NFL releases schedule, Lions fans cry foul

Yesterday, the NFL released the upcoming 2010 schedule. The simple rundown: 6 division games as usual, 4 games against the NFC East, 4 more against the AFC East, Then the last place finishers in the NFC South and West (Bucs and Rams).
Those division draws are nasty. At best, you're looking at winning 2 of the 6 division games in the NFC North, and I personally see a split with Chicago and a goose egg vs. Green Bay and Minnesota, giving the Lions a 1-5 division record.

The NFC East, as usual, is one of the toughest top-to-bottom divisions in all of football. The only bad team last year--Washington--has improved dramatically on paper addressing QB and RB needs with veteran (read: old) players, and their remaining gaping hole at LT could easily be addressed with the 4th overall pick in tomorrow night's draft. All hope is not lost--Washington's game is at Ford Field, and I need not remind you one out of last year's two wins came against that same team. But still, it is tough to see the Lions pulling out any games from this slate.

The AFC East is no cakewalk either. The Patriots still have all their major offensive pieces intact. The Jets have made a mockery of the off-season by acquiring nearly every big name player available, most of whom are in their prime. The Dolphins got Brandon Marshall last week to complement an already stellar running team with a weapon in the passing game. The Bills are the Bills, have made no noise this off-season, but alas, that game is on the road, on December 12th. Ford Field is no Buffalo, New York in December.

The entire schedule is listed below, per NFL's website. It's tough to predict individual games, especially so early when the draft has yet to occur, but it's hard to be optimistic about this year with the hand Detroit's been dealt. A 5-win season would be par for the course for this young, improving team. Anything more than that would be a pleasant surprise.
See every teams schedule, of course, at http://www.nfl.com/schedules

9.12 @ CHI
9.19 PHI
9.26 @ MIN
10.3 @ GB
10.10 STL
10.17 @ NYG
--Bye Week--
10.31 WAS
11.7 NYJ
11.14 @ BUF
11.21 @ DAL
11.25 NE *Thanksgiving Day*
12.5 CHI
12.12 GB
12.19 @ TB
12.26 @ MIA
1.2 MIN