A bright light at the end of the Lions dark tunnel

As anyone who reads me regularly knows, I am from metro Detroit and am, unabashedly, a sports homer relative to most of the pro sports teams native to that area...

For the last decade it's been embarrassing to be considered a Lions fan, but, what can I say, I am. But I was really going to give up on the team this year and not pay much attention to them when they decided to start their rookie QB over Dante Culpepper, but it was just enough to get me to at least watch their first couple of games this year-which I have actually done.
Unlike most people who watched Drew Brees and slice and dice their defense in week 1, I didn't see it so much as a bad performance by the Lions. I saw it more as the performances of 2 teams who shouldn't be on the field together at the same time. The Lions are in more than a "rebuilding" phase, and the Saints could be the best team in Football this year in my opinion. But after that game I saw one major positive out of the Lions: they were aggressive on both sides of the ball to the bitter end (unlike years past when they just simply gave up after the first 10 minutes). And after yesterday's loss at home to the Vikings, I took that same positive (and others) away from the Lions performance that makes me think that we Lions fans really do have something to look forward too in the near future with this current coaching staff and a couple of key players-assuming they can keep them on the team for more than a couple of years.
But, what I see that I like more than anything else out of the Lions is the apparent plan out of the coaching staff. During yesterday's loss it was obvious to me the plan that the coaching staff has in place to make the Lions better.
If you watched the Lions first 2 games as I did, it was obvious that the Lions biggest problems weren't scheme's, play calling, or toughness (as it was in years past)-it was talent. Plan and simple talent. Despite all of those top 10, first round picks over the last decade, the Lions are devoid of any real talent. Fortunately they have drafted some good offensive players the last 4 years, but on defense and up front on both sides of the ball they are just talentless. To that end I think I see was Coach Jim Schwartz's plan is.
Simply put, the focus appears to be to just get better.
The logic makes sense to me: if you focus on getting better each and every week wins will come; but if all you do is focus on winning each game as it comes, then you have no guarantees of taking anything positive away from even a bad outcome.
There is a saying that says practice can only get so good at something through practice and to really excel at it, you have to be doing it when it really counts.
To me, yesterdays game against the Vikings proves all of this to me.
For the first 30 minutes of football, the Lions not only hung with the Vikings (by many considered to be Superbowl contenders this year), but the Lions were actually dominating them-especially in the running game which was the obvious focus on offense for the Lions throughout the game despite the score. The 2nd half ended up being a different story of course, but Schwartz conceded it to the Vikings, instead preferring to stick to "getting better" at one aspect of the game-the running game. This was obvious to me because despite falling 14 points behind Minnesota during the forth quarter Schwartz kept pounding the rock even though it wasn't producing any big plays.
Further evidence can be found in the play calling-rounghly 3/4ths of which were running plays.
It was also very obvious that Schwartz had a much more limited passing game installed for Stafford after his 3 interception performance in week one. The limited play book for the passing game didn't help Stafford much-he still threw 2 picks-but the obvious focus on the running game on both sides of the ball was worth the effort I think.
For the Lions part, Kevin Smith rushed well against one of the better run defenses in the league and the Lions D held the leagues best runner in Adrian Peterson to under 100 yards, although he still found the end zone against them. The defense also showed its toughness throughout the contest and perhaps saw the emergence of a couple of players in Manuel and a DE by the name of Hunter whose name was called way to often in the first half of the game to not get noticed by opposing offensive coordinators in upcoming contests.
As far as their rookie QB is concerned I still think they should have kept him on the bench until after the bye week, but now that I have discerned exactly what Schwartz's plan is I say leave him in there. He obviously has the talent, but he needs to experience what he is experiencing now-the bad throws leading to the interceptions-to get better (this also will force the defense to get better which, if you noticed on Sunday, they will because it falls on them to keep those turnovers, which will happen, from becoming points). At some point-probably week 4 or 5-Schwartz will put the offensive focus on the passing game as far as what to work on for the week; but football is a complicated game, and with the serious lack of talent which it is now obvious that the Lions have (not), Schwartz is going to have to take his time rebuilding this team-picking one aspect of the team each week to work on and get better at and it will probably depend on the type of opponent the Lions are facing as it relates to what that focus will be on.
That all said, what do I think I have learned about the Lions after only 2 games? That there is, without question, a light at the end of their very long and dark tunnel. In fact, I think that light is very bright and we will have an idea of how bright that light will be during the 2nd half of the season.
For now, we Lions fans must learn to watch each game for what it is: work towards an end product that will be better.