Ten minutes into the Detroit Lions' 2016 Ford Field debut Thursday evening came the first chorus of boos directed at the home team.
Though lacking in timbre _ hey, it's preseason for the fans as well, they've got to build up their strength _ it nonetheless indicated an early ease at reaching their level of frustration. The Cincinnati Bengals methodically rolled through the Lions' defense on their opening drive for a touchdown. And the Lions had three of their top four defensive starters on the field for the first time in the preseason _ defensive end Ziggy Ansah, cornerback Darius Slay and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata.
Slay slipped on a third-and-short play that turned into a 14-yard gain. The Lions' interior defensive line, supposedly their strength, got blown up on the next play, resulting in a nine-yard touchdown run.
And while it's still too early getting too upset about their executional mistakes, there are potentially disturbing trends through the Lions' first two exhibition performances.
For the second straight week, the Lions' first-team offense couldn't get into the end zone. For the second straight week, Matthew Stafford got pounded, sacked and lost the football. For the second straight week, the Lions' rebuilt offensive line was susceptible to inside blitz pressure. For the second straight week, rookie left tackle Taylor Decker resembled a statue on the Lions' opening drive, badly missing a run block which resulted in lost yardage inside the Bengals' five yard line. And for the second straight week, backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky gave up a pick-six interception.
But the good news was that the Lions introduced a new food item _ a four-pound, angioplasty-inducing donut cake that might elicit enough of a sugar buzz to momentarily pacify the excessively tormented.
It's always dangerous reading too much into the preseason, but there was no appreciable improvement from the first team offense from last week's opener in Pittsburgh.
Right now, the Lions look no better than an average team.
ESPN ranked them 27th in a preseason power poll earlier this week. But predicting them as the sixth worst team in the NFL is about as meaningful as predicting them as the sixth best team in the NFL. None of that talk really matters in the middle of August.
The Lions have more "ifs" than other teams. If... a rebuilt offensive line coalesces into an effective unit. If... Calvin Johnson's loss isn't as devastating offensively as some fear. If... DeAndre Levy can return to anything remotely close to the Pro Bowl-deserving level exhibited in the 2014 season. If.... Stafford finally takes the necessary strides toward becoming a top 10 NFL quarterback rather than settling for mediocrity.
If ... if...if.
The Bengals are a model worth following for the Lions. They're years removed from their last playoff victory, inciting frustrations that they've wasted opportunities. But the Bengals _ along with the Green Bay Packers _ are the two most proficient franchises in drafting and developing their own talent. The Bengals rarely seek personnel upgrades through free agency.
They opted against re-signing No. 3 receiver Marvin Jones following last season because of their confidence in finding a suitable replacement in their young draft picks. The Lions signed Jones to a five-year, $40-million free agent deal, hoping that a supplemental piece to Cincinnati's receiving corps a year ago can help offset the loss of Johnson.
Jones looked good against his former teammates in the first quarter, catching four passes for 65 yards, including a 32-yard gain on the Lions' opening possession.
But it speaks to a continued problem with the Lions. They still must overpay on the free agent market for possible answers to roster holes because of horrendously poor drafting the last 10 years. And that remains new general manager Bob Quinn's first task in rebuilding this organization. Better scouting and draft evaluation can perhaps finally get this franchise to a point where the first reaction isn't anticipating the worst.
Until then, the Lions had better keep those big donuts in ample supply.
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