1. Sept. 11, Green Bay: It's the opener, so nothing will happen to cause Packers quarterback Brett Favre to consider retirement. The Packers were on a four-game losing streak before they played the Lions at Ford Field last year. Favre mentioned the R-word, paralyzing all of PackerNation. The Lions' offense and defense froze, too, in a 38-10 loss. Not this time. Lions 30, Packers 20

2. Sept. 18, at Chicago: The Bears signed wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad (Michigan State) to have a big-play threat. The Lions ended a 24-game road losing streak last season by winning their opener at Chicago. There's no place like the road. Lions 23, Bears 16

3. Sept. 25: Bye.

4. Oct. 2, at Tampa Bay: The Bucs are 12-20 since the 2002 team won the Super Bowl, but getting to 3-0 is too tough for the Lions. Bucs 20, Lions 16

5. Oct. 9, Baltimore Ravens: Linebacker Ray Lewis doesn't scare people as much as he once did. Quarterback Kyle Boller never scared anyone. Lions 16, Ravens 7

6. Oct. 16, Carolina: Last season, the Panthers didn't beat a team that finished above .500. It's their first game in Detroit. They shouldn't make reservations to come back for Super Bowl XL on Feb. 5. Lions 24, Panthers 13

7. Oct. 23, at Cleveland: Whew. The Lions are 4-1 and facing a rebuilding team under first-year coach Romeo Crennel. The Browns could have rookie receiver Braylon Edwards (Michigan) from the draft. The first real stumble - Browns 19, Lions 13

8. Oct. 30, Chicago: Kevin Jones ran for 123 yards in the second game against Chicago last season. This time, Joey Harrington turns to Charles Rogers, who catches two touchdown passes. Yes, Rogers (MSU) is still healthy. Lions 31, Bears 17

9. Nov. 6, at Minnesota: No Randy Moss to burn the Lions. But the Vikings still have Daunte Culpepper, and that's enough on the road. Vikings 23, Lions 21

10. Nov. 13, Arizona: The Cardinals signed quarterback Kurt Warner, and the Lions hammered him with the Giants last year. They'll do it again. Lions 31, Cardinals 13

11. Nov. 20, at Dallas: The Lions have won only one game in Dallas -- in 1994. Cowboys 27, Lions 19

12. Nov. 24, Atlanta: No, the Lions don't always play well on Thanksgiving Day, but they'll ruffle Michael Vick and the Falcons' feathers. Lions 35, Falcons 21

13. Dec. 4, Minnesota: Culpepper has never lost to the Lions. Until now. And it won't come down to a snap on an extra-point try. Lions 26, Vikings 14

Dec. 11, at Green Bay: Sunday night. ESPN. Lambeau Field. Bad history. The Lions haven't beaten the Packers on their field since 1991. One for the history book. Lions 26, Packers 23

15. Dec. 18, Cincinnati: The Lions are 9-4 and need one for the money -- one victory for the division title. Make this the one, on defense and special teams. Lions 13, Bengals 10

16. Dec. 24, at New Orleans: A downer for the Lions after the previous week. Saints 31, Lions 17

17. Jan. 1, at Pittsburgh: The Steelers have clinched the AFC North. The Lions have clinched the NFC North. The Steelers win, 26-16, and Jeff Garcia mops up at quarterback in the fourth quarter. Harrington starts all 16 games.

That makes the Lions 10-6 and in the playoffs.

What next?

Stay tuned.

There's parts of this that I agree with and some parts I don't. But 10 - 6 overall I think is pretty realistic.

All-in-all, seems like a fair prediction. Anyone know how Mike turned out with his predictions last year?

5-11

5-11

"Fear is the path to the dark side... fear leads to anger... anger leads to hate.. hate leads to suffering."

Have you been taking your anti-depressents Brian? Have a little faith.