Perfect Situation

How did you finish the story if… (as he is typing he follows the rest of the lemmings of the cliff) …?

For Christ’s sake leave the guy alone and let him post as he pleases! Are you writing the post? No! So it is not up to you! Sheesh……

Drew….great post. I agree with you that it is a good environment for Stafford, as the expectations of most people are very low. I am also with you on the idea that the Lions will probably lose this game. However, I do harbor the hope that we will own the time of possession. If we can control that aspect of the game, like we did against the Colts in the preseason, then I do not think it is out of the realm of possibility that we CAN win this game (and subsequently any other game). However, if we are taking too many shots downfield, or just trying to go toe to toe with the Saint’s offense…..we will definitely lose this game. I think that it is obvious that our defense is the weakest link (goodbye). If we can keep them fresh late into the game, by controlling the clock and time of possession on offense (while putting points on the board and not turning the ball over too much of course), then I think there is a chance that we can beat the Saints.

Since I feel that your last paragraph was directed at me (even if it was in general), I am not going to be calling for Stafford’s head if he tanks it out there in the bayou. Even if he throws an INT late in the game that causes us to lose a winnable game, I will chalk it up to the learning process. As I have been trying to convey to you for awhile now (and others), I am behind this kid all the way now. My argument in the Culpepper vs Stafford debate is no longer about the better QB, the guy who gives us the best chance to win, or anything else. My argument now is based on Culpepper’s trade value, and how I feel that the team could have increased it. I knew all along that Stafford would take over at some point. I just thought it should be after 4 or 5 games.

I agree that the outlook (and even possibly the outcome) of the upcoming game against the Saints would not have changed regardless of whether Matt Stafford or Daunte Culpepper were the starting QB. I also agree that no matter who the QB is, if they play poorly, there will inevitably be a cry for the other QB to play (there always is). However, I will not be among those people who are calling for Culpepper to play if Stafford tanks in game 1. What is done is done, and like I said before I know that the rookie is the future of the team. Benching him for one, or even 5, bad outings would not be a good move in my opinion. If they had named Culpepper the starter, and he had tanked it, then I could see them benching him in favor of the rookie (he is our future). Now, I do not want to see Matt Stafford benched unless he is seriously injured (and I hope that does not happen, no matter what happens with DC).

Let the kid take his lumps…..let him make his mistakes…..let him learn the intricacies of the game at the professional level. There is no turning back now. Good luck Matthew Stafford……and GOOOOOOOOOO LIOOOOOOOOOONS!!!!!!

I liked your reference to the “heat” that the New Orleans offense can bring to any and all opponents and the city itself will still be quite hot in mid September, but the temperature in the Louisiana Superdome will be a quite comfortable 68 degrees in case you had not ever been to a game there.

Good luck to your Lions! The Saints win this matchup 42-13.

I happen to be one of those pining for CPep to start this year – and I think you have a valid point in stating that the NO game would be an “ideal situation” for any rookie, particularly a rookie on an 0-16 team. However, on the whole, I tend to disagree with this specific game and I still favor CPep over the Staff infection for these reasons:

1.) CPep is good!
2.) Experience
3.) Less turnover proned
4.) Playing in a very hostile environment with lots of blitzes isn’t easy for a Rookie
5.) Our D and O lines are not yet there – Staff infection won’t last the year

Our porous defense will look hopeless against Brees UNLESS we get lots and lots of pressure on him. I think this game may be closer than if we played in 2008 but I am not as optimistic as other on the board (ie: KDawg!!!) Final score prediction:

NO – 31
Det – 17

I hope I’m wrong. Either way I think we are FINALLY going in the right direction and am optimistic nevertheless this year!!

If he leads the Lions to a 4th quarter lead, and then falls apart, the way Jon Kitna did against the Packers last year, when he turned a 25-24 lead into a 48-25 debacle with two pick 6s (or TAINTs, touchdown after interception, the way Bill Simmons calls ’em).

If that occurs, the fact that he led the lions to a lead in his first quarter gets overshadowed by the ending, and the memories of Lions flameouts past, and talk of “Same old Lions”, etc, that might overwhelm whatever good he did and cast a pall ove rthe start of his career.

