Lions to start Stafford at QB

From ESPN.com

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Matthew Stafford won the Lions' quarterback derby. Daunte Culpepper didn't lose the job.

That's what Detroit's new coach, Jim Schwartz, emphasized Monday when he made the No. 1 overall draft pick the starter for Sunday in New Orleans, when the Lions try to win for the first time in 21 months.

"I've had a lot of very tough decisions in the last few days -- guys making the 53-man roster or not making it -- but none more difficult than at quarterback," he said. "We announced to our team this morning that Matt Stafford is going to be our starting quarterback."

Schwartz felt Stafford and Culpepper played well in training camp and the preseason, as did third-stringer Drew Stanton before sustaining a knee injury.

"I'm very, very comfortable with the quarterback position here, not just one and two, but also three," Schwartz said. "What made this decision difficult was that I think we can win with Daunte Culpepper, I think we can with Matt Stafford, and I think we can win with Drew Stanton."

One of the factors that helped Schwartz make his decision was the 21-year-old rookie's chemistry with Detroit's biggest offensive weapon, Calvin Johnson.

"I think he had 15 snaps in the preseason with Calvin, and you could already see what was possible there," Schwartz said. "The big plays were always there."

Stafford said that while he always believed he would win the job, he didn't know for sure until Monday morning.

"I definitely thought I was going to be the guy, but as competitive as Daunte is, I'm sure he thought he was going to be the guy, too," he said. "Coach Schwartz called me in this morning and told me, and I went out and practiced with the first team. That was exciting."

Even though he'll be starting in his NFL debut for a team coming off the first 0-16 season in NFL history, Stafford wasn't going to lower expectations for himself.

"I'm going to try to win football games," he said. "I think, just like everyone else on this team, that we can go out on Sunday and be competitive against the Saints and give ourselves a chance to win the game. That's our job."

While Schwartz repeatedly mentioned his comfort with the possibility of having to play Culpepper, he stressed that Stafford was not going to be on a short leash.

"This isn't an internship," he said. "This isn't a trial basis. He's our starting quarterback. We said that, to win the job, he had to be ready, and he had to be our best quarterback, and that's what he has shown."

Stafford is happy to know that, but doesn't want to take advantage of the situation.

"I don't want to go out there and see how many mistakes it takes to change his mind," he said with a laugh. "I've had successes and failures in my career and in this preseason, but I feel like I know this offense very well and I'm ready to go out and win games."

...

Lions center Dominic Raiola, who was also the starter when Detroit's previous first-round quarterback began his career, doesn't see many comparisons between Stafford and Joey Harrington.

"I don't want to talk about the past, but they are totally different," he said. "I don't even look at Matt as a rookie any more, the way he's progressed through training camp and the preseason. I'm very confident with him back there."

linkage

Wrong IMO. I think they're going to regret this. Stafford hasn't looked as sharp as i would have expected.

-9fA

Bad idea. They should have started Culpepper. They're throwing Stafford into the fire right now and chances are it's not going to end well.

[ Edited by pwilly52 on Sep 7, 2009 at 11:30:04 ]

Stupid.

Alex Smith w/ 49ers = Bust
Harrington w/ Lions = Bust
Carr w/ Texans = Bust
J. Russel w/ Raiders = Bust
Ryan Leaf w/ Chargers = Bust

Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Flacco, Eli; all these guys succeed because they had a good defense or good players on offense, and the guys that busted had a bad team overall.

MAYBE, Calvin and Kevin Jones will save him, don't think that's enough under that sorry Oline and bad D.

good luck with that

0-32?

Originally posted by ads_2006:
0-32?

Their best chance at a win, unless they are much improved from last season, is against the Rams imo

Originally posted by TheG0RE49er:
Stupid.

Alex Smith w/ 49ers = Bust
Harrington w/ Lions = Bust
Carr w/ Texans = Bust
J. Russel w/ Raiders = Bust
Ryan Leaf w/ Chargers = Bust

Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Flacco, Eli; all these guys succeed because they had a good defense or good players on offense, and the guys that busted had a bad team overall.

MAYBE, Calvin and Kevin Jones will save him, don't think that's enough under that sorry Oline and bad D.

i think u mean kevin smith

Originally posted by TheG0RE49er:
Stupid.

Alex Smith w/ 49ers = Bust
Harrington w/ Lions = Bust
Carr w/ Texans = Bust
J. Russel w/ Raiders = Bust
Ryan Leaf w/ Chargers = Bust

Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Flacco, Eli; all these guys succeed because they had a good defense or good players on offense, and the guys that busted had a bad team overall.

MAYBE, Calvin and Kevin Jones will save him, don't think that's enough under that sorry Oline and bad D.

Kevin jones got hurt again if i'm not mistaken so it will be Kevin Smith. and I say start him. I think he will be fine

Originally posted by TheG0RE49er:
Stupid.

Alex Smith w/ 49ers = Bust
Harrington w/ Lions = Bust
Carr w/ Texans = Bust
J. Russel w/ Raiders = Bust
Ryan Leaf w/ Chargers = Bust

Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Flacco, Eli; all these guys succeed because they had a good defense or good players on offense, and the guys that busted had a bad team overall.

MAYBE, Calvin and Kevin Jones will save him, don't think that's enough under that sorry Oline and bad D.

Kevin Jones is on the bears, injured, and out for the season.

Don't agree, but I guess I understand. Best case, they win 5 games. They might atleast get him some experience because this is a waisted season anyway.

they should start culpepper, and play stafford in garbage time.....which most likely they'll have a lot of.

they got $70 mill playing behind one of the worst o-line's in the league. they could lose it all in one play.

Well, he's f**ked.

Originally posted by NineFourNiner:
Well, he's f**ked.

Poor Matt..

wow there gonna f**k up his career. dude is gonna spend most of the time on his ass like carr did yrs back

If he's good, then he'll succeed regardless.

I don't believe in all the people saying that starting a rookie quarterback will ruin him. I think it's nonsense.

Alex Smith failed because he lacked talent. David Carr failed because he lacked talent.

Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco succeeded because they had talent.