Monday open thread: Do you feel better, worse or the same about the Lions?

Our weekly Monday morning poll question just seems silly on a day like this. There was not much of anything to be optimistic about after the Detroit Lions dropped a disaster of a game to the New Orleans Saints, 52-38.

Yet these are Detroit Lions fans, and we all know that hope springs eternal for the blue and silver. In the face of an apocalypse and a burning hellscape, a Lions fan would stand there with a smile on their face and happily welcome an era with no more snowy winters.

So despite the fact that the Lions and their fans will have to sit on this two-game losing streak for the next 13 days, I have to ask the question.

After their loss to the Saints, do you feel better, worse or the same about the Lions?

My answer: A lot worse. If there was a sign that the Detroit Lions offense was going to right the ship, we would have seen it by now. The Saints defense may not be as bad as many were claiming, but it’s not as good as the Lions offense made it look on Sunday.

Obviously, the countless injuries to the Lions offensive line didn’t do them any favors, but even early in the game, when the Lions offensive line wasn’t failing yet, Detroit could not get the ball moving consistently.

Defensively, it’s also time to admit that this is nowhere near the top 10 defense we may have thought it was. I was as guilty of this as anyone. After the Vikings game, I boldly declared that the Lions defense was for real. I was wrong.

Detroit has been thoroughly humbled defensively in three of the past four games. The Saints, Panthers and Falcons have pretty good offenses, mind you, but great defenses rise to the challenge, and the Lions’ defense is decidedly not great.

Some look at the Aaron Rodgers injury and use that as a reason to be optimistic for the remainder of the season. But Detroit needs to take care of their own business before that even matters, because right now, the Bears are playing just as good as the Lions and are only a single game behind them. The NFC North is wide open, but if the Lions continue to play this way, it’ll be 2013 all over again.

Your turn.