Thank You Drew Stanton

Well I've been tackling this topic for about three straight weeks now and does anybody still feel the need to defend Daunte Culpepper being the number two quarterback?

I don't wish injury on any player and I hate that Culpepper had to leave the game that way. I'd rather him have been benched but I'd be lying if I wasn't happy to finally see Drew Stanton in the game.


We saw what Daunte Culpepper could do today against the Packer defense and it wasn't much. How does 14 passes with 6 completions for 48 yards with a 3.4 yard average (Uh Captain Checkdown?) and 1 critical interception that helped the Packers jump out to a 14 to 0 lead sound? Not good for a veteran quarterback who is supposed to have a grasp, no, strangle hold on the offensive system he's playing in. Yet for the second straight week Daunte Culpepper continued to prove that he is prone to rookie mistakes and has no idea how to handle deep passes.

Now against the same defense our third string quarterback comes in and actually looked a whole hell of a lot better than our "veteran" second stringer just as he did in preseason. Thats considering the circumstances and the supposed experience gap of course. Even Packer fans over on NFL.com thought Stanton had poise in the pocket and didn't resemble a third string quarterback. Drew Stanton completed 5 of 11 passes for 57 yards with a 5.2 yard average (Because he actually can throw a deep ball) and 2 interceptions.

The stats are a little misleading since Stanton's first interception should have actually been a great play but Pettigrew dropped it right into Al Harris' hands. Stanton kept that play alive by being mobile which Culpepper just isn't these days. Don't give me that argument about his scramble against the Steelers either, look at Stanton in the pocket compared to Culpepper and then tell me who is a mobile quarterback.

The offense never even sniffed the endzone with Culpepper on the field however was in prime position to put points on the board with Stanton in the game. I know, that was until Stanton threw an interception in the endzone. Yes Stanton made a bad call but I can understand that because including today he's thrown a grand total of 28 career passes. Its not like hes making these mistakes after throwing 3,104 career passes (Culpepper).

This is exactly why I wanted him on the field instead of Culpepper because hes had a rocky start to his career and still needs some development. Last week I was told you don't need upside from a number two quarterback, really? If Stanton can play as well as Culpepper now, imagine what he can do after he's thrown more than 28 passes in a real game and has had a whole week to practice with the first team. How is that for upside?

Also have I mentioned Culpepper will be gone (thank god) after this season anyway while we have Stanton at least two more years? I'm pretty sure I have but just throwing that one out there one more time.

Lastly, there are rumors going around that Stafford may need surgery and while I'm praying that he doesn't, if he does Stanton should play. Thats it, end of discussion, there are no arguments that can be made anymore. The smart play for the future of the team and evaluation purposes is Drew Stanton. People have been able to argue that Culpepper gives us the best chance to win with Stafford out but does anybody really want to make that argument now?

Why Is Duante Culpepper Still A Lion?

So would all the Culpepper supporters like to eat their words now or would you like them to marinate in failure a few more weeks first? I hate to be a Drew Sharp type of writer I really do but Culpepper is a cancer to this team. His mere presence on the team has done nothing but slow down the progress of both of Detroit's future quarterbacks, Drew Stanton and Matthew Stafford.

Had Culpepper not been in Detroit Matthew Stafford would have gotten the majority of reps with the first team the entire preseason. Stafford would have also gotten the start in all of the preseason games to better prepare him for the season. With that being the case Stafford would have probably made a smoother transition from college to the pros in his first regular season games. We've all seen his week to week improvement since the season started so one can only imagine what the added time as the number one guy would have done for him.

Then there is Drew Stanton, he would have gotten all the reps with the second team and a few with the first team in practice. Then he would have gotten to show what he could do against the second stringers in the preseason games instead of the third and fourth stringers. That would have easily boosted Stanton's development which has been put on pause since he got to Detroit. Also it would have been Stanton who was in position to start this week against the Steelers with Stafford going down due to injury.

That is what could have been anyway, instead we put our veteran quarterback out there who is supposed to have all this experience on his side and what does he do? HE MAKES ROOKIE MISTAKES!!!

