of Sunday's game.  Foster gave up a couple sacks and Cherilus played very well considering that was his first real playing time in a regular season game.  If I'm remembering correctly Cherilus didn't give up a single sack, so that was great to see.
• Although it was said last week that Jordon Dizon would play more, he actually never got into the game on defense.  He played on special teams, but that was it.
• According to a reader that was at the game, a "Fire Millen" chant broke out after the Lions went down 24-9.  How long until we start to hear "Bench Kitna" during a home game?
• This really was one of the worst performances I've ever seen by the secondary.  Even though there was talk about how bad they were last week against a rookie, they just looked flat out confused against Green Bay.  Cornerbacks were falling down, missing assignments, and simply letting Packers receivers run right by them.  It was really an ugly sight to see.
• Safety Gerald Alexander sustained a concussion and tight end Casey FitzSimmons hurt one of his thumbs on Sunday.  Alexander was actually benched in favor of Daniel Bullocks before this game and FitzSimmons played well as he made a few nice catches.
• I know they were playing from behind again, but the Lions only rushed for 49 yards yesterday.  They actually only ran the ball 12 times, and you can really take 1 attempt away since Jon Kitna took off and ran once.
• The defensive line really disappointed me in this game.  They only had one sack, which came when Dewayne White forced a fumble, and Aaron Rodgers was able to escape pressure over and over again.  Sometimes he would not only avoid the sack, but proceed to complete a pass downfield.
• Can the Lions defense make sure to play on every down from now on?  The Packers went 9-16 on third down conversions, whereas the Lions went a dismal 2-12.
• Jason Hanson did all that was asked of him.  He nailed all three of his field goal attempts and didn't miss an extra point.
• Both Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams dropped a pass when they were wide open.  Roy looked like he looking upfield before he actually made the catch and Calvin pretty much just dropped it.
• I think we can forget about the drop Calvin made after the amazing game he ended up having.  His two fourth quarter touchdowns gave the Lions the lead for a short period of time and he really showed off his physical ability, especially his speed.  In the end, Johnson finished with 6 catches for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• Roy Williams added 3 catches of his own for 48 yards, but as we saw in the preseason, it looks like Calvin Johnson has become this team's top receiver.
• Going back to Calvin for a second, the coaches did make a good adjustment with him in the passing game.  Johnson was struggling to get off the line of scrimmage at times, so the coaches started to run him across the middle.  That is how Johnson scored his two touchdowns, so I do give the coaches credit for making that change.
• Daniel Bullocks led the team with 12 tackles.
• Aaron Rodgers torched the Lions defense as he went 24-38 and threw for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns.
• A couple fans said that they couldn't even give tickets away for yesterday's game.  If Detroit loses this week then there is no doubt the Chicago game on October 5 (their next home game) will be blacked out unless a company again steps in.  If they can't even sell out the home opener against the Packers by themselves then there is no way they will do so against the Bears, especially if they are 0-3 at the time.
  

Left tackle Jeff Backus and right defensive end Dewayne White got into a fight during practice on Sunday.  Actually, there were two separate scuffles between Backus and White, but only one really can be classified as a legit fight.

Backus and White have been going up against each other on a daily basis, which is a huge positive for the Lions.  Both players will help one another improve as they both have talent.  By the end of training camp, the benefit of going up against a guy with talent every single day should be seen in the play of both Backus and White.

Anyways, in every single training camp around the league, there will be arguments, scuffles, and the occasional fight.  Sunday was no different for the Lions as Backus and White got into it after White got by Backus during a drill.  White clearly made a nice move to beat Backus, but Backus wasn't having any of that.  The Lions left tackle decided to grab a hold of White's jersey, which was a mistake, not only because it's a penalty.  White shoved Backus to the ground, causing Backus to quickly get back up and "challenge" White.

Soon after the first incident, the two were back at it after White hit Backus under the chin when rushing.  White was the one that ended up on the ground this time, and he also received a few punches from Backus.  Other players rushed in to break up the fight, and guard Frank Davis actually threw some punches as well.  As a result, White, Backus, and Davis were thrown out of the drill.

As I said, this happens all the time during training camp.  Between the pressure of practice, the heat, and the frustration that builds up over time, things like this are bound to happen every once in a while.  That doesn't excuse White or Backus as they have to be more disciplined, but this really isn't a big deal.  Rod Marinelli agrees to an extent, but he obviously was frustrated with the two players.

“I want these practices to be physical, I want them intense and I want mental toughness,” Marinelli said. “Mental toughness is not responding. Mental toughness is letting things go and playing the next snap. That’s losing football when you do that. …

“You can’t have it. It’s not winning football, so I’m not going to put up with it.”

Marinelli kept his sense of humor about the fight, but he didn’t want it glorified or turned into a positive.

“If fighting was part of the game, I’d practice it,” Marinelli said. “First period, fight. But it’s not what we do. It’s not what I want. Everybody’s, ‘Aw, they’re tough and mean.’ No. It’s not discipline.”

As Dominic Raiola said after practice, "It's squashed right now."  Backus and White will put this fight out of their minds and probably forget it even happened.  That doesn't necessarily mean they won't get into it again since it's bound to happen, but at least for now there is no bad blood between them.

Below is the third part of a series previewing the Lions' entire 2008 schedule.  For the second part, which previewed October, click here.

