ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions finally have a chance to silence some talk about the NFL’s first 0-16 season.They know there’s only one way to do it.Win.”Until we do that, people are going to linger on 0-16,” linebacker Ernie Sims said Thursday.How hungry is running back Kevin Smith to experience a victory after the rookie was part of a winless season? “Starving,” Smith said.Detroit’s 258-day wait for a shot at a victory, since sealing their spot in league infamy, ends Sunday at New Orleans.”You want to do what you didn’t do last year, and get a lot of wins,” Smith said. “I’ve been looking forward to this since walking off the field at Green Bay.”Saints quarterback Drew Brees is probably looking forward to the game, too.The reigning AP Offensive Player of the Year threw for 5,069 yards last season, trailing only one single-season mark in NFL history, and matched the league-high total with 34 touchdown passes.Brees’ surrounding cast that includes Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas is back and that’s not good news for Detroit.When the Saints won 42-7 at Detroit last year, they became the first NFL team in 57 years to have four players run for a touchdown in the first half. Brees threw two TDs after halftime and finished with 351 yards passing.The Lions have fixed some of their weaknesses, particularly at linebacker, but perhaps the biggest problem will likely be exposed at the Superdome. Their defensive line appears to be vulnerable against the run and doesn’t seem capable of generating much pressure against the pass.Detroit had one of the worst defenses in NFL history last year and that slightly improved unit will be tested perhaps as much as it will be all year.”Can you totally turn things over in one year? Probably not,” said Jim Schwartz, heading into his first game as a head coach at any level. “But the plan is to make improvement. We’ll see. Words are cheap. It’s actions on the field that will matter. Last year has no bearing on where we are this year. … We’re not going to have that on our backs.”It’s easier for Schwartz, who was the Tennessee Titans’ defensive coordinator last year, to say and believe that than it is for the players who endured the season of shame to cap the worst eight-season stretch by an NFL team since World War II.Detroit drafted center Dominic Raiola and offensive tackle Jeff Backus in 2001, and the duo is 31-97 in the NFL.”I don’t have a lot of good memories in the league,” Raiola said. “A win would make it official that we finally turned the corner on last year, but selfishly I’m looking to do more than just that. Me and Backus haven’t even had a .500 season.”New Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has been a winner everywhere he’s played, from Dallas to Georgia, and he’s doesn’t think that has to change in Detroit. The No. 1 pick in the draft will likely make some sensational throws and rookie-related mistakes in his regular-season debut.The Lions are a double-digit underdog against the Saints and might not be favored to win a game until November when it hosts the Saint Louis Rams.After practicing and showering Thursday, Stafford put on a white T-shirt with the words “This is my week,” on it.Detroit desperately hopes it is.—-Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at [email protected]