LIONS 101

A tough performance on the west coast hurt the Detroit Lions across the board in this week's power rankings. Many national pundits are on the fence, wanting to sell stock in the team despite the fact that it's only week two. There's always hope, though. The Tennessee Titans lie in wait, and a major chance for health and improvement exists.

This week's topsy-turvy, Lions themed power rankings are showcased below, which see a dramatic influx in numerical change.

ESPN: 13. Last Week: 13. Dan Graziano is fair to the Lions after last week's loss to the San Francisco 49ers, acknowledging that the offense hasn't clicked yet, but admitting the 49ers' defense had plenty to do with that. A better barometer of that will be this week, when Detroit takes on the 0-2, defensively challenged Tennessee Titans.

CBS Sports: 17. Last Week: 15. As expected, Pete Prisco is more dramatic with the Lions, dropping them a full two spots in his rankings. He is right overall, though. The Lions do need to get their secondary healthy, or it will be a long season, no matter how many points the offense may score. Fortunately, that looks to be happening in stages with Chris Houston and Bill Bentley healing up and trying to return this weekend.

Fox Sports: 11. Last Week: 15. The most interesting move in the rankings is made by former coach Brian Billick, who boosts the Lions four whole spots on his chart this week. Billick says the Lions looked better in a week two loss than in week one's win. He credits the Lions for getting Calvin Johnson open in the slot and praises their creativity for doing so. Interesting approach.

Pro Football Talk: 14. Last Week: 12. As far as bluntness goes, Mike Florio takes the cake. He was perhaps more blunt than Prisco ever is, which is saying something. Florio says that the Lions haven't improved much since last year, which will prevent them from going far this year. Alrighty then. After week two, that's a mighty assumption.

Sports Illustrated: 17. Last Week: 16. Don Banks leaves us on a positive note this week, because he reminds us the Lions play the Titans in their next game in a place Jim Schwartz is familiar with. That's not terrible news considering how bad Tennessee has been. Though, Banks reminds us Detroit has given up 25 points per game this season on defense. Yikes. Those numbers figure to get a bit better after this weekend, however.

The Breakdown:

Highest: 17th

Lowest: 11th

Their Overall Consensus? The Lions' defense has had some major problems stopping anyone this year thanks to some injuries and breakdowns. If these problems persist, Detroit will be in trouble, and won't look as good as they did last year. Still, the Lions play the Titans this week, and have done some creative things with Calvin Johnson, so there's high hopes for a solid rebound performance on Sunday afternoon.

Tags: Bill Bentley, Calvin Johnson, Chris Houston, Detroit, Detroit Lions, Football, Jim Schwartz, NFL

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