Faceoff - Who is the Lions Top QB?

Posted 8/3, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Daunte Culpepper - by Sigmund Bloom

After Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco guided their teams to the playoffs last year and started every game of their rookie season, it's easy to assume that the Lions will want to give No. 1 overall pick Matthew Stafford the reins from day one. The team has even made comments to the effect of "He is even better than we thought he'd be". While that is good reason for Lions fans to be optimistic long-term, the team already has a starting-quality that is also well-thought-of in the organization in Daunte Culpepper, and he should be the starter and better Lions QB to draft this year.

The first clue that Culpepper should start the season as the Lions QB is the way he performed last year. He was a street free agent who was tossed into the fire on a monumentally bad team, and he still kept them in games against eventual playoff teams Carolina and Minnesota well into the fourth quarter. Culpepper was reportedly so new to the Lions system that he could only run 12 different plays in his first game back, so those accomplishments are underrated - especially when you consider that he was playing at 290 pounds, 30 over his normal playing weight of 260.

Neither the system nor Culpepper's conditioning should be a problem this year. The Lions brought Scott Linehan in to be the new offensive coordinator, the same man who coached the QBs and coordinated the offense during Culpepper's best years in Minnesota. As for Culpepper's weight, he was down to 260 again very early in the offseason. It caught the attention of new Lions head coach Jim Schwartz, who said:

"Daunte's put himself in a really good spot, No. 1, to lose some weight and the offseason program. He was a marquee player in the league a few years ago, and then he had the knee injury and then a setback. He looks like he's well on his way to getting back there. He's put the rest of the league on notice that he's back."

Schwartz isn't Culpepper's only backer in the organization. League sources have said that Lions GM Martin Mayhew wanted the team to sign Culpepper during 2008 training camp, but then-GM Matt Millen said no - which is almost reason to believe in Culpepper in and of itself.

Matthew Stafford's time will come soon enough in Detroit, and probably at some point during the regular season this year. For now, it's Daunte Culpepper's time to shine and show the league he is back, and if you're going to draft any Lion QB, he should be your pick.

Matthew Stafford - by David Baker

So the big question in Detroit is who will be their starting quarterback in 2009? Or more importantly for our purposes here, who will end the season with the most fantasy production? Well, I suppose one reasonable answer to both questions is "who cares?" And perhaps a better question is not who their starting QB will be, but will they ever win another game? Those cynical questions and points aside, the Lions made a move on draft day to shore up their QB position by selecting Stafford with the first overall pick of the draft. While it's generally ideal to allow a young QB time to ease into the laundry list of formidable challenges presented to those starting as a QB in the NFL, a winless team does not often present itself as a patient one in these matters. And with the recent success of Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco, it would not be wise to bet against the Lions propelling Stafford into the starting lineup sooner rather than later.

Can you name the last great Lion's QB? Bobby Layne? Well, Lion's fans are certainly hoping that Stafford finally takes them out of perennial fodder or at best mediocrity and lead them to the promised land that is the Super Bowl. OK, so maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves here. Is Stafford all that talented? Perhaps not. But his only true challenger for the starting position is Daunte Culpepper. I like Culpepper and all, but the guy only has 17 passing touchdowns in the last four seasons combined. In his five games with Detroit last year, he only completed 52% of his passes and threw more interceptions (six) than touchdowns (four). He certainly had his share of glory days, but they appear to be long past him. Unless Culpepper somehow taps into the greatness that allowed him to excel, it's seems obvious that the team hands the reins to Stafford early on, ready or not.

With Stafford the starting QB, then the question remains, does he have enough to work with to have any kind of success this year? The answer instinctively appears to be no, but a closer look might tell a slightly more upbeat story. Their wide receiving group is led by one of the league's finest and youngest in Calvin Johnson. Even on a terrible squad last year, Johnson still managed 78 receptions for over 1,300 yards and 12 touchdowns. The team also added Byrant Johnson, Dennis Northcutt and Ronald Curry to their team. While none of them may be superstars, they should supply the depth and experience the team so desperately needs. They also added perhaps the best tight end in this year's draft, Brandon Pettigrew. With RB Kevin Smith another viable option out of the backfield and an improving runner, the Lions might actually have some pieces in place to become a respectable offense.

While Stafford is hardly a lock to become a top 10 fantasy QB in 2009, let alone a top 25 one, it shouldn't take much to understand he actually has some legitimate upside. No, I'm serious.