NFL News and Notes

The Lions have won only 42 times since the start of the 2000 season, when the team went 9-7. Since then, the Lions have gone down to defeat 111 times in the regular season, perhaps none more frustrating than opening day this season when Calvin Johnson’s end-zone catch on the final play of the game wasn’t acceptable by rulebook standards and the Bears stole one.

But while the Lions have assumed their customary position in last place in the NFC North at 1-5, there are some signs of life in a franchise that has been flat-lining for a decade.

The Lions host Washington this Sunday after enjoying a week of R&R and coach Jim Schwartz expects to have quarterback Matthew Stafford back on the field for the first time since suffering a right shoulder injury in Week 1. All signs point to Stafford being 100 percent for the Skins.

Perhaps because of low expectations from bettors, the Lions have become a top-rate cover team this season. Detroit is 5-1 against the spread with the only red mark a 24-10 loss to Minnesota in Week 3 as it was adjusting to life with Stafford. The Lions have been able to cover in their blowout victory over St. Louis and in close losses to the Bears, Philadelphia (Michael Vick was going nuts at the time), Green Bay and the Giants.

Stafford’s return should give an already-decent offense (12th in the league in scoring) a jolt of adrenaline. Johnson at times can be a man playing among boys, running back Jahvid Best was named the Rookie of the Month for September (against the Eagles he had 232 combined yards), and the offensive line has been decent if not dominating.

The Lions still need to tighten up defensively. They love the talent and work ethic Ndamukong Suh brings to the table and Corey Williams, at the other tackle, is one of the most underrated D-linemen in the league.

Schwartz has spent much of the first two months of the season mixing and matching the linebackers and secondary and MLB DeAndre Levy’s return from injury this week should stiffen the defense’s spine quite a bit (Note: Defensive problems help explain why over bettors have cashed in four times in the Lions’ six games this season).

Slowly but surely, the fan base which crucified former CEO/GM Matt Millen and slow-to-change owner William Clay Ford is starting to buy in to the hope that the team is selling. Optimistic Lions bloggers on the prosportsdaily.com website are even writing about the possibility that the Bills will go winless this season and share the sting the city still feels from Detroit’s 0-16 season in 2008.

During that 2008 season, comedians were joking that if the Lions were a college team they would be every opponent’s Homecoming foe. The tables haven’t turned completely, but everyone finally seems to be pushing in the right direction, for the first time in a decade.

The heat is on Dolphins and Henne

Miami’s bizarre home/road split (0-3 in Miami, 3-0 everywhere else) has bettors scratching their heads. But there are other issues that the Dolphins are dealing with as they continue to fume about the controversial ending of their loss to Pittsburgh Sunday.

Doubts about quarterback Chad Henne were surfacing at the end of last season into the start of 2010 and Henne and the offense haven’t done much to silence the skeptics. Miami’s offense seems to have maxed out in the low-20s range, which is pretty much what it produced in 2009 when Henne took over in Week 3.

In 15 consecutive games, all started by Henne, the Dolphins have failed to score more than 25 points. Henne’s numbers are slightly improved from last year in both passing yards and QB rating, but the Dolphins have not moved the chains the way they figured to when they acquired dynamic wideout Brandon Marshall.

Help may be on the way. The Dolphins travel to Cincinnati (Miami +2.5) this Sunday and the Bengals are having a hard time stopping anyone.

Remind me to send the Bucs a thank-you card

Not sure exactly why, but I decided to hit the Rams +2.5 at Tampa Bay early last week, even though it’s rarely a good idea to put money on a dome team playing on the road.

Maybe it was the way the Rams handled San Diego the previous week that made me shoot at shadows and ignore the advice of my friend and oddsmaker Peter Korner, who preaches that every game is unique.

After placing the bet, I immediately started to second and third-guess myself and that only increased when the number went up a half-point, to TB -3, Thursday. St. Louis’s big (17-point) second quarter eased my anxiety a bit, but the Rams defense played on its heels in the second half and the Bucs won it late, 18-17.

The only thing to be decided was the cover when Tampa Bay went for two, but that was stuffed, assuring a payday I probably didn’t deserve to get. The Rams, by the way, have three straight covers at home (Washington, Seattle and San Diego) and are home again this week, giving only three to the Panthers.

Favre has had success vs. the Patriots

Early money poured in on New England with the uncertainty circling around Brett Favre. Sixty-seven percent of bettors ignored the -5.5 the Patriots are laying to the Vikings in Sunday’s late-afternoon marquee match.

Favre has had success against the Patriots franchise, beating New England in the 1997 Super Bowl, again in a regular-season game in 2002 in Foxboro and finally in 2008, when Favre was with the Jets. If Favre can make a go of it, he should find fertile ground in Foxboro. The Pats are 5-1, but they’ve done it without much of a pass rush and despite spotty work by the secondary.