Seriously, anybody who thinks Culpepper had a good performance is probably wondering why we got rid of Joey Harrington because that is who Culpepper played like today. You would think after all that time chucking passes to Randy Moss, Culpepper would be comfortable going down field. Nope, Culpepper avoided down field passes like they were the plague and the one I did see him throw was horrible. It was nowhere near his intended target and its a good thing it wasn't because Bryant Johnson was covered.

Now I had to leave for work at about 3:15 eastern time but I caught the rest of the game via Sprint's NFL Mobile Live radio broadcast. Still some things you don't need to see to tell that a quarterback isn't doing a very good job. You know like falling down and throwing a pass across your body that the radio announcers said looked like a punt to the other team. Oh, then there is the matter of 3 fumbles and a horrible decision to give away 16 yards on an intentional grounding penalty.

Also lets not forget the game was still winnable until Culpepper blew it on the last drive. Yeah, Culpepper blew it, don't try to put that on the line, CULPEPPER BLEW IT! How the hell does a veteran quarterback get sacked twice in a row by the same play? What makes it even worse is the radio announcers said pre-play both times that William Gay was blitzing so obviously he was showing blitz. Was Culpepper asleep under center or something? I honestly don't remember him calling an audible the whole game and it bit us in the ass on the final drive. I see Stafford calling audibles all the time but the veteran who is supposed to know the system can't?

It might be different if Stafford and Stanton were really being mentored by Culpepper but from all indications thats not the case. I've never seen them cut to Culpepper giving Stafford pointers on the sideline or heard that Culpepper was helping Stanton and Stafford break down some film. So at this point my question remains, why is Culpepper still here?

The Real Detroit Lions QB Controversy

You know when I hear that Daunte Culpepper should be starting it boggles my mind more and more each time. I mean call me crazy but the last time I checked at the end of this season Daunte Culpepper's contract ends. Now on the other hand the current starting quarterback, Matthew Stafford is under a very large contract until the end of the 2014 season. Then there is Drew Stanton who is signed to the Lions until the end of the 2010 season. Where am I going with all of this?

Its quite simple really, not only do I think Culpepper shouldn't replace Matthew Stafford even if Stafford sets the record for interceptions in a game. I don't think Culpepper should get the start if anything were to happen to Matthew Stafford. What exactly would be the point? The only good that can come out of Culpepper starting is the possibility that he plays well enough to earn himself a few extra dollars from whoever he signs with next year. What could the Lions possibly get out of it, two more wins than they could get by starting Stafford, if that?

As soon as Drew Stanton fully recovers from his injury Duante Culpepper should be demoted to third stringer or traded. The worst possible scenario is that we trade Culpepper for some defensive help and then something happens to Stafford. That means Stanton gets his shot and if Stanton doesn't play well, so what? The real question is, what if he does? If it were Culpepper going in and playing well or playing horrible, so what hes gone after this year anyway but as I said we have Stanton until the end of 2010.

If Stanton were to play well then we would now have a young capable backup just in case. We could also dangle him in front of other teams as trade bait, come on he was a 2nd round draft pick and in my scenario would have proven that hes a gamer. His first couple of years were plagued by Mike Martz craziness and injuries and he still hasn't gotten a real shot. Also lets not forget that he out shined both Stafford and Culpepper in the preseason.

Mark my words, next seasons depth chart at quarterback is going to be Stafford as starter and Stanton as second string anyway. The only thing Culpepper is really doing for this team is taking practice reps away from our eventual backup. That is besides giving some Lions fans and the media something to complain about when a rookie plays like a rookie. The Lions would be better off if they just traded Culpepper sooner rather than later.

Oh and just for the record,Brian Billick, NFL Network "I think coach Scwartz, taking into account the emotional stability of Stafford and his ability to handle the pressure of starting for the Lions, most QBs will tell you that you learn nothing from the bench, and the only way to learn is to play. I agree with that. It depends on the young QB, but Peyton Manning and Troy Aikman had very rough starts, but will tell you specifically they valued playing from the get-go."

Drew Stanton Returns

It looks as though Drew Stanton is ready to go, the Lions released Brock Berlin from their practice squad today and signed defensive tackle Matthias Askew. Hopefully Stanton can stay healthy this time around, he was our best quarterback during preseason but it was preseason and he was playing third stringers. Still, I can see him hanging around for a few years and backing up Stafford, I'd like to see him get a chance in a real game but hopefully Stafford will stay healthy and I won't have to.