Kickoff: Noon at Ford Field

Coaches: Saints -- Sean Payton (24-22 in three seasons, all with Saints); Lions -- Rod Marinelli (10-36 in three seasons, all with Lions).

TV: FOX

Radio: 870 AM, 830 AM and 105.3 FM

KEEP AN EYE ON

Calvin Johnson

New Orleans' embattled secondary is not equipped to handle Detroit's sensational second-year receiver. But if it makes the Saints feel any better, neither is any other team.

Johnson has been torching defenses weekly this season -- even though teams all know he's the only serious threat on the otherwise woeful Lions offense.

"If he's getting doubled every play and he still has 1,200 yards, that means he's a playmaker, no matter what you do," said Saints cornerback Randall Gay, who was impressed by what he's seen on film of Johnson, a 6-foot-5, 239-pound marvel.

"He's a beast," Gay said of Johnson, who was the second overall pick in the 2007 draft. "He's 6-5 and he's running a sub-4.4 40 (-yard dash). He can beat you with quick routes or he can run by you like you're not moving. He looks like (Randy) Moss back in his prime, and Moss is still good now."

After a decent rookie season, Johnson has broken out in a big way this season with 65 catches for 1,165 yards and 10 touchdowns -- most impressive, considering he lost his running mate when Detroit traded veteran receiver Roy Williams to Dallas two months ago.

Johnson catches a lot of passes on quick slants, out routes and jump balls by shielding defenders with his big body. But he can just as easily turn on the burners for deep touchdowns, such as his 96-yarder at Houston in Week 7 or his 70-yarder against Minnesota two weeks ago.

"In my opinion, he has to be one of the top-five players in the league," Detroit Coach Rod Marinelli said, despite that Johnson was left off the NFC Pro Bowl roster. "This guy is special. Anybody that's watched the tape, coaches know, players know. We've had a hard time at times to get him the ball, and we're constantly working to get him enough touches, because he can do some things with the ball that are pretty special.

"As a person, as a player and as a worker, you'd be proud to know him."

GAME PLAN

Although this game has zero real-life playoff implications, it could have huge significance in the fantasy world. Johnson might single-handedly win someone a cyber championship this week. Meanwhile, the Saints' high-powered offense could rack up some serious yardage.

Quarterback Drew Brees admitted he would like to take a crack at Dan Marino's career passing record -- which would probably require something in the range of 400 yards against the Lions. That's not out of the realm of possibility, either. Although Detroit tries to corral the big play with a version of Tampa Bay's Cover 2 defense, the Lions have been ineffective at it, allowing 220.9 passing yards per game (21st in the NFL).

The Lions are even more porous inside the red zone. They rank in the bottom three in the NFL in red-zone defense and goal-to-go defense and have been especially susceptible to slant routes and cut-back runs in the middle of the field. This could be a good week for tight end Jeremy Shockey to make his end-zone debut with the Saints.

That all being said, the Saints might even do more damage rushing with tailback Pierre Thomas, especially if they are protecting a lead in the second half. Detroit's run defense ranks last in the league at 168.7 yards per game. The Lions do a lot of blitzing and overpursuing, and New Orleans can make them pay like they did against Atlanta two weeks ago.

KEY MATCHUP

Saints FS Josh Bullocks vs. Lions FS Daniel Bullocks

OK, so they won't be on the field at the same time, but how often do you see identical twin brothers going head to head in the NFL?

It's a first for this particular family. From their pee-wee Football days all the way through their years together at Nebraska, the Bullocks brothers have been teammates. Then, remarkably, Josh was drafted 40th overall by New Orleans in 2005 and Daniel was drafted 40th overall by Detroit in 2006.

The family will be coming out of the woodwork for this rare opportunity to see them play.

"Probably not a day goes by without us talking, about life, Football, just everything," said Josh, who said the Lions' 0-14 record has been a particular area of emphasis this week. "We go back and forth. 'We're gonna beat y'all, they're going to beat us, we're going to be the first team.' You know, we just do a lot of yapping like that."

Although both safeties might be in over their heads against the previously mentioned offensive stars, they should both get plenty of opportunities to step up and play the role of hero as well.

BY THE NUMBERS

The Saints have not beaten Detroit since 1997. The Lions have won three consecutive games since then, including a 13-12 victory in San Antonio's Alamodome in 2005. Detroit leads the all-time series 9-8-1. . . . Detroit is the only NFC team that Payton has not yet faced since he took over as coach of the Saints in 2006. . . . New Orleans is 1-6 on the road. The Lions are 0-7 at home. . . . Brees has a shot at another NFL record, in addition to Marino's passing mark. He has thrown touchdown passes to 11 receivers this season -- one shy of the record set by Tom Brady in 2005 and Brad Johnson in 2003. Shockey would be the ideal candidate to tie the record. Others include tight end Buck Ortega, fullback Mike Karney and tailback Mike Bell. . . . Saints tailback Deuce McAllister is 5 yards rushing away from 6,000 for his career.