This might be the year the Honolulu Blue and Silver claw back to respectability.

Years of watching the Detroit Lions can wreck even the most die-hard fan, until the point where you expect the worst to happen every single time when the game's on the line.

But Detroit's last two wins against Minnesota and Oakland just might be the precursors to a long-overdue healing process.

The Lions were able come back on the road (albeit against a bad team) in game one versus the Raiders and get the win, something I hadn't seen in years, and they did it with big offensive plays.

Then in game two against Minnesota, the Lions were able to win an ugly, turnover-and-penalty-filled game without their most important player, QB Jon Kitna. It was a game that neither team seemed like they wanted to win and the kind of game Detroit always seems to lose.

Usually, they find new ways to lose, and it looked like they had done just that when Mr. Automatic a.k.a. Jason Hanson missed a potential game-winning field goal.

Then they almost choked another game away to a backup QB in Brooks Bollinger just like they did a couple years ago to Carolina and Chris Weinke, but Ryan Longwell's 52-yard FG went wide left.

In overtime, Detroit got the big play on defense they needed when Shaun Rogers fell on a bad snap and then the Lions calmly moved into field goal range with the game on the line like they'd been there before and finally cashed it in.

Sure, it was a win over an average Minnesota team, but it was also a game that the Lions actually went and took from the other team, something we didn't see much at all from the team in the previous years of the Millen era.

So can this be real? Are things really different this time around? Could the Lions be a sleeper playoff team in the NFC North?

It all depends on Jon Kitna because the backup, J.T. O'Sullivan, has one of the weakest arms I've seen since Ty Detmer. He seems to know the system well and make the right decisions but he just can't get the ball where it needs to go reliably.

If Kitna's healthy, 9-7 is a possibilty. The D-line is looking excellent right now and Rod Marinelli is even squeezing production out of scrubs like Kalimba Edwards. Oh, and Shaun Rogers isn't hurt yet, which is good because he is probably the most-talented DT I've ever seen when he's motivated.

Win, lose, or draw, the Lions are an exciting team to watch again, and that's something I haven't been able to say since the Barry Sanders days.

All the thanks for this glorious two-week vacation from NFL football hell goes to Matt Millen.

I always know that guy could come through. For a short period of time, anyway.

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