According to published reports, the Lions made a handful of moves Tuesday, reflecting the banged-up status of the squad.

According to ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio, the Lions cut defensive tackle Chuck Darby, and signed cornerback DeMarcus Faggins.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus posted a tweet on his Twitter account earlier in the afternoon, noting that the Lions had re-acquired wide receiver John Standeford, who took the roster spot left open when the team placed wide receiver Adam Jennings on injured reserve on Monday.

Standeford nine games with the Lions last year, starting four, and grabbing 15 passes. The Lions finished Sunday’s game with just three healthy receivers available.

Darby also spent last season with the Lions — both he and Standeford were let go at the final roster cutdown at the end of training camp — but was brought back when rookie defensive tackle Sammie Hill was limited by an ankle injury, and was inactive for Sunday’s loss to the Steelers.

A 2002 draft pick who spent his entire career with the Houston Texans, Faggins gives the Lions a body to bolster the secondary, which was hit by a “significant” injury to the shoulder of nickel back Eric King.

Mike Furrey told reporters in Tampa Bay for the Super Bowl today that he had been released. It's a little bit of a surprise considering the lack of depth at receiver the Lions had on their roster, but not totally unexpected since Furrey's season ended in such animosity last year.

Furrey, you recall, was placed on injured reserve Dec. 1 with lingering symptoms from a concussion. He said at the time he was fit to play, but after missing three consecutive games (and playing in just nine) general manager Martin Mayhew didn't agree.

As good a season as he had three years ago when he caught 98 passes, Furrey didn't fit into the Lions' long-term plans. He was little help as a return man, his toughness came into question after he signed a three-year deal following his breakout season, and the Lions are in the process of cleaning out some of the veteran excess tainted by Matt Millen's eight-year run.

With Shaun McDonald scheduled for free agency, receiver is now a definite position of need this offseason (though not to the level where Michael Crabtree or anyone else will be considered atop the draft). Chris Hannon (Dolphins) and Adam Jennings (Falcons) were claimed off waivers late in the season, Travis Taylor signed as a free agent, and John Standeford and Reggie Ball are both under contract. None of the above seems like a suitable No. 2 to pair with Calvin Johnson, though in fairness Furrey wouldn't have filled that role, either.

Cutting Furrey now is a ho-hum move in my opinion. The Lions save on his $1.85-million salary, Furrey gets a chance to latch on somewhere else immediately, and the Lions are flush with third and fourth receivers, guys capable of pulling down the 30 or 40 balls that would have come Furrey's way.

I don't know about you, but I'm more convinced than ever the Lions are going 0-16. Why? Because teams as bad as the Lions don't get gift-wrapped opportunities to win like this every week.

They marched inside the Minnesota 10 three times Sunday, they equaled their season total with two interceptions, they forced three Adrian Peterson fumbles and the Vikings lost their starting quarterback to injury in the first half and committed a slew of penalties.

And what did the Lions do with all those breaks? Nothing. They scored all of six points in the first half. They didn't recover a single Peterson fumbles, and backup Tarvaris Jackson became the seventh signal caller this year to set a career-high quarterback rating against the Lions.

The end result: A 20-16 Minnesota win.

“It looked like the ball was bouncing our way, and that's something that hasn't happened this year a lot,” said linebacker Ryan Nece, whose first-quarter interception set up a Jason Hanson field goal. “It was bouncing our way and we just didn't capitalize in certain areas, and it's unfortunate because you got to take advantage. Anytime that football bounces your way you got to take advantage of it and put points on the board and put yourself in a position to change field position or whatever it may be, an opportunistic situation. And we just unfortunately didn't get it done.”

The Lions didn't get it done largely because they left too many points on the field early. They reached the Minnesota 4 on their first two drives but had to settle for Hanson field goals. They went for fourth-and-1s on their next two drives and failed to convert (Daunte Culpepper got stuffed on a quarterback sneak on the 5-yard line 46 seconds before halftime).

And when they needed a defensive stop late, there were no plays to be found. The Vikings, ran, effectively, the final 5:44 off the clock, converting a third-and-4 and second-and-13 on Jackson passes to Bobby Wade and Chester Taylor.

“I think the biggest disappointment, at the end of the game we've got to stop them,” Lions coach Rod Marinelli said. “We played well for most of the game and when we had a chance and we needed a stop we didn't get that done.”

