• 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.
  

• Jon Kitna had an MRI on Wednesday and is questionable for Sunday's game against the Vikings.  He missed practice due to his back injury and may not be healthy enough to play this weekend.  Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton split the reps in practice to fill in for Kitna.  Orlovsky is still suffering from the effects of a couple different injuries, but in all likelihood he will be ready for Sunday.
• No, Roy Williams, the Lions will not go 12-4, 11-5, or 10-6.  In fact, they will be lucky to win more than a few games, so I would just worry about that right now.
• The Panthers signed fifth-round draft pick and wide receiver Kenneth Moore from the Lions practice squad.
• Shaun Cody, Travis Fisher, Jon Kitna, Edwin Mulitalo, Casey FitzSimmons, Dan Orlovsky, Stephen Peterman, and Roy Williams are all on the Lions' initial injury report for this week.
• Erin Henderson, Bernard Berrian, Vinny Ciurciu, Ray Edwards, Jim Kleinsasser, Sidney Rice, Benny Sapp, John Sullivan, and Madieu Williams are on Minnesota's injury report right now.
• Contrary to a report in the Dayton Daily News, the 49ers do not have interest in trading for Roy Williams.
• It has only been four games, but Leigh Bodden definitely has not lived up to the hype.  Even worse, the Lions gave him a big contract in the offseason before he did anything on the field for them.
• Mike Furrey doesn't understand what keeps going wrong for the Lions on game day.
• Steve Mariucci thinks the Lions can win if they bring in the right personnel.  He's correct in a "Captain Obvious" sort of way, but he does raise a good point that the Lions need someone that can bring in the right personnel.  Matt Millen didn't bring in any of the right players or coaches, and even Rod Marinelli has brought in players that don't seem to be all that good. 
  
  If Detroit can hire a GM that in turn hires the right coach and signs and drafts the right players, then yes, the Lions can become winners.  However, it would take an awful lot for all of those things to go correctly, and based on the past, it seems unlikely that Detroit will become a winner anytime soon.
• The Red Wings begin their season tonight and will raise a banner honoring last season's Stanley Cup-winning team before the game.  For more on the Red Wings, check out Winging It In Motown.
• No thanks to the Lions, the Sporting News ranked Detroit as the second best sports city behind Boston.

• Unsurprisingly, there are around 2,700 unsold tickets for Sunday's game against the Bears, according to the Lions.  The tickets have to be sold by 1 p.m. ET on Thursday or the same time on Friday if the Lions request a 24-hour extension to prevent a blackout. 
  
  The Lions' first home game of the season against Green Bay a few weeks back presented a similar situation.  There were 3,100 unsold tickets just days before the game.  In order to avoid being blacked out, Gardner-White stepped in and bought all of the available tickets.  I don't know if this will happen again or if some other company will step in, but I do hope the game is a sellout.  I originally wanted the Bears game to get blacked out to send a message to William Clay Ford, but since Matt Millen has been fired already, that message no longer is necessary, so I do want to watch the game.
• Jordon Dizon is expected to return from a neck injury this week, but if he does he won't be playing middle linebacker.
• George Foster, Stephen Peterman, and Travis Fisher are on this week's injury report.  Fisher is the only one that actually practiced on Wednesday.  Foster has an injured knee and Peterman has a broken hand that looks like it will keep him from playing on Sunday.
• Via the Lions, these Bears players are on their injury report: WR Marty Booker (knee), DT Tommie Harris (knee) WR Brandon Lloyd (knee), CB Charles Tillman (shoulder), CB Nathan Vasher (wrist), S Kevin Payne (neck), and T Chris Williams (back).
• The Lions are going to be hosting another tailgate on Brush Street prior to Sunday's game.  There will be a pre-game tailgate for the Washington and Jacksonville games as well.
• Matt Vasgersian, Brian Baldinger, and Brian Billick are going to be the announcers for Sunday's game.
  

