It's still early, but unit looks faster, stronger
 
Lions defensive coordinator Joe Barry was eager to get outdoors and enjoy some of the sunshine and warm weather Monday afternoon. He'd been holed up inside the Lions practice facility since the wee hours of the morning after a flight from Cincinnati. But it wasn't all bad for a coach who preaches tenacity and loves seeing it unfold on tape.   After a spirited week of practice, the Lions beat up on the Bengals on Sunday, winning, 27-10.

Barry saw it unfold live on the field and enjoyed watching it again on tape. The Lions looked fast, young, ferocious and angry while disrupting the Bengals offense and rattling starting quarterback Carson Palmer.  The coaching staff challenged the defensive line to overwhelm a line that was about three inches taller and 35 pounds heavier on average and to put pressure on Palmer. The Bengals ran 21 times for 100 yards, but 32 came on two scrambles by backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Palmer completed 6 of 13 passes for 50 yards and threw an interception that Brian Kelly made a brilliant catch of over the fallen body of receiver Chad Johnson. Defensive end Dewayne White and tackle Cory Redding controlled the middle while many of their backups put the heat on the Bengals' second stringers.

Palmer was sacked once and hit four times, concerning Bengals coach Marvin Lewis. In all, the Lions had five sacks.  "Our quarterback was touched a bit more on the other side than we're used to," Lewis said.  The Lions also got a perfect game from starting quarterback Jon Kitna and big throws from backups Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton. The running game remains a concern. Tatum Bell continues to struggle, and currently the Lions look better with the 1-2 punch of rookie Kevin Smith (four carries for 19 yards) and Artose Pinner (15 for 52).

Tape didn't lie
It was a good night all round as the Lions embarrassed the Bengals. "You know sometimes you walk off the field and say 'Man, we just kicked their butts,' " Barry said. "But you look at the film and say 'Woo, we actually didn't.' This wasn't one of those times. "As coach (Rod) Marinelli always says, you are what is on your tape. It makes you feel good that the day after a game when you see the things we are preaching are coming together. We got a long road to go, but I think we are on the right path. I feel good about where we are right now."

Before we go on let's throw a caution flag. This was just an exhibition, and it is difficult to gauge the future when starters play a quarter or less. The Lions starters played an average of 12 plays against the New York Giants and about 18 against the Bengals. We know they start fast. We won't know their staying power until the season opener at Atlanta.

The Lions believe they must prove something from the opening bell. Maybe that explains why they looked so good and gave Palmer fits. He played into the early stages of the second quarter as the Bengals tried to give him some confidence before sitting him down.

It never happened.

"We really respect Cincinnati's offensive line," Barry said. "They not only are one of the biggest offensive lines in the NFL but they are really good. We threw out a challenge to not only our entire defense to not only stop the run, but we wanted to get after the quarterback. It looked like we got after him pretty good and that is great to see."

Redding and White were especially strong.

"They've got to be our lead dogs for us," Barry said. "Not only Dewayne and Cory but our entire defensive line is the piston in our engine that is driving the bus for us."

Kelly was impressive
While Redding and White were leading the line, Kelly excelled in the secondary, including two signature plays against Johnson.

Kelly separated Johnson's hands preventing a second-down catch. On the next play he hit Johnson, snatched the ball out of the air and ran 16 yards for an interception return. Johnson walked off the field in pain with a shoulder strain.

"The awesome thing about Brian Kelly is he's a technician," Barry said. "Because he's a technician he's going to do it right and he's going to be in position. The impressive thing is Brian out-competed him for the ball."

Barry doesn't care what time of year it is. He wants to see his defense outhustle and outmuscle opponents. That's why when he finally dragged himself from a day of meetings and film session, the sunshine -- and the Lions future -- looked that much brighter.

Barry saw it unfold live on the field and enjoyed watching it again on tape. The Lions looked fast, young, ferocious and angry while disrupting the Bengals offense and rattling starting quarterback Carson Palmer.  The coaching staff challenged the defensive line to overwhelm a line that was about three inches taller and 35 pounds heavier on average and to put pressure on Palmer. The Bengals ran 21 times for 100 yards, but 32 came on two scrambles by backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Palmer completed 6 of 13 passes for 50 yards and threw an interception that Brian Kelly made a brilliant catch of over the fallen body of receiver Chad Johnson. Defensive end Dewayne White and tackle Cory Redding controlled the middle while many of their backups put the heat on the Bengals' second stringers.

Palmer was sacked once and hit four times, concerning Bengals coach Marvin Lewis. In all, the Lions had five sacks.  "Our quarterback was touched a bit more on the other side than we're used to," Lewis said.  The Lions also got a perfect game from starting quarterback Jon Kitna and big throws from backups Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton. The running game remains a concern. Tatum Bell continues to struggle, and currently the Lions look better with the 1-2 punch of rookie Kevin Smith (four carries for 19 yards) and Artose Pinner (15 for 52).

Tape didn't lie
It was a good night all round as the Lions embarrassed the Bengals. "You know sometimes you walk off the field and say 'Man, we just kicked their butts,' " Barry said. "But you look at the film and say 'Woo, we actually didn't.' This wasn't one of those times. "As coach (Rod) Marinelli always says, you are what is on your tape. It makes you feel good that the day after a game when you see the things we are preaching are coming together. We got a long road to go, but I think we are on the right path. I feel good about where we are right now."

Before we go on let's throw a caution flag. This was just an exhibition, and it is difficult to gauge the future when starters play a quarter or less. The Lions starters played an average of 12 plays against the New York Giants and about 18 against the Bengals. We know they start fast. We won't know their staying power until the season opener at Atlanta.

The Lions believe they must prove something from the opening bell. Maybe that explains why they looked so good and gave Palmer fits. He played into the early stages of the second quarter as the Bengals tried to give him some confidence before sitting him down.

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