Lions vs. Saints: 6 Things We Learned from Detroit's 45-28 Loss

This is how it ends this year, with a 45-28 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

So why does this game feel more like a beginning than an ending?

Without question, it hurt to lose this game. But at the end of the day, file this one under "valuable playoff experience."

Because the Lions are a team on the rise. They played a team widely considered to be a Super Bowl favorite, at the toughest stadium in the NFL this season, and led them at the half.

They couldn't hang with them for 60 minutes, but nobody has been able to lay a finger on the Saints nearly all season, so pardon me if I'm not that surprised.

So the Saints move on to play the San Francisco 49ers, and the Detroit Lions' first playoff run of the century looks like most of their other playoff runs. World keeps on spinning.

But this is a different kind of loss. Yeah, it stings now, but I don't think anybody believes the Lions just missed their window. I don't think people even thought the Lions' window was open yet.

Ironically, this may have been the game that opened it. This isn't the end of anything except this season.

So with that said, here is my final "Six Things" of the season. Thanks for a great year, Lions.

Well Played, Detroit Lions. See You Next Year

Don't sulk about this one for too long. The Detroit Lions have already played one more game this season than I expected them to.

And you know what? This season was fun. For the first time, even in defeat, I had fun watching the Detroit Lions.

They won 10 games and made the playoffs. And by all accounts, they figure to be much better next season, considering the amount of youth on the team.

So don't hang your head. When the Packer trolls find their way over to poke fun and give their "Same Old Lions" mantra, just smile and know that the Lions will be back stronger next year. This is the first time in a while we can be relatively assured of that.

Because there's two ways you can look at the loss today. One is that the Lions lost a game they were supposed to lose.

The other is that the Lions lost a game nobody believed they'd play in the first place.

That's progress, friends. Don't let anybody bring you down about this one. Hold your heads high and start getting excited about the 2012 NFL draft.

After all, we're about a month behind in that conversation now.

The Lions' Offense Is Just About There

Say what you want about skill positions, but when you get a bunch of good ones in one place, it's a beautiful thing.

This is approximately what the Lions were going for when they drafted Brandon Pettigrew and Titus Young, traded for Tony Scheffler, and signed Nate Burleson.

It was all about giving young Matthew Stafford weapons and places to go with the ball.

Late in the season, and in this game, it has come to fruition. All those guys, in addition to the centerpiece, Calvin Johnson, had a major impact on the game.

Now, the offensive line needs an upgrade or two, and that along with some health should help get a running game going moving forward. But that aside, this offensive unit should be good for a while.

Okay, so Maybe You Draft a Cornerback

I've been a believer in the Lions secondary. They're young and unproven, but I really believed that they would improve drastically as the season wore on.

Their tally for the last two games of the season? 939 yards and nine touchdowns through the air. And most of those were against free-agent millionaire-to-be Matt Flynn.

Chris Houston is fine, and Eric Wright played well this year. But I'm not sure if I'm still on board with Alphonso Smith and Aaron Berry being the new "big things" for the Lions. 

The Lions have had some success rebuilding units with square pegs, but the secondary is going to need a good old-fashioned infusion of talent now. There's just no way around it.

The D-line can only cover for so much. Today, they were contained, and the secondary was exposed. That can't continue to happen, so the solution is to upgrade the position getting picked on. Simple.

But that's not the biggest thing that haunted the Lions in this game...

Biggest Defensive Need for the Lions: Tackling

This is not even a close game if the Lions make tackles. There's no doubt in my mind that it would have been a Lions blowout.

I don't believe Pierre Thomas went down on first contact once in the entire game. And hey, Thomas is a bruising running back, breaking tackles is his job.

But when Darren Sproles starts running through arm tackles, there's trouble.

Missed tackles will be the storyline in this game, without question. It's disappointing, because for all the issues the Lions have had this season, tackling has been pretty solid for the most part.

Not in this game. The last tackler on the field was typically the only one that made a play. Sometimes not even.

A close second on the "worst offenders" list? Dropped interceptions.

It's Not the Refs' Fault... Entirely

Blaming the referees is not terribly productive. 

I firmly believe that refs do their best to go out and call a fair game, day in and day out. And they make some correct calls in real time that are difficult to see even with instant replay and five camera angles.

But man, for the second straight week, there have been major blown calls against the Lions that have severely affected the outcome of the game.

A Drew Brees fumble whistled dead that would have been returned for a touchdown, a missed holding call on a Darren Sproles touchdown run, half-yard additions on ball spots, and questionable penalty calls all over the field were the highlights of this game.

Now that said, anyone who wants to come out and say the refs had the biggest impact on the game, please direct your attention to Drew Brees, Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson and a bunch of missed tackles, which actually impacted the game.

Yeah, the refs blew a call or three, but they made a bunch more than they missed, and calls are part of the game.

So this is where I tell you that yes, the officiating was bad, but if you're blaming the refs for everything, then... well, just don't ever coach defense.

Game Result: Lions Exceeded Expectations by a Little Less Than They Could Have

There isn't anybody in their right mind that thinks the Detroit Lions' rebuilding process is over.

It's not over now, it certainly wasn't when the Lions started the season. Ask even a casual Lions fan and they'll tell you what the Lions still need to address: Defensive back seven, offensive line.

It's been the Lions' worst-kept secret all year. They can't run the ball, they can't stop the pass without D-line penetration.

Even with those glaring weaknesses, the Lions still won 10 games and made the playoffs, meeting or exceeding the expectations of all but the most insanely optimistic fans out there.

And with every draft, the Lions have gotten better. Actually, since the Schwartz/Mayhew braintrust came in, the Lions have improved by two wins (2-14), four wins (6-10) and four wins again (10-6).

There is absolutely no reason to believe that trend won't continue, even considering the trouble the Lions will have with the salary cap this offseason.

I know the NFL is a "win now" type of league, and I know Super Bowl teams go on to miss the playoffs every year. So I recognize that anything could happen next season.

But by my count, the Lions are way ahead of schedule on their rebuilding plan. This was the season the team was supposed to push .500, and they made the playoffs. So the big question is as follows:

If next year was the year the Lions were supposed to make the playoffs, how will they exceed those expectations?