AP

Bears receiver Roy Williams experienced something on Monday night that he experienced a lot in his first five NFL seasons: He lost a game at Ford Field.

But Williams, who was the Lions’ first-round draft pick in 2004 and was traded to the Cowboys during the 2008 season, said something is different in Detroit these days. Williams remarked after the game that in returning to Detroit, he was surprised to hear how loud the fans were.

“I’ve never heard it like this,” Williams said after the Lions beat the Bears on Monday. “We were 6-2 one year but it still never sounded like this.”

The difference between this year’s Lions and the 2007 team Williams references that started 6-2 is that this year’s Lions actually look like they’re capable of keeping it going for the rest of the season. The 2007 Lions lost seven of their last eight to finish 7-9. Lions fans are more excited now than they were midway through the 2007 season because they correctly perceived in 2007 that the Lions weren’t as good as their record suggested.

In other words, it’s a lot easier to get excited about a 2011 Lions team whose top receiver is Calvin Johnson than it was to get excited about a 2007 Lions team whose top receiver was Roy Williams.