I don’t think that’s going to happen, as I think New Orleans will win comfortably, on the order of 34-20, and the talk will be of Kevin Smith’s hundred yards, and Stafford’s first pro TD, with Detroit media using the fact that the Saints victory, as Drew says, is totally expected, to allow themselves to focus on the positives.

Don’t think it will happen for Stafford. I am truely looking for a the Lions to make it competative. Just show me some signs that we are moving forward. Stafford will make some mistakes, but the rest of the team needs to improve as well.
I hope our DBs are ready for a busy day. I am sure Brees will be throwing early and often. If they get thrashed for 6 TDs I am sure Gunner will make it a long week of practice next week.
Lets get the party started. (Pass me a kool-aid) The Lions win a stunner 27-24
O.K., slim chance but I can dream.

I just want to make a comment to Drewlion about his posts. I have been a fan of the Lions since I lived there in 95-98. I have live in southern Alabama and now live in northern Florida.
           I have been seeking “relevant” info about the Lions for some time now and your postings and subsequent fan postings have been great.
          I really appreciate your efforts. By the way, according to my painstaking madden 10 assemblence of players (many current players are not on there). We will do better than you all think. 8-10 wins base on my “scientific” research.

                Goooooooooooooooo Lions!

Everything makes it look like the Saints will win easily, yet I didn’t pick them for the survivor pool. I guess I just have a feeling about this one that the Lions could pull of the upset. I don’t think they will, but there’s just a feeling that something could happen.

Every sports writer and espn analyst have been saying how were going to lose the first 6 games. There’s little or no pressure on Stafford, he’s starting on the road so he doesn’t have to worry about the home crowd. When teams are backed into no-win situations some time they take a me against the world stance, this very well could be a upset storm brewing. I seem to remember just about this time last year I was licking my chops thinking how the lions are going to take apart some rookie named Matt Ryan. Saints players making comments like “fresh meat”. Stafford probably knows if the roof falls down on him it won’t be as big as a deal because everybody has been saying this, thus he’s probably not as pressed if everybody was telling him how good he is gonna be…

KDawg, Drew and the rest I am just being optimistic. I have seen this story play out over and over and over and over and over now. I’m too sick to see it anymore. I am optimistic about the Lions but I’m not giving in yet, I have been burnt too many times before.

anyway, as a fan I am 100% behind Staff Infection and, if competitive, I will once again make my annual trip out to Motown to catch a game.

We should realistically lose the first 6 games of the season. If we come out 2-4, or 3-3 I will be truly amazed and my confidence will skyrocket. I just want to see competitiveness and a passer who posts a sub-100 passer rating against our D (I fear week 1 will not be the start of this).

Completely agree. There isn’t a hell of a lot of pressure on the rook. I’m hoping he has a good game, but I think he may struggle a bit, his first full game and all. The Defence and the running game will be of big focus for me as well. If those two units can perform at least solidly, I think we’ll be in a pretty close contest.

My prediction – Saints 35 : Lions 17

CAN’T YOU GUYS FEEL IT?? WE’RE GOING TO WIN!!!!!!

But the main man for our offense this week is Kevin Smith. If he has a good game Staff will be able to follow suit.

Detroitlions.com just udated there website with depth chart check it out…

Drew Brees gets fed up with being overlooked by the media. Not getting the attention he feels he deserves. Decides to overhaul his appreance. He turns to rogaine for help. Thinking that a youthful look would be the key. Unknowningly, he buys rogaine for women instead. Even through he grows hair. It has an adverse effect on men. And he suddenly Brees grows breast. Although, hours of entertainment at home. These new found fun bags. Disrupt he throwing mechanics. Rendering him useless.

Reggie Bush, seeing an opportunity to show the nation that he can be a NFL runningback. Tries to run the ball up the middle. Only to be smacked in the mouth by Larry Foote. And at that very moment. Reggie decides to give dramatical theatre a shot.

Jeremy Shockey on his way to the game. Sees himself in the mirror. Consumed by his own awesomenss. Can not bring himself to turn away. Never makes it to the game.

The entire Saints defense. Is so distracted by Drew Brees’ bosomy wonderment. They cannot focus on the Lions deep passes. And Kevin Smith’s running ability. The Lions behind Matthew Stafford win the game in the " Big Easy".

