The storyline for the Indianapolis Colts' offense this week will be the same as it is for nearly every NFL team entering the next-to-last preseason game. It is all about how the unit looks in its most extended preseason playing time.

Fans might get their best preseason chance to see how Donald Brown and Joseph Addai will be used during the regular season.

The Lions, who are 1-1 so far in preseason, hope to get a better game out of QB Matthew Stafford. He seemed to be in the lead for the starting job entering the game at Cleveland, but took a big step backward.

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On paper this game isn’t nearly as flashy as some of the other Week 2 matchups, but football fans will get a look at two of the NFL’s top prospects behind center. Lions rookie QB Matthew Stafford will be adjusting to life in the pros, while Browns third-year QB Brady Quinn will be trying to solidify his role as the team’s starter.

This is also a matchup between last year’s best preseason squad (Detroit 4-0) and the worst (Cleveland 0-4). Now do you see why preseason does not mean much in terms of how the regular season plays out?

With those records in mind, the Lions might be better off saving the winning efforts for when it matters.

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The story of Lions training camp is clearly quarterback Matthew Stafford. The No. 1 pick in the NFL draft has lived up to his billing so far and is pushing veteran Daunte Culpepper for the starting job.

Detroit also has a rookie head coach in Jim Schwartz and he’ll want to get the NFL preseason started off on the right foot after the Lions went winless last year. There are a ton of positional battles and players looking to impress the new coach and that will likely lead to the Lions putting in a full effort to make up for their horrendous 2008 campaign.

Atlanta is a more defined team and won’t be playing as hard since many positions are set in stone.

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Hey, at least Detroit changed its logo to a meaner Lion this offseason!

Actually, the Lions finally get to start a season without Matt Millen in the front office, which automatically means this team is on a better track. Although it was odd to many that the Lions didn't go after a big name GM/coach type (Bill Parcells, Bill Cowher) in the offseason, instead promoting Martin Mayhew to GM and hiring solid but unspectacular coach Jim Schwartz, the former Titan defensive coordinator who had never been a head coach at any level.

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Detroit suffered arguably loss No. 17 last year when Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford declined to enter the draft. The Oklahoma star would have been no doubt the first overall pick, as he had a higher grade than Georgia's Matthew Stafford, whom the Lions took. But Stafford has looked good this offseason and may start on opening day – don’t be too giddy, he only needs beat out Daunte Culpepper. The offense has some nice weapons to build around in Stafford, RB Kevin Smith and WR Calvin Johnson.

But the defense is horrendous. Last season, Detroit's defense allowed a league-worst 32.3 points and 404.4 yards per game. QBs had a ridiculous 110.9 rating against that unit — Peyton Manning, by comparison, exceeded that number just five times in 2008. The Lions defense added a few free agents (Grady Jackson, Julian Peterson, Phillip Buchanon, to name a few) but still won't be very good.  There's nowhere to go but up.

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It's going to be another long year in Motown, but at least many Detroit fans won't have to see it – the team is struggling to sell tickets with Detroit getting hit extremely hard in this economy and the team being lousy on top of that. So many Lions home games might be blacked out.

Here is the Lions' 2009 schedule, and we'll break it down after:
Sept. 13 at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m.
Sept. 20 vs. Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m.
Sept. 27 vs. Washington Redskins, 1 p.m.
Oct. 4 at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m.
Oct. 11 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m.
Oct. 18 at Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m.
Week 7: Bye
Nov. 1 vs. St. Louis Rams, 1 p.m.
Nov. 8 at Seattle Seahawks, 4:05 p.m.
Nov. 15 at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m.
Nov. 22 vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m.
Nov. 26 vs. Green Bay Packers, 12:30 p.m.
Dec. 6 at Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m.
Dec. 13 at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m.
Dec. 20 vs. Arizona Cardinals, 1 p.m.
Dec. 27 at San Francisco 49ers, 4:05 p.m.
Jan. 3 vs. Chicago Bears, 1 p.m.

Strength of schedule: 21st (opponents combined to go 119-136-1, .467, in 2008)
Projected record: 2-14
Bodog over/under total: 4 ½
Bodog odds to win Super Bowl XLIV: 100/1

As one would expect, the Lions' Bodog over/under win total of 4 ½ is the lowest in the NFL, one win ahead of Oakland and St. Louis.
However, Detroit has company at the longest-shot 100/1 to win Super Bowl XLIV, with Tampa Bay and the Rams joining the Lions there.

