So What Have We Learned?

About the Lions? Not too much, other than that they do not match up well with the Packers at all.

Yesterday's game was eerily similar to the 26-0 loss of a few weeks ago. The Lions scored a few more points due to some Packer miscues and some solid defense but the offense was equally ineffective.

In the October 18 game Culpepper was forced to play without Calvin Johnson and with injured Brandon Pettigrew and Gosder Cherilus. Green Bay had Aaron Kampman and Al Harris. Before leaving with a "hamstring" (mercy killing by the staff?) Culpepper was simply swarmed under. I don't recall a single pass he was able to step into. Stanton was able to run around a bit and create passing lanes but ultimately he was equally ineffective.

Yesterday Stafford has a bit more time, but he was gimpy, Calvin Johnson still appears to be gimpy and Pettigrew (again) got knocked out of the game early. Green Bay didn't have Kampman or Harris but ultimately they didn't need either.

So we really have no idea whether Culpepper would have done better.

The Lions' run defense was better than the pass defense but that wasn't anything new. Rodgers passed at will against the weak Lion pass defense. It's hard to see how that part of the game gets fixed quickly. Detroit really needs a solid #1 corner, some pass-rushing ends and linebackers and a rangy free safety. Even if they are able to draft all of those players in one off-season (unlikely) it will be a year or two before they reach their potential.

What we maybe did learn is how much better the Packers are than the Lions, and perhaps what makes them a solid sleeper come playoff time. Green Bay's defense is simply ferocious. Better with Kampan and Harris than without, to be sure, but still among the best in the league.

Ted Thompson is probably the best talent evaluator in the division. Since taking over GM duties in 2005 he has drafted Rodgers, Greg Jennings, Nick Collins, AJ Hawk and Jeremy Thompson. He signed Charles Woodson and traded for Ryan Grant. He drafted Johnny Jolly in the 6th round and a 7th rounder from this year - Brad Jones - got his first career start yesterday in place on Kampman. From the 2009 draft Raji appears to be the force that Green Bay expected and Clay Matthews has 5 sacks so far, TJ Lang is the starting right tackle.

and expect Green Bay to get better. They are in their second year in a 3-4 and while they appear now to have the pieces in place to run it, there will still be some maturation and improvement. The offensive line is a shambles but the team is still pretty good. Figure the line gets addressed this winter and at the very least is better in 2010, if not much better. Rodgers probably has the best set of offensive players in the NFC around him with Grant, Jennings, Donald Driver and Jermichael Finley (among others).

So while we might not have learned much about the Lions at all, we maybe did learn how far they are from where they need to be.

---

Matthew Shepatin On Gunslinging

I have to admit that I am not fond of the term 'gunslinger'. It reminds me too much of bad Saturday afternoon serial westerns from the pre-cable days, and in a way I am sure the word has biased me away from wanting a 'gunslinger' on the team. Call it something else and I would probably be a little more receptive.

That said, Matthew Shepatin had some good points to chew on in an interview posted yesterday at the New York Times.

It’s no wonder that gunslingers like Sammy Baugh, Bobby Layne, Ken Stabler and Joe Namath are all but a thing of the past. Young quarterbacks like Tony Romo, Jay Cutler and Mark Sanchez have the skill and guts to carry on the great gunslinger legacy but I fear that the swashbuckler is being kicked out of them. Did you see Sanchez’s headfirst dive into the end zone Sunday against the Titans? Risky, possibly even stupid, and I loved every second of it. I, for one, hope that Sanchez continues to go out there and play with a free spirit. That’s the way Romo used to play when he first came on the scene. It’s what gave him a dangerous quality. He could strike at any time. He was out there making plays. Having fun. Now I watch Tony Romo and he doesn’t look like he’s having much fun at all. It’s not only sad as a spectator but what Wade Phillips doesn’t seem to get is that it’s counter-productive to getting the most out of him. Simplify the offense and let Romo do his thing. Same goes with Jay Cutler in Chicago.

Romo and Cutler are natural gunslingers. Where they get in trouble is thinking too much out there (worried about the consequences of failure) instead of just playing their game – which is on the edge, with passion, with verve, making plays with their feet and arms. When the gunslinger is allowed to play with abandonment, he’s not only capable of dazzling feats but he also energizes his whole team to make plays (see Vikings receiver Greg Lewis and Catch Of His Life).