• Since the Lions are on a bye this week, I'm going to spread out the usual early week posts (around the NFC North and fantasy recap) over today and tomorrow. Expect around the NFC North to be up later today and the fantasy recap tomorrow.  Here's a little spoiler for the fantasy recap: I was 0.8 points away from being undefeated in all of my leagues.  Instead, I have a combined record of 8-1 instead of 9-0.  Note to self: Don't bench Roddy White at the last second!
• Rod Marinelli said that he has no comment on what Bill Ford Jr. said about Matt Millen on Monday.
• Really the only positive that came out of the 49ers game was the play of Rudi Johnson.  He came in for Kevin Smith early on and Smith never got another chance to play.  The reason for that is because he didn't need to.  Johnson was breaking off solid runs and making things happen.
  
  The best play of the game wasn't even a run for Johnson.  Instead, he caught a screen pass and was off to the races after breaking a couple tackles.  He made a move or two to get into the end zone for the Lions' lone touchdown of the game.
• Gosder Cherilus started at right tackle instead of George Foster on Sunday.  Cherilus had one false start penalty early on, but settled in nicely after that.  Even so, the offensive line was pretty bad as a whole throughout most of the game.
• What's the deal with all of the dropped passes?  First it was Roy Williams, who has dropped passes each and every week.  Then last week, Calvin Johnson joined in and had a couple drops against San Francisco as well.  Michael Gaines and Shaun McDonald also dropped a couple passes on Sunday.  Considering it's becoming rare that Jon Kitna hits his targets, the receivers have to at least catch the throws he gets to them.
• Roy Williams has been called for an offensive pass interference penalty in every single game this season.  The calls seem like they're pretty weak, but Roy must have a tendency to shove off when the ball is coming his way.
• Speaking of Roy Williams, he questions the Lions' offensive philosophy.
• Guard Stephen Peterman broke his hand and had an MRI to see how severe the injury is.
• Travis Fisher strained his groin.
• Jordon Dizon was inactive against San Francisco due to a neck injury.  He and every other rookie on defense were on the inactive list.
  
• As expected, there are still tickets available for the Bears game on October 5.  I'm hoping the tickets don't sell out and no company steps in to get rid of the unsold ones.  I want the Lions to get blacked out as it would be just another sign that the fans are angry and they want change.
• The Lions may suck, but at least they're not as bad as the Rams.  Right now Detroit is really in the bottom tier of the league with the Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs, but St. Louis is actually worse than the Lions statistically speaking.
  
• Also, the Lions may have an idiot for an owner, but they're not the only team.  Oakland is one big clusterf**k right now as it was reported yesterday that Al Davis was going to fire Lane Kiffin.  As of this afternoon, Kiffin still has his job, but it seems like he very well could be fired at any instant.  William Clay Ford may be too loyal to Matt Millen and an idiot for not firing him, but at least he isn't a total douchebag like Al Davis.

• Ernie Sims, Paris Lenon, and Drew Stanton are listed on this week's injury report for the Lions.  The Packers have many more than just a few on their injury report, so I'll just mention them when the final injury report is released.
• It now appears that Stephen Peterman will start against Green Bay at right guard.  I relayed earlier today that it was reported Peterman was benched and Manny Ramirez would get the start, but now that doesn't look like it's going to happen.
• Rookie offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus is going to get a decent amount of playing time on Sunday.
• For details on how to get "free" tickets for Sunday's game from Gardner-White, check out this article.  I will warn you, though, the free tickets only come after purchasing $500 of furniture.
• PFT exchanged ten texts with Kevin Smith.
• Despite fracturing a toe, Packers cornerback and former Michigan Wolverine Charles Woodson isn't going to miss any games.
• Drew Stanton has begun throwing a football again.
• The Lions are 31st in ESPN's week 2 power rankings.
• Linebacker Al Wilson, who the Lions were once rumored to be interested in, has retired.

With one game under their belts, Lions coaches now have a better idea of who should be starting.  Although the preseason gives coaches a brief chance to get an idea of what the depth chart should be, it can only tell you so much.  That is why after only one game there are quite a few changes to the Lions' depth chart.