November 2 - at Chicago Bears

Although I did have the Lions winning at home against Chicago back in October, I think the Bears will snap their losing streak to Detroit in this game.  At home, I believe the Bears will be able to pull it out despite another poor offensive performance.  Not only is their QB Rex Grossman, but they no longer have a running back now that Cedric Benson has been released.  Their starter now will likely be Adrian Peterson, and unfortunately for them, it's not the one that could rush for 2,000 yards next season.

Even with all of those negatives, I have a feeling the Bears defense and special teams will come up big.  By that, I mainly mean Devin Hester will return a kick or punt to help the Bears win in what is a sloppy game.

On paper: Advantage Lions

Prediction: Bears in another close one

November 9 - vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Remember those random games last season where Detroit was blown out?  Well, this is probably going to be one of those games.  As much as I'd like to say the Lions will pull off the huge upset, Jacksonville just has too much talent.  With David Garrard at QB and a Maurice Jones-Drew/Fred Taylor combination at running back, the Jags will put up a ton of points.

On the defensive side of things, the Jaguars also hold the advantage with a killer pass rush that will feature rookie Derrick Harvey, a player I desperately hoped would drop to the Lions in the draft.  Instead, Jacksonville traded up into the top 10 to get him.

On paper: Advantage Jaguars

Prediction: A very lopsided score that favors Jacksonville

November 16 - at Carolina Panthers

The Panthers are a very interesting team.  They're similar to the Bears in the sense of where they've gone since making an appearance in the Super Bowl.  Mind you, they are in a much better situation than Chicago right now, but they haven't gotten back to the level of success that was expected after going to the Super Bowl.

Even with that being said, the Panthers still are a much better team than the Lions.  With Steve Smith on offense and Julius Peppers on defense, this game, to me at least, projects as one that will be a casual loss.  What I mean by that is that the game is never out of reach, but the Lions never make it close either.  It's one of those games that ends in a score of something like 17-7.  Although the Lions could make a game of it, they never do.

On paper: Advantage Panthers

Prediction: As stated above, Panthers win in a boring one

November 23 - vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I think of this match-up as the Old Buccaneers vs. the New Buccaneers.  Rod Marinelli has the habit of bringing in many former Buccaneers as he used to coach there.  That familiarity factor allows Rod to know exactly what he's getting when new players are brought in as he has coached them once before.  Take a player like Dewayne White, for example.  White was brought in last offseason and became a starter at defensive end.  Marinelli knew he would be able to do that when he became a Lion and now White is by far the best DE on the team.

Anyways, this is always an interesting game due to the ex-Tampa Bay players on the team, and it'll be even more interesting this year now that more are in Detroit.  Last season the Lions beat the Bucs by a TD despite being very out gained yardage-wise.  Detroit did win, though, and I think they will again this year.

Although Tampa Bay is a playoff team, the Lions will have success against the Bucs due to the familiarity with them.  Combine the former players and coaches from Tampa and it sets up a winning combination for Detroit.

On paper: Advantage Buccaneers

Prediction: Lions beat Tampa Bay again thanks to those Buccaneer roots

November 27 - vs. Tennessee Titans

In this year's edition of the Thanksgiving Classic, the Lions welcome Vince Young and company to Detroit.  The Titans are a fairly young team that offers lots of potential, but they are fairly inconsistent. 

When it comes down to it, I see the Lions having success on Thanksgiving for a change this time around.  Vince Young still has many question marks around him, which will open the door for the Lions.  Will it be a close game?  Probably.  That's what most or all of Detroit's wins will be this year.  Regardless, all that matters at the end of the day is whether or not you did win, and for the Lions a "W" on Thanksgiving would make it two in a row to end November.

On paper: Advantage Lions

Prediction: Unless Kevin Jones signs with Tennessee to team up with Mike Williams for an ex-Lions coming out party, the Lions win this one in a close one.

Recap: I have the Lions going 2-3 in the month of November, bringing my overall prediction for 2008 to 6-6 so far.  The final two wins of the month come after a disappointing 6 straight losses.  That's right, after starting the year 4-0, I have Detroit dropping 6 consecutive games before finally winning again.  But hey, if anyone is that two-faced of a team, it'll probably be the Lions.  Just look at last year's second-half collapse for proof of that.

So, November for the Lions.  What do you guys think?

• The Sporting News recently ranked the NFC teams with the best defensive ends, and unsurprisingly, the Lions came in last.
  

  16. Lions. Dewayne White is Detroit's only consistent pass-rush threat. On the other side, the team will rotate veteran Jared DeVries and second-year player Ikaika Alama-Francis, who remains too raw to be consistent.

  As the article states, other than Dewayne White, Detroit really has no proven defensive ends.  Jared DeVries isn't the worst possible option by any means as he has looked very good at times, but he isn't exactly someone that is a huge threat.  At the same time, Ikaika Alama-Francis really hasn't even had a chance to prove himself yet, so the jury is still out on him.  Cliff Avril will be able to step in and compete for playing time, but he still doesn't seem big enough to be a defensive end just yet.
• Wide receiver Marcus Robinson has retired.  Robinson spent last season in Detroit on the injured reserve.  Before that, he played for the Bears, Ravens, and Vikings.
• Speaking of retirement, Giants defensive end Michael Strahan has also decided to call it quits.  He does so after nearly retiring last summer before returning to the Giants to eventually win the Super Bowl.