It is Shepatin's last point that resonates best with me. How often have we read about Favre's linemen being willing to run through a wall for him - mainly because they know he will run through a wall for them. Going back, same thing with Jim McMahon. I didn't have the privilege of watching Baugh or Layne so I can only assume that they shared those qualities. I don't think we ever read about teammates having that kind of respect for Jon Kitna, even though he had a very competitive attitude when he was here. With Joey Harrington it may have been the opposite.

Obviously I am talking about Matt Stafford here, and the idea that he may be able to energize the team with his play warms me a bit more to his potential. While I still feel that Culpepper would have given the team a better chance to win that point is no longer relevant. They've won, and while the win had its share of dysfunction we also maybe saw some of those qualities from Stafford for the first time. The passes to Will Heller and Bryant Johnson and the 26 yard run on third and long in particular. Oddly this was a quality that Culpepper used to have and seems to have lost. In his prime he made a ton of mistakes but made even more plays.

The Lions' strategies from the last two games in particular had Stafford careful leashed against Minnesota and less carefully so against Washington. It will be interesting to see the playcalling evolve as Stafford grows. I expect that we will be both excited and infuriated, sometimes on consecutive plays.

---

Was Culpepper giving Stafford cold shoulder during Sunday's game

Den-izen kb760 is a little fired up at what he/she perceived as a sulking Daunte Culpepper on the sidelines during Sunday's blowout loss in New Orleans.

"If Daunte is going to act like he did yesterday and distance himself from the QB, never helping the rookie (only Stanton talked to Matt) then what good is he?," kb760 writes. "Get him the heck out of here. The one time I did see him, he had his earphones on and just stood around uninvolved. Grow up and impart some wisdom during the game to the rookie."

Others see that as much ado about nothing, that Culpepper is there in case Stafford goes down, and that it's the coaches job to coach the rook; and that a few glimpses of him from TV on the sidelines may not accurately portray Culpepper's involvement; and that it's possible the veteran provides more guidance and pointers during practices.

On the other hand, Culpepper was retired because he wanted a starting job somewhere and couldn't find one. Now, to give it a very good shot but be a backup on the LIONS has got to hurt -- as evidenced by his written statement after Stafford was named starter, that was submitted to the media by the team.

Is it Culpepper's job anyway, to give Stafford pep talks? Is Culpepper sulking, and bringing negativity to the sideline? Does that matter much anyway, with the defense looking as it did Sunday? They're talking about it in The Den!

---

The Stafford debate starts in earnest

Looks like some of us are better at prognostication than others. Like that wise man who said before the game, "Go to Vegas and bet your entire 401(k) on the over." (Ahem.)

With another blowout road loss and a generally bad performance by rookie QB Matthew Stafford, The Den is afire with debate about whether anointing him the starter for Week 1 was the best move.

"This is not the way to start a season," said Den-izen acmjmm34. "Granted (Stafford) has looked relatively calm in the pocket, his throws to members of our team have been off on a number of occassions. His INTs though have been right on target. The defense didn't do him any favors but in all fairness we needed a far better ball control offense to hang with this team. Daunte would have been a better choice for starting considering our first 6 game schedule. A lot can be said for veteran leadership."

My take is somewhat similar to that posted by ARJANTIS: "Either go through it early this year or go through it next year... Either way you have to go through his lumps sooner or later."

Stafford's the guy. He may become John Elway-like. He may become Ryan Leaf-like. But he has been given the keys to this franchise, and his attempt to grow into greatness and turn this sad-sack team around must now follow its multi-year course. It's clear he needs work on decision-making under adversity, accuracy and recognizing disguised defenses.

But the Lions are going to be a bad team this year with Culpepper at the helm or Stafford. Playing experience through a brutal year for the team and through brutal stats for the rookie QB worked for Troy Aikman and Peyton Manning.

---

Atlanta football writer: Matt Ryan ruined it for everybody

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has taken an interest in the Lions this year, with former Georgia Bulldog Matthew Stafford the Lions' franchise savior in waiting.

AJC.com sports columnist Jeff Schultz has joined a growing chorus saying the Lions should not start the season with Stafford under center.

The problem with Matt Ryan is he has ruined it for everybody else. Ryan had an off-the-charts first season with the Falcons and so now every team and fan base with a No. 1 draft pick at quarterback thinks, “Our rookie quarterback can be off the charts, too!”

If the Detroit Lions make that mistake, they’re going to screw up Matthew Stafford. And it’s not as if this franchise hasn’t wrecked quarterbacks before.

Ah, yes; the old "did the Lions ruin Joey Harrington, or did Joey simply not make the most of ample opportunities to play?" debate. It's been going on in The Den for years. A definitive answer is elusive on that one.