But after the game. In a touching moment. At mid field. Jonathan Vilma. Proposes to Drew Brees. And there is much celebration.

And that Lions fans. Is how Detroit will beat the Saints this Sunday.

…..and that they are willing to chalk it up to the learning process, to a degree. Stafford will make mistakes. He will throw interceptions. It’s inevitable, but in a way, it’s also necessary. I’ve been alluding to this the past few days. Staff has mastered the Beginner Course, QB Concepts (many young QB’s fail this course or learn it slowly, and have to sit a year or are never ready). He is now ready for the Advanced Course, QB Applications, where you learn firsthand by doing. It’s a lab class. He has to learn the veteran tricks defenses and DB’s use against him. Staff will have to make those mistakes in order to learn from them, and hopefully not repeat them. Sometimes Stafford will get lucky and a DB will drop a sure interception…..other times, not so lucky. So get ready for interceptions. They will come. We will lose games….lots of them. Please don’t call for his head. It’s part of the learning process. As long as Stafford’s not regressing on his positive qualities as he goes, I guess that’s improvement. I’m not so worried about the INT’s. What I want to see is Staff continue to make plays, continue to throw downfield, continue to look off defenders and throw quickly, confidently, and decisively. I don’t want to see happy feet, lots of dump-offs and check-downs at the first sign of trouble. I’ve seen almost a decade of that from Joey, Kitna, Orlovsky, Culpepper, etc. Mostly I don’t want to see another QB that’s running scared. Stafford’s an aggressive QB who’s trying to win, rather than merely trying not to lose. That’s the mentality this whole team has needed for 50 years. I don’t want him to lose that aggressiveness, ever. Gunslinger? I’ve seen worse things…….like a decade of scared rabbits. How’d that work out?

I’m willing to give Stafford all season as the starter, even if he breaks the rookie INT record. It’s not the INT’s I’m worried about; it’s not the wins either. I want to see Stafford make plays, throw TD passes, and lead this offense. That’s what good QB’s do. If a QB can’t do that, it doesn’t matter how few INT’s he throws. You can’t check-down all the way to the Super Bowl.

I didn’t support drafting Stafford, but he’s won me over by making plays and scoring TD’s, much like Drew Stanton did as well. I think he’s ready now to learn by doing. I believe in him. I guess that makes me a lemming. Point me to the cliff.

GO STAFFORD! GO LIONS!

I AM the penultimate Lions fan, I am on every forum, every day, I drink only blue kool-aid, and I ALWAYS believe in my team. that said, what you’ve written here makes too much sense for me to discount, or to remonstrate against. You’re right about one thing: low expectations will take the pressure off of the kid.

sorry ’boput that

I have been an avid advocate for Culpepper to start the season, but my reasons had nothing to do with Stafford. I simply like the idea of the team getting some time to adjust to eachother with a player I feel would be a more suitable presence at QB. Experience, focus, and making good decisions are what I think Culpepper would have brought to this team…however, those three things will not win many ball games alone. Winning early was not nearly as critical to me as team development and chemistry, and for that reason I still think Culpepper should be the one to start in New Orleans.

Having said all that, New Orleans is simply too much for the Lions defense to handle. Yes they have a new coordinator, yes the linebackers may be amongst the best threesome in the league, yes they have added some pieces to the secondary, but lets be realistic…Brees and Co. are gonna light that defense up! I don’t even think that ball control offense (on the part of the Lions) is going to get the job done, because I see no reason that the Saints can’t score TDs fast and furiously. Controlling the clock may help keep the final score from being embarassing, but thats about it.

The only slim chance that the Lions have to win this game is with an explosive offense of their own. For that reason, if the Lions had to win just this one game, Stafford probably gives them a better shot. He’s not just willing to take risks, he is borderline insistent on it (from what I’ve seen in pre-season), and he’s actually got the ego, the naivete, and most importantly the arm to do it.

So while I still think that starting the season with Culpepper would have been better for the long term success of THE TEAM (for all the intangibles on and off the field), winning your first game goes a long ways towards building a team too, just ask Atlanta.

Hopeful prediction : 34-31 Lions over N’awlins (Gotta give Hanson some love too).
Realistic prediction : 35 – 16 Saints over Detroit.