This is your team on drugs

By Os Davis | Thursday, June 28, 2007 | ( 6 )

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It's June and already the Detroit Lions are dominating the NFL. Unfortunately, this particular "NFL" stands for "Neverending Fantasy Land."

You mean you haven't heard the news? Apparently, they're printing up playoff tickets in Michigan, as Jon Kitna, Mike Furrey and Dewayne White have publicly taken Joe Namath stances of varying degrees on the 2007 season.

"I'll keep to myself what I think we actually will win. But it's more than 10 games," Kitna said in well-publicized remarks made on Detroit radio. Some quick mathematics tell us that the QB's forecasting 11 wins minimum, then.

In desperately seeking stories in the dead of summer, mass media - in this case, the Detroit Free-Press - took Kitna's optimistic line to Furrey. Furrey backed up his teammate with "We're going to be a better team. But right now, on paper, we look like we should win 10 to 12 games, easily."

(All right, everyone, the obligatory joke, all together! They don't play the games on paper, Mike, they play them on grass. Or in y'all's case, field turf.)

The Free-Press also pointed out that defensive end Dewayne White is aboard the self-aggrandizement bandwagon: "He just wasn't that colorful about it, and so he wasn't quoted."

To think smilin' Roy Williams hasn't even weighed in on this yet...

It was Williams who stood out against the bleak backdrop of the Lions' 2006 season, both in terms of talent and in the singularly reality-denying quotable optimism. Who can forget how the Lions "left so many points on the field, it's sick" or that "the score doesn't matter" or that they would (snicker) beat the Chicago Bears, guaranteed?

On one hand, such predictions feel brazen at best, foolhardy and heart-crushing (for those poor, poor Motor City faithful) at worst. On the other hand, you've gotta love the way the Lions consistently lead the league in unadulterated enthusiasm.

While such lines trigger Ricky Williams jokes aplenty, few in the blogosphere have actually considered the basis for Kitna's brashness. Aside from the man's general enthusiasm regarding No. 2 overall Calvin Johnson, Kitna reformulated his earlier starry eyed 10-win prediction "after seeing the team's schedule."

So what about that schedule?

(Yes, it's way too early to be breaking the 2007 season down game by game. But: A) We at least know about the Lions' Opening-Day roster as there aren't a heck of a lot of position battles on this thin depth chart, and B) Kitna, et al, have no problem putting their millionaire reps on the line, so why should RealFootball365?)

Come Week 1, the Lions will be in Oakland in a game that really should be nationally televised. Me, I'm already ready to mortgage at least one of the children on JaMarcus Russell and the Raiders should the line be less than a touchdown.

Week 2 has the Honolulu blue-and-silver hosting the Minnesota Vikings. In Kitnaland, the Lions are presumably going 4-0 against assumed beatdogs in Minny and the Green Bay Packers. This could happen. Weeks 3 and 4, however, feature games at the Philadelphia Eagles and against the Bears.

Now come on. In the best-case scenario, Detroit will be 2-2 after four, right? Is this really Furrey's "start we want to get off on"? And sure, the Lions get Washington in Week 5 and a nice visit to the Arizona Cardinals in November, but where is this favorable schedule that these guys see?

In 2007, Detroit can also look forward to games against the rest of the AFC West, surely to be the toughest of all divisions. The nastiest stretch for the Lions looks like a three-game run in December with a contest at the San Diego Chargers sandwiched by hostings of the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs. Yikes.

The conclusion? Dudes are on drugs. There's no escaping it. Or, as Kitna put it, "I think, last year, man, it really sucked."

Right on.

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	About Os Davis Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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Comments: 6 | Sign Up View all comments


	No.1 tay	07:51 AM 06/28/2007

	seattle, tampa bay, saints, chargers and a couple of other teams (rams, even green bay) as perennial doormats had the success the...


	No.2 fr8ttrain	11:15 AM 06/28/2007

	I agree with the team, Playoffs Baby!! Check out the Lions path to the second season in the forum thread "Favorite Team's...


	No.3 deez	11:51 AM 06/28/2007

	I love the optimism. And it's true that the Lions will surprise a few teams with their raw talent. However, they will not be...