The Lions really excelled in the 4th quarter as they outscored the Bengals by 17 points to pull away.  Jon Kitna completed all three of his pass attempts for 76 yards with a 27-yard TD pass to WR Calvin Johnson.  Dan Orlovsky was solid on Sunday Night as he completed 11 of 22 passes for 137 yards.  2nd year QB Drew Stanton was the real star of the show for the Lions against the Bengals.  Stanton completed both of his pass attempts for 58 yards including a 50-yard TD strike to WR Brandon Middleton.  Stanton also carried the football 2 times for 20 yards (10.0 ypc) and he scored on a 10-yard TD run.  RB Artose Pinner was the leading rusher for the Lions in this game with 52 yards on 13 carries (4.0 ypc).  Rookie Kevin Smith pitched in with 19 yards rushing on 4 carries (4.8 ypc).  WR John Standeford led the Lions in receiving with 85 yards on 4 receptions (21.3 avg).  Calvin Johnson also had an outstanding game as he caught 3 passes for 76 yards (25.3 avg) with a TD reception.  WR Brandon Middleton also was really effective late in the game for the Lions as he caught 2 passes for 58 yards (29.0 avg) with a TD.   The Lions finished up this game with 112 yards rushing on 31 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 27 passes for 263 yards.

Linebacker Leon Joe led the way for the Lions’ defense with 8 tackles.  DE Rudolph Hardie was living in the Bengals’ backfield with 2 tackles and 2 sacks.  The Bengals finished up with 100 yards rushing on 21 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 41 passes for 224 yards.  This was a nice win for the Lions.

Even though the Lions collapsed down the stretch last season they still finished with their best record (7-9) since the 2000 season when Bobby Ross was the head coach (9-7).  The Lions started out last year 6-2 before losing 7 of the last 8 games but at least they showed some fire.  The Vikings appear to be better in 2008 but the Bears and Packers could step down a tad which opens the door for the Lions to make another move upward.  Marinelli needs to get the Lions off to another fast start in 2008 and he needs them to sustain it all season long.  That might be easier said than done but the Lions do appear to finally be on the right track.  Marinelli has now been the Lions head coach for two years now and he has compiled a 10-22 record (31.3%).

The Lions have signed 25-year old kicker Dave Rayner.  Rayner will likely only be around until Jason Hanson returns from a hip flexor injury.  Rayner played in 11 games last season for the Chiefs and Chargers.  He made 15 of 22 field goals last season (68.2%) and he connected on all 14 of his extra point attempts.  Rayner has now played in 41 games in his NFL career and he has made 41 of 58 field goals (70.7%).  He has also connected on 45 of 46 extra points (97.8%) in his career to date.  The Lions better hope Hanson is ready to go when the season starts because Rayner just isn’t that good of a kicker.

The Lions want to run the football more so they tried it out tonight and it didn’t go that well but they did win the time of possession battle holding onto the ball for 33:59 of the football game which helped them win.  Jon Kitna was sharp while he was in the game connecting on 6 of 7 passes for 106 yards.  He hit Roy Williams with a 20-yard TD pass to open the scoring for the Lions.  Dan Orlovsky followed Kitna in the game and he completed 8 of 11 passes for 81 yards.  2nd year man Drew Stanton finished up the game completing 5 of 6 passes for 27 yards.  Stanton also led the Lions in rushing with 26 yards on 6 carries (4.3 ypc) which proved that he’s getting healthy.  Rookie Kevin Smith rushed for 22 yards on 8 carries (2.8 ypc) in his first taste of NFL action.  Veteran RB Tatum Bell did not play too well as he rushed for 8 yards on 7 carries (1.1 ypc) last night.  2nd year WR Calvin Johnson had a huge game to lead the way for the Lions as he caught 4 passes for 78 yards (19.5 avg).  The Lions finished tonight’s game with the Giants having rushed for 84 yards on 35 carries (2.4 ypc).  They also completed 19 of 24 passes for 214 yards against the Giants.  The Lions have some work to do in the running game but they have time to fix it.

The Lions defense was bending but not breaking against the Giants.  Linebacker Leon Joe led the way for the Lions with 6 tackles.  Safety Greg Blue was also very active with 3 tackles and a sack.  The Lions played good run defense against the Giants who finished with 79 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.3 ypc).  The Giants did completed 21 of 32 passes for 231 yards so the Lions have to get better at defending the pass.  Overall this was a nice win against the World Champs to start the preseason for the Lions.

The Lions always seem to be looking to replace 38-year old Jason Hanson but he keeps beating out whoever they bring in.  Hanson played in all 16 games for the Lions last season and he made 29 of 35 field goals (82.9%).  He also connected on 35 of 36 extra points last year.  Look for Hanson to have another decent year in 2008 for the Lions as he always seems to do a decent job for them.  Hanson has now played in 255 games in his NFL career and he has made 385 of 472 field goals (81.6%).  Hanson has also connected on 504 of 511 extra points (98.6%) in his career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C+