But back to the QB debate at hand. Schultz notes that Ryan's and the Falcons' situation was significantly different than Stafford's and the Lions'. Atlanta didn't have as good of a veteran option at QB (Chris Redman) as the Lions do (Daunte Culpepper).

I would add to that the Falcons' defense was among the worst in the NFL the year before Ryan's arrival (29th), but the Lions are coming off one of the worst defensive performances in NFL history last year. And the way the inept Cleveland Browns offense shredded them Saturday was an ugly flashback.

Writes Schultz:

(Stafford) has shown he’s not ready to step into NFL starting job yet. He has struggled with his feel in the pocket and anticipating defense adjustments, and it’s certainly way too early to assess leadership abilities. All three were knocks on him before the draft. Two exhibitions (one start) hardly define a career. I still believe Stafford will be a successful NFL quarterback. But the Lions would be making a mistake to rush him.

It's easy to careen from Stafford's good performances and say, "He's ready to start now," to saying after the struggles "Keep him on the bench for now." I'm of the opinion that Head Coach Jim Schwartz and Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan haven't made the call yet, and will wait to see what they see at least through this weekend's game with the Colts.

Consistency is a difficult thing to ask for from a rookie for whom it's all so new -- unless you're Matt Ryan. But who is most consistent will decide who starts under center for the Lions in Week 1.

Discuss in The Den!

---

Put The Nooses Away

Put the hemlock tea bags back up. Unload the 12 gauge. It wasn't that bad. Really.

Okay, so it was pretty bad, but if you maintain a comfortably pessimistic philosophy regarding the Lions, then it is actually pretty easy to find some of the bright spots in an otherwise uninspiring and borderline disastrous game. Drew Sharp, the only local writer I know of who is more cynical than me regarding the Lions wrote

It looks like they're already in regular-season form.

This is exactly why the Lions are certifiably nuts should quarterbacking savior du jour Matthew Stafford start when the March to 0-32 begins in earnest in New Orleans on Sept. 13. It's counterproductive exposing a rookie quarterback to a team apparently still hell-bent on creating as insurmountable an early obstacle as possible.

in an otherwise rambling column. He also wrote

If attitudes are indeed changing and Schwartz is indeed the right messenger, he should quickly make it clear that these Lions remain too fundamentally weak defensively to needlessly risk sentencing the future face of this franchise to the football gallows.

and while I agree, I fail to understand how this is surprising to anyone. Detroit's biggest flaw in 2009 was the defense, and not biggest by a little, but rather biggest by a lot. Despite multiple quarterback injuries, the Lions demonstrated a modestly decent offense last year with Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith leading a reasonable two-way threat. It wasn't remotely good enough to overcome an awful defense, nor was it good enough to lead the way to any kind of contention even with a defense approaching average. It just wasn't the reason that Detroit went winless.

And over the winter Detroit followed their pattern of the last 8 seasons to fix the defense, they brought in a number of veteran free agents while waiting til the middle rounds to focus on their defensive holes. It is entirely predictable that their 2009 defense will resemble their 2008 defense. I expect it will be better, but nowhere near good.

So if we go into this whole thing accepting that it will be another long year, it is much easier to enjoy the small victories, knowing that the big ones aren't coming.

Stafford Okay, he didn't play well. Not even a little. But better for the faithful to see it now, then to have unrealistic expectations build throughout the preseason. The pressure for Detroit to play the kid is officially off and the Lions can go into the season with Stafford on a natural developmental trajectory, rather than a forced one that is more likely to end in disaster.

Jerome Felton He really played well, coming in with Culpepper midway through the 2nd quarter and immediately getting three consecutive runs for a first down. After an up-and-down rookie year exclusively at fullback I think we can hope that Felton may be able to fill a bigger role as part of a two-headed tandem that may really wear down opposing defenses.

Culpepper For the second consecutive week he looked very comfortable running the Lion offense. He showed great patience and good mobility in the backfield to stretch out plays. He was effective at waiting for plays to open and then throwing very catchable balls.

DeAndre Levy He whiffed on one of the Cribbs returns but otherwise was very effective, making plays all over the field including a great open-field tackle on special teams.

Jordan Dizon Is starting to really come on after a washed-out rookie season.

Sammy Lee Hill After an underwhelming first game, Hill seemed to consistently get a good push inside. He didn't show up on the stat sheet but he spent much of his time in Cleveland's backfield disrupting things.

