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Lions visit New York while Tigers host World Series

Oct 18, 2006 - 12:15 AM Detroit (1-5) at NY Jets (3-3) Sunday 1:00 pm EDT

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The Detroit Tigers will host a World Series game on Sunday night.

So the Detroit Lions will continue to fly on the radar when they face the New York Jets in an interconference matchup on Sunday afternoon.

Both teams have rookie coaches. The Jets are 3-3 under Eric Mangini, who was a secondary coach on New England's three Super Bowl-winning teams.

The Lions got off to an 0-5 start under Rod Marinelli before earning their first win - a 20-17 victory over the Buffalo Bills last Sunday.

Lions president Matt Millen should be thankful that the Tigers' run to the World Series has diverted attention from his team.

Since Millen took over as Lions' president in January 2001, the team is 22-64. Millen hired Marty Mornhinweg, Steve Mariucci and interim Dick Jauron before turning to the 56-year-old Marinelli, who had been a defensive line coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 10 years.

Millen and Marinelli then hired former St. Louis coach Mike Martz to run the offense. After scoring just 13 points in their first two games, the Lions have compiled 95 points in their last four.

Roy Williams has especially been the beneficiary of Martz directing the offense. A first-round pick in 2004, Williams leads the NFL with 552 receiving yards on 36 catches.

Last week, Williams set career highs with 10 receptions for 161 yards and Kevin Jones rushed for 127 yards and a score in the win over Buffalo.

"We're glad to have a win under our belt because the coaching staff has been under a microscope and they really don't deserve that," Jones said. "Now hopefully we can put a string of wins together."

The Jets have managed to put three wins together for Mangini and their losses have come against playoff teams from last season - New England, Indianapolis and Jacksonville.

"We're second in the division. That's all we can ask for right now," Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. "We've put ourselves in position to make a run for it at the end."

Laveranues Coles is second to Williams in receiving yards with 537 yards on 38 catches. Last week, he had five catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-17 win over Miami.

This game should have special significance for Lions defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson, who served in the same position for the Jets the previous two seasons.

Last year, the Jets ranked 12th in defense, allowing 308.8 yards per game. Henderson was let go by the Jets after the team named Mangini coach on January 17.

The Lions have won in their last two visits to the Meadowlands against the Jets in 1994 and 2000. The Jets won the last meeting, 31-14, at Detroit in November 2002.