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One thing you can count on with the Detroit Lions is that they are never, ever boring. Follow the latest news including injuries, roster moves and more here daily from Oakland Press beat writer Paula Pasche. Plus you'll find regular commentary about the team.

9/19/2011

5 things we learned after Lions beat Chiefs 48-3

1. Matthew Stafford is clearly the real deal. In these first two games this season he’s thrown seven touchdown passes and two interceptions. Nate Burleson made a good point afterward by saying that Stafford will throw passes that other quarterbacks wouldn’t attempt. Stafford is not only confident in his arm, but teammates are confident in him. And why wouldn’t they be? He delivers on the money.

2. Scott LInehan, the offensive coordinator, trusts his players and proves it by going for a touchdown on fourth down when they already hold a 17-point lead. This aggressive game-calling is fun for the fans, players and probably Linehan too. He’s got plenty of talent surrounding Stafford so why not use it.

3. These Lions are having fun. Witness the touchdown dances by Tony Scheffler who you wouldn’t necessarily think of as a showman. He said they work on them at practices which just makes it more fun (there’s that word again). They’re focused and serious about getting the job done, but working on a few dance moves never hurt anyone as long as the priorities are straight and there is no doubt they are.

4. The defensive line is as good as advertised. They had a pair of sacks against the Chiefs, but they were in quarterback Matt Cassel’s face all during the game. It’s not just the line playing well, but they set the tone. Chris Houston has improved as has Amari Spievey. Louis Delmas (hip pointer) was a game-time decision and he played like a maniac (in a good way). In the first two games the Lions’ defense has allowed just one touchdown.

5. It’s going to take a while longer to know how good the Lions really are. They have now beat two teams that each won 10 games last season. They got better from week one to week two. And the mistakes they made in week one were corrected. The win over the Chiefs wasn’t a perfect game — the Lions got off to a sluggish start. But once in gear, they were impressive. They haven’t won in Minnesota since 1997, they haven’t started a season 3-0 since 1980. The Vikings are 0-2, the Lions are 2-0 and still hungry.

(Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche. Get Lions news delivered directly to your phone by texting the keyword "Lions" to 22700.)

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