Nick Harris Just killed it, averaging 50 yards over his 7 punts. Unfortunately the 22 yard average on returns ruined his net average, but that speaks more the quality of the two return teams and Josh Cribbs, rather than to Harris. He wasn't kicking line drives.

So see? There you go, a nice handful of positive takeaways from last night's game and that was only on one viewing. So forget the sleeping pills, don't lock yourself in the garage with the car idling. It's another day and the Lions are pretty much the same as they were two days ago.

---

SI's Banks rates Daunte among top second-string QBs

I'm not sure Daunte Culpepper would consider it a compliment, given that he's still trying to earn the first-string job.

But SI.com's Don Banks has C-Pep ranked the third-best backup QB in the league, in an evaluation of all 32 teams. Only Oakland's Jeff Garcia (who many believe will supplant JaMarcus Russell) and Michael Vick in Philly are rated higher.

Says Banks about Culpepper:

It's entirely possible, and maybe even likely that Culpepper could wind up beating out Matthew Stafford and starting for the first month of the season or so in Detroit. But at some point this year, the Lions are going to be tossing the keys to the No. 1 overall pick and that means Culpepper will be headed for backup-dom. Having shed 30 pounds this offseason and gained some of the mobility back that he hasn't had since his 2005 knee injury, Culpepper looks good again and is an easy top-five choice when it comes to No. 2's.

After years of struggling with a revolving door and crushing disappointments at QB, it's weird to think of it as a solid, no-worries position in Detroit. I'm not sure we're there yet, but it's fun to imagine.

Discuss in The Den!

---

Run, Forrest!

On September 7 of '08 Michael Turner rushed for 220 yards in Matt Ryan's NFL debut, and Jerrious Norwood tacked on another 93. As a team, the Falcons rushed for 318 yards to the Lions' 70. Flash forward to August 15 '09, and we see something that Lion fans haven't seen in a very long time. A team that runs. And runs. And runs.

A lot (deservedly) has been made of Stafford's impressive debut. Culpepper's surprising nimbleness and playmaking qualities have also earned praise. So far though, there hasn't been a lot of discussion of the running game.

Detroit rushed 35 times for 191 yards. Stanton's bootleg was the key play that set up the game-winning field goal. Aaron Brown went to warp speed for his 32 yard touchdown run. Matt Stafford dragged a defender five yards for a first down. It was exciting to see and it is a dimension of the game that Detroit hasn't had since the days of Bobby Ross, excepting a few weeks with Kevin Jones.

I'm not exactly sure how excited to be about this, other than to know the commitment is there. Detroit's main backs, Aveion Cason and Allen Ervin combined for 47 yards on 17 carries, and while we know that they won't be getting the carries during the regular season - if either are even on the team - the holes that they attacked are the same holes that Smith and Morris will have to find. Barring a specialty package, Stanton's runs will be limited to running the microphone to call in plays to whichever quarterback the Lions ultimately choose. Brown's run, while exciting, was not one that will be available much during the regular season. He hit the edge quickly, but did it against rookie defenders who don't know their assignments as well as they should, and who also aren't as experienced at reading the flow of the play as well as veterans are. More often than not, Lance Briggs or Atari Bigby will be there to string the play out and limit the gain.

On the other hand, we did see a real commitment to the run. Not a hopeless effort like we've seen so many times in the last few years, but rather from a team clawing back from a deficit and getting positive yards to put the quarterback in a position to be able to make plays. Counting Culpepper's two scrambles, they ran 7 times in their first 10 plays to set up Hanson's field goal. The runs had a real purpose too, setting up the pass. They ran twice for a first down and then a screen to Kevin Smith for 11. They ran again and then took a shot at the end zone, forcing a defensive penalty and another first down. They ran twice more for short gains and then sucked in the defenders on a screen play that went for 16 more.

28 of Detroit's 35 yards came with the team behind. After Atlanta's last touchdown, Detroit came back in Stanton's first series and got the score back with six consecutive running plays, three by Ervin, one by Stanton, and the last two by Brown, including his 32 yard score. It was only in Detroit's last two possessions, running the two minute drill that the Lions abandoned the run.

After the game Jim Schwartz told Tony Ortiz that the Stanton bootleg at the end was not a called play, but rather a recognition by Stanton as the linebackers swarmed to the sidelines and the whole middle of the field parted. Culpepper's short runs and Stafford's bootleg did not appear to be designed either, but it is clear from their games that both like to run and get hit. Culpepper gained an extra yard on his drive by initiating contact and carrying the play forward. Stafford told Ortiz that getting hit is a part of the game that he enjoys, that it helps to bring things into focus.