• The Lions are 31-94 since 2001. That's the worst winning percentage (.248) over any eight-season span since 1950, according to STATS. They're also three losses from becoming the first team to go 0-16 in NFL history. Up next is a trip to Indianapolis, winners of six straight. Then a home game against New Orleans and the NFL's top-ranked offense. And the Lions close with a visit to Green Bay, where they haven't won since 1991.

• I can't blame Marinelli for being so aggressive early. That was the right call considering how bad the defense has been. But I do take issue with at least one of Jim Colletto's fourth-down play calls. On fourth-and-1 from the 30 late in the first half, Colletto dialed up a pass to John Standeford. This is the same John Standeford who didn't make the team out of training camp. I know Kevin Smith was stuffed for no gain a play earlier, but I'd rather take my chances with a handoff to him, a sneak by Culpepper or a pass to Calvin Johnson.

• And before you say the sneak to Culpepper didn't work two series later, there's no excuse for an offense line and a 280-pound quarterback not being able to get an inch, even against Pat and Kevin Williams, two of the best defensive tackles in the game.

“Definitely there was a wall, Kevin and Pat Williams,” Culpepper said of his failed sneak. “They made a play and we didn't make a play, simple as that. It's tough. That's football though.”

• Culpepper on Marinelli's decision to be aggressive (he said he decided during the week to try and convert fourth-and-3 or shorter in Minnesota territory): “You got to be aggressive, I think, in this situation definitely. I like Coach Marinelli's attitude. He's just like, hey, let's go get something, and we just got to – when the coach believes in us like that to go for it on fourth down, we got to do our job as players to make the play.”

• Culpepper did leave late in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury, which means the Lions could start their fourth different quarterback next week. Jon Kitna made four starts before the Lions stashed him on injured reserve with a bad back, Dan Orlovsky started four games before getting knocked out with a fractured thumb, and Culpepper's started the last five weeks. He said he doesn't know the extent of his injury, but will have an MRI Monday. Drew Henson replaced him for the final play (and was sacked).

There's a chance Orlovsky could return this week. If not – and if Culpepper can't go – Drew Stanton could make his first career start in what appears to be a totally unwinnable game.

• One more quote from Vikings safety Darren Sharper on the atmosphere at Ford Field: “It was about a half-filled stadium. It seemed as though we were at a morgue more than a football game.”

• Lastly, barring the occurrence of some totally newsworthy event, the blog will take a couple days off. I won't be at Marinelli's weekly press conference Monday because my wife and I are expecting our first baby and have our first ultrasound scheduled. I'll return with regular updates Wednesday.

Emptying my notebook on a Thursday night:

• Maybe it's my journalistic instinct, but for the life of me I don't understand why the Lions have turned mum about lineup changes. Everyone who's stepped foot in the Lions locker room this week gets the sense that Gosder Cherilus replace George Foster as starter (again), but neither Rod Marinelli nor usually loose-lipped offensive coordinator Jim Colletto will confirm it.

"We kind of wait until Saturday to evaluate the whole week and see what's going to happen," Colletto said.

Right. Not only is their approach amateurish, it's a lie. Does you really think they don't have a good idea who's starting today? Marinelli said one reason he decided to stop talking about lineup changes is because of an erroneous report earlier this year. Only he didn't have anything to do with that report and if he wants to stop the speculating and reporters asking his players every day the best way is for him to come out and announce the changes himself.

• Incidentally, whenever it is that Drew Stanton replaces Dan Orlovsky as quarterback, $10 says the Lions make that decision public early in the week. They'll want the ticket bounce at Ford Field.

• In case you missed it about this weekend's blackout, the first in Ford Field history also happens to be the first in the NFL this year. At least the Lions lead the league in something.

• Colletto said John Standeford, signed last week after the Roy Williams trade, could see some time this week. Standeford spent a few minutes after practice Thursday catching punts. He said he's just trying to be ready for anything.

• Clinton Portis, obviously, makes the Redskins go. But it's unreal how long Washington quarterbacks have gone without throwing an interception (an NFL record 332 attempts dating back to last year).

