The Detroit Lions have spent the first eight weeks of the season falling into one hole and climbing out of another.
Or maybe it's the other way around -- climbing out of one hole and falling into another.
Either way, what we we've learned in the Lions compiling their 0-8 won-loss record is that head coach Dan Campbell has a limitless reservoir of energy and desire to get the team on a winning track.
We've also learned that he's ready to take on adversity before it strikes.
Among the other things we've learned in the first eight games include Campbell preparing his team to fight adversity, continuous struggles on offense and a lack of balance that puts more stress on the defense.
We start with the head coach: Regardless of his emotions after a loss, Campbell bounced back. It was no different when he spoke to the media Monday after Sunday's desolate performance in a 44-6 loss to the Eagles.
How is he handling the start?
"Am I frustrated? I am," Campbell said in response to a question. "Am I upset that we're at where we're at? I am.
"I have not lost confidence. I still know we are not the team that played yesterday. That's not who we are.
"I don't believe that one bit."
Handling adversity: "We're in the middle of a lot of adversity now, which we knew was going to come," he said. "I don't think any of us thought it was going to be 0-8.
"I warned the team on this. At some point, every team has adversity. There's nothing you can say when you're 0-8. I know this: We've got to hunker down and just improve on the things we believe we need to do to win a game.
"If we can do that, and make one more play than our opponent, we'll turn the corner. But certainly, we can't play like we did yesterday."
Offense: It was a struggle Week 1 vs. the 49ers, and it was a struggle Week 8 vs. the Eagles.
They scored two TDs, plus two two-point conversions, in the last two minutes in the loss to the 49ers to cut a 41-17 deficit to make the final margin a respectable 41-33. But the game really wasn't that close.
And in Sunday's loss to the Eagles, the Lions did not score a TD until midway through the fourth quarter.
The game was as one-sided as the final margin of 44-6 indicated, if not worse.
The Lions' 134 points scored are third fewest of all teams that have played eight games. The 244 points allowed are the most allowed by any team.
The lack of support the defense gets from the offense in terms of sustaining possessions and controlling the clock make the job more difficult for a unit that has problems of its own.