I'm nowhere close to calling this a new paradigm. Detroit also rushed 35 times in last year's exhibition opener against the Giants. It is probably the nature of exhibition, particularly the first game, to just get out there and bang a little and then get the game over with. Even so, we saw some purpose to the running game yesterday that has been missing from the Lion arsenal for years.

Agree? Disagree? Have something to say? Discuss it Here, in The Den.

---

Killer: Stafford will win starting job over Culpepper

Before even the first preseason game, MLive.com's Tom Kowalski believes the quarterback competition between Daunte Culpepper and Matthew Stafford has been won by the rookie.

For now, Culpepper has the No. 1 spot, but he's not going to have it for long.

Unfortunately for Culpepper, he hasn't done anything to lose the job except that he's competing with the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Stafford isn't perfect, and he's going to make plenty of mistakes as he develops, but the first overall pick in the draft is showing he's the real deal.

The Lions aren't saying anything like this publicly, simply because there's nothing to be gained in doing so at this point, according to Killer.

But trust me, when the scouts and coaches watch the practice tape every night, they're grinning from ear to ear.

It's not just Stafford's rocket arm or overall athleticism, which is impressive, but it's his decision-making, quick release, knowledge of the offense, leadership and his overall presence.

And away we go!

They're talking about it in The Den.

---

Rave reviews for Stafford continue to pour in

A no-look pass?

Rookie QB Matthew Stafford apparently threw one in practice recently, faking out both LB Julian Peterson and the pass's intended recipient, Calvin Johnson, Yahoo! Sports' Michael Silver reports.

Lions officials and players are having increasing difficulty remaining cautious and measured when talking about Stafford and his immediate prospects:
* Peterson - "As rookies go, he’s way ahead of the curve."
* Calvin - "He doesn’t even look like a rookie. He picked up the playbook very quick; he’s a smart kid. He looks very, very comfortable out there."
* Head Coach Jim Schwartz - "There is no debating that everything about him has been very, very impressive."

There is nothing to be gained by anointing Stafford the starter -- Schwartz wants everybody competing -- HARD -- for their spot in the lineup, and there are four preseason games to come on which to additionally measure the players.

But the thing is, Stafford is competing hard. He's playing and acting like he wants to start Game 1. He's showing things that indicate he's not just the Lions' best option at QB, but may be something special even looking from a league-wide view.

Better hone those clipboard-holding skills, C-Pep.

UPDATE: Finding these similar old quotes about Joey Harrington from around the time he was drafted gave me a much-needed dose of perspective.

The bottom line is, Stafford's looking good; he needs to keep it up in preseason game situations and the starting spot could be his through simply earning it.

They're talking about it in The Den!

---

Lions work out 3 QBs -- should any current QB worry?

Nick Cotsonika at Freep.com reports that the Lions worked out three veteran QBs on Tuesday - Cleo Lemon, Craig Nall and Brooks Bollinger.

Lemon rode the bench in Jacksonville last year (that's where the Lions' recent signee, CB Will James, was too. Is former Jax front office guru Shack Harris on a Jag jag?).

Nall was briefly with the Texans last year; Brooks Bollinger -- who we all remember from his days with the Wisconsin Badgers -- got in a game for the Cowboys last year when Tony Romo was hurt.

The Lions' flirtation with adding a veteran QB is something a few of us have speculated could happen before camp, given Drew Stanton's wobbly performances in earlier workouts.

But MLive.com's Tom Kowalski throws another wrinkle out there -- Daunte Culpepper's contract is structured so that he makes the vast majority of his money this year if he's on the roster for the first game of the regular season.

The Lions restructured the deal that one way for one reason - to give them an "out'' if they didn't want Culpepper on the roster for the start of the regular season - and also to protect against a training camp injury.

From all accounts though, Culpepper's come in his best shape in years, and with a hungry-to-succeed attitude. It seems far-fetched to believe he could be dumped from being the starter or backup to Matthew Stafford. But C-Pep does have an injury history, and should he suffer another bad one in the preseason, it looks like the Lions are trying to cover their bases.

They're talking about it in The Den!

---

ESPN's Clayton: Stafford needs "incredible preseason" to beat out Culpepper

ESPN.com's John Clayton is putting a check on the rampant speculation that Lions rookie QB Matthew Stafford will be the starter by Week 1.