The official changes that Rod Marinelli has confirmed are that newly signed wide receiver Brandon Middleton will replace Mike Furrey as the team's kick returner, Furrey will return punts instead of Shaun McDonald, and Leigh Bodden will start instead of Travis Fisher at cornerback.  Tom Kowalski also reports that Manny Ramirez will replace Stephen Peterman at right guard and Daniel Bullocks will start at free safety instead of Gerald Alexander.

I'm all for the above-mentioned moves as changes did need to be made after how bad things went against Atlanta.  Middleton looked good returning kicks in the preseason, and let's be honest, he can't be any worse than Furrey.  Similarly, Furrey can't be any worse than McDonald at punt returner, so here's to hoping that part of the Lions' special teams also improves. 

As far as Bodden starting instead of Fisher, I wonder why this move didn't happen sooner.  Moving to the o-line, Stephen Peterman struggled at right guard last Sunday, so him getting replaced doesn't come as a big surprise.  Finally, now that Daniel Bullocks is back to 100% health, he has retaken the starting job at free safety.

One other thing to mention is that Jordon Dizon will play more than he did against Atlanta.  This is being done as he played pretty well on Sunday and this move can ease him in gradually.  Eventually the hope is that he will be a starter, so the Lions are simply taking it one step at a time right now and are increasing his playing time game-by-game.

If all of the changes previously mentioned do happen, then below is what the Lions' depth chart should look like against Green Bay on Sunday.

• On their sixth day of training camp (yesterday), the Lions practiced in full pads in the morning and were in shells for a special teams session in the afternoon.
• Yesterday's two practices were open to the public, and there was a good showing of fans at the Lions' practice facility (around 500 for the morning practice).  Players and coaches stuck around after each practice to sign autographs and chat with fans, so it had to be a fun experience for those that went.  The next pair of open practices will be on Friday.  The morning session begins at 8:35 a.m., and the afternoon special teams practice starts at 3:30 p.m.
• Center Dominic Raiola sprained his ankle and missed Tuesday's morning practice.  Raiola has started 96 consecutive games, so it was a rarity that we saw the Lions' backup centers on the field for an entire practice.  Raiola's absence was evident, by the way, as the backup centers combined for six fumbled snaps during the practice.
• Ernie Sims is not likely going to play in the Lions' first preseason game against the Super Bowl-champion New York Giants.
• Defensive tackle Langston Moore, who has looked good in practice as of late, sprained his shoulder and had an MRI yesterday.
• Rookie fullback Jerome Felton put a huge hit on linebacker Buster Davis.
• No changes have been made to the PUP list.
• Lions cornerback Leigh Bodden will make more money in 2008 than Browns defensive tackle Shaun Rogers.
• Defensive tackle Chuck Darby is glad to be on a team that Rod Marinelli coaches.
• Kicker/punter Paul Ernster was waived by the Lions.  He signed with Detroit back in April to only be a training camp body.  Every year there are kickers and punters that are on the Lions' roster during camp, but only Jason Hanson and Nick Harris are left by the time the season starts.
• Rookies Jordon Dizon and Kevin Smith are writing training camp diaries on the Lions' official website.
• Below is some info on the players being honored during the Lions' 12th annual kickoff luncheon that will take place on August 27.

  The entire team annually attends the luncheon and awards from the 2007 season will be presented. Players receiving awards will include: Most Valuable Players Dominic Raiola (offense), Ernie Sims (defense) and Alex Lewis (special teams). Other awards will go to Gerald Alexander, Jared DeVries, Mike Furrey, Stephen Peterman, Cory Redding and Keith Smith.

• MLive, the Free Press, and the News all have photo galleries up from Tuesday.
• Emmitt Smith has been replaced on ESPN's NFL Countdown by Cris Carter.  The move is long overdue as Smith was terrible on the show, but it will be sad to see him go as he unintentionally provided so many laughs on Sunday mornings.  The former Cowboys running back will still be on Monday Night Countdown.
• Brett Favre has officially filed for reinstatement, meaning he is now un-retired.  As Terrell Owens would say, get ya popcorn ready, because things are about to get very interesting in Packers country.