• "They're doing a great job," Lions defensive coordinator Joe Barry said. "The thing that a lot of people don't realize about (Redskins quarterback) Jason Campbell is he's big enough and athletic enough that he'll tuck the ball down and take off and run," Lions defensive coordinator Joe Barry said. "He's not going to be silly with the ball where a lot of times, young quarterbacks with big arms, they think, 'Oh, I can get the ball in there.' He's not doing that. He's being smart."

The Lions have announced the first 19 of 21 players they released today on their way down to the 53-man roster limit. Most notable among the cuts were linebacker Buster Davis, safety Greg Blue, cornerback Dovonte Edwards and receivers Devale Ellis and John Standeford. They also placed running back Brian Calhoun on injured reserve with what coach Rod Marinelli termed a "thigh muscle tear." Calhoun has finished all three of his NFL seasons on IR.

By cutting Ellis, Standeford and Brandon Middleton, the Lions appear to be going with just four receivers — Calvin Johnson, Roy Williams, Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald — and extra help at fullback (Sean McHugh) and tight end (John Owens). Rookie fifth-round pick Kenneth Moore was released and is a prime candidate for the practice squad.

Davis had a strong camp but got caught in a numbers game at linebacker. The Lions are committed to second-round pick Jordon Dizon as Paris Lenon's backup at middle linebacker and wanted reserves at both outside positions. They kept Anthony Cannon and Gilbert Gardner, who will back up Alex Lewis on the strong side, over Davis and Leon Joe. If Davis is not claimed, the Lions will try to re-sign him to the practice squad

With two cuts to go, here's the list of those waived so far:

WR Ron Bellamy, LB Darnell Bing, S Greg Blue, LB Buster Davis, OG Frank Davis, DE Victor DeGrate, CB Dovonte Edwards, WR Devale Ellis, DE Rudolph Hardie, TE Clark Harris, QB Drew Henson, S LaMarcus Hicks, OG Corey Hulsey, LB Leon Joe, WR Brandon Middleton, WR Kenneth Moore, RB Artose Pinner, WR John Standeford, CB Kiwaukee Thomas.

Every day during training camp, Lions beat writer Dave Birkett takes you inside practice at Allen Park with notes, quotes and observations of interest.

• Drew Stanton is starting to look more and more comfortable under center. Stanton, who struggled this spring and early in camp, has strung together three of his best days recently. His passes are crisp, his reads correct, and he can make plays when necessary with his feet. In Saturday's controlled scrimmage, Stanton took 12 snaps and threw two touchdown passes to John Standeford.

• There's two reasons for Stanton's progression. One, he said he's talking to himself less in the pocket. "The game is starting to slow itself down a little bit as opposed to me thinking, 'OK, are my hips and shoulders in a position where I can throw this (pass) if it presents itself? The way the cover rotation's going that way, I don't want to throw that. How do I get back to here? ... You multiply that with the fact that I didn't really know the offense and it's changed and a lot of it's on the quarterback's shoulders, it was difficult to get in there at first and get into a rhythm." There are still times when Stanton takes off too early running, but after spending last season on injured reserve he's effectively 10 days into his NFL career. That will come.

• The other reason Stanton feels more comfortable is that Mike Martz is gone. It can't be understated the negative effect Martz had on some players last year. In Stanton's case, he changed his entire way of quarterbacking. Stanton said he's kept one mechanical tweak Martz taught him — moving his index finger higher up on the ball. "People throw the way they throw," he said. "There's things you can do to help aid that to be more efficient with it, but there's obviously different schools of thought out there, as last year was a prime example of."

• Jon Kitna is still tops on the depth chart at quarterback and, barring injury, that won't change this year. Stanton may be hard-pressed to pass Dan Orlovsky for the No. 2 job, too. Orlovsky's still ahead in his grasp of the offense and the Lions need to figure out what they have in him. But Orlovsky's a free agent after the season and it's hard to see the Lions sinking big bucks into him, so Stanton still is in position to be the Lions' quarterback of the future. Having said that, the Lions will need to add another arm next year, either through the draft or a veteran. How Stanton progresses over the next five months will determine which way they go.

• Just throwing it out there: Michael Vick should be available when he gets released from prison next year. He'd have to be reinstated, of course, and I don't think he'd fit with the Lions and Coach Rod Marinelli regardless, but you never know.

• Standeford, by the way, won't make the team but has looked better the last three days as well. The Purdue product had a lot of drops early in camp. On Friday and Saturday, he caught most everything thrown his way.