I won't bother going through each game on Detroit's schedule as I have with other teams, because this team isn't going to win more than a few. Let's look at the ones the Lions have a chance in.

Week 2 against the Vikings might seem like a long shot for Detroit, but the Lions could have beaten Minnesota twice last year and lost both meetings by a combined six points. Before you get excited about a possible upset here, realize that Minnesota has swept the season series in six of the past seven years and has won 19 of the past 22 games against the Lions.

Basically, look for Detroit to beat St. Louis in the Toilet Bowl on Nov. 1 and then upset Green Bay on Thanksgiving. The Lions have played the Packers more than any other team on Turkey Day and are 11-6-1 against Green Bay on that day. Detroit hasn't come within double digits of an opponent on Thanksgiving since 2003, but that year was Detroit's last win on the holiday and it came against the Pack – so call it a hunch.

In a schedule twist, for the first time since 1985 and the second time in franchise history, the Lions' home schedule includes games against the previous year's Super Bowl teams. Pittsburgh visits the Motor City in a regular-season game for the first time since 1998, and all those Steeler fans might guarantee a rare sell out.

A 2-14 record should be good enough for the No. 1 overall pick for a second straight season.

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Green Bay’s second-half slide continued last week, as they dropped their fifth game in a row on Monday night to the Bears. The Packers were in control with a 14-3 lead heading into the second before Chicago clawed back to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Green Bay could have won on a field goal in the fourth quarter, but Chicago blocked it to send the game to overtime. Green Bay’s defeat was complete after the Bears hit a field goal in OT.

The Packers already took care of the Lions back in Week 2 in a 48-25 win. To avoid the ultimate season of futility the Lions will need to win in Green Bay for the first time since 1991. Get your NFL picks with Bodog now.

There are three reasons to think the Lions will have a better shot this week than they did against the Vikings. One, they’ll have Dan Orlovksy (80.3 passer rating) at quarterback instead of the still-rusty Daunte Culpepper (63.9 rating, shoulder injury). Two, the Saints have a worse record than Minnesota, and three, this is the last home game of the season for Detroit. There will be a serious effort to win.

The Saints, on the other hand, have been eliminated from playoff contention after losing 27-24 to the Chicago Bears (-3) in overtime. This is a classic fade situation. Get your NFL picks in the Bodog Sportsbook.

Since a 31-21 loss at Tennessee on Oct. 27, the Colts have won six in a row (three ATS), compiling the longest active winning streak in the league. Indy has given up just four passing touchdowns all season, on pace to break the 16-game NFL record of nine, while intercepting opponents 14 times.

As heavy 17-point favorites, it will be hard for the Colts to take the Lions seriously but even an off day is good enough to beat Detroit.

The Lions are 1-2 in Indianapolis since the Colts moved there in 1984, including a 30-18 loss in their most recent visit Oct. 29, 2000.

The Titans had two running backs surpass 100 rushing yards on Thursday, and with Adrian Peterson coming to town the Lions 32nd-ranked rush defense is in deep trouble.

Peterson had 131 yards rushing Sunday to give him a career total of 2,652 yards.The Vikings’ 34-14 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday put Minnesota in sole possession of first place in the NFC North for the first time since Brad Childress took over as head coach in 2006.

Can the Lions finally win a game Sunday and put a dent in the Vikings’ playoff hopes? Place your NFL bets now.

If there's a good way to bounce back from a defeat, it would seem to be a matchup with the Lions, who must beat the AFC-best Titans to avoid emerging from their annual Thanksgiving Day game with a winless record for the second time in franchise history.

The Lions have lost 12 in a row overall and 18 of 19 and head into this game as large 11.5-point underdogs. Detroit is 3-6 all-time versus the Titans, including a 24-21 loss in 1992 in the only Thanksgiving game between the franchises.

As this game is currently underway…you can still get all your NFL odds at the Bodog Sportsbook.

Detroit enters this game as 8.5-point underdogs and will be looking to steal a game against a Buccaneers team that is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games in Detroit.

Jeff Garcia passed for 255 yards and helped the Bucs control the ball in the second half as they knocked off the Vikings 19-13 on Sunday. The Bucs scored one touchdown against the Vikings despite five trips inside the red zone, where the team has struggled all year.