It would take an incredible preseason for rookie Matthew Stafford to beat out Daunte Culpepper in Detroit, but Stafford does have an incredible arm.

Culpepper showed up for OTA's in the best shape I've seen him in in years. I think the job is Stafford's by no later than mid-season, and it still wouldn't shock me if he does have an incredible preseason and shows he's ready from the jump.

They're talking about it in The Den!

---

Killer: Stanton should stick with team -- thanks to Stafford

Tom Kowalski at MLive.com points out that a few months ago, the Lions expressed interest in acquiring a veteran QB for depth. Now they seem to have put that on hold. Killer says some of that has to do with Stanton's development, but most of it has to do with rookie QB Matthew Stafford's development.

Stanton is still the same guy he was when he arrived in Detroit - erratic. His passing is inconsistent and he'll throw a spiral on one play and a duck on the next. But Stanton is a gamer and he won't always look pretty but he's been generally effective during his brief game appearances. Even head coach Jim Schwartz said it's tough to evaluate Stanton in practice because he's not a classic drop-back passer.

The real issue here is what the Lions are looking for out of their No. 3 quarterback. Before and after the draft, the Lions talked about adding a veteran backup because they weren't sure how quickly Stafford would be ready. They didn't want to get into a situation where Daunte Culpepper would start the season and then get hurt and then be forced to go with a raw rookie.

That situation has changed. The Lions are now very confident that Stafford will be ready for the start of the regular season (I still think he'll be the starter against New Orleans - or very soon afterward). That changes the role at No. 3 because the Lions don't need an experienced player there.

I buy that logic. But Killer also says the Lions could still look to sign a veteran QB they like and plan to hold onto longer term. He points out that Culpepper is only signed for one year. This I doubt more. I think the Lions are pretty happy with Culpepper's off-season performance and commitment level, and could look to keep him around. I'm not sure what veteran QBs are available out there that would be a huge upgrade over C-Pep.

Talk about it in The Den!

---

Linehan On Fanhouse

Dan Graziano caught up to Scott Linehan for a fairly extensive interview that he published at the Fanhouse.

"Daunte's as healthy as he's been in some time, he looks great and he's really driven to try and re-establish himself in this league," Linehan said. "If he can be anything close to what he was in '04, the sky's the limit for Daunte."

In fairness Graziano interpreted this paragraph a little differently than me. The praise from the coaching staff about Daunte has been effusive and to me there is little doubt that Culpepper is the number one quarterback on Schwartz's No Depth Chart depth chart. The enthusiasm that Schwartz, Linehan and his teammates have shown for Daunte have a much differenct flavor than Mike Martz consecutively calling Jon Kitna and J.T. O'Sullivan the best quarterbacks he had ever coached.

Linehan cements Culpepper's status with the following:

"Matt's a young guy with all the talent in the world, and he could certainly show enough that he could be our quarterback," Linehan said. "But we're not going to do that until we believe he's ready for it, whenever that is.

This really isn't anything new. The coaching staff has been very consistent with this kind of statement. It isn't an indictment of Stafford at all, but rather a great deal of comfort with Culpepper. Surely things can change with training camp to come, but it seems that the job is Culpepper's to lose - and even then he might not lose it. Linhan has this to say about Shwartz's Tennessee defenses:

"The way that Tennessee defense always performed -- I don't want to say they overachieved or to downgrade any of the players he worked with there, but you would look and sometimes you'd be amazed," Linehan said. "You'd look at a matchup where you wouldn't think they'd be in it, and they'd be beating teams 14-13, and you'd scratch your head -- 'How are they doing that?' And I think that says a lot about the people there and the continuity of the coaching there, and he was a huge part of that, and I he's going to bring that here with him."

This Lion defense doesn't have the talent of any of Schwartz's Titan ones. They surely will need this unit to produce at capacity to have much of a shot at anything more than a handful of wins. Even so, there is good reason to believe that the team is finally in capable hands.

Ongoing discussion Here in The Den

---

Culpepper says he's 100-percent healthy in camp for first time since before monster '04 season

Wouldn't it just be the Lions' luck that they take a QB first overall, pay him the largest rookie contract in NFL history by far, and then Daunte Culpepper returns to his elite play from his days with Randy Moss in Minnesota?

Associated Press football writer Larry Lage, reporting from the Lions' mini-camp, talked with C-Pep:

"This is the first time I've been 100 percent going into camp since 2004," he said, referring to the season in which he threw 39 TDs for the Vikings. "I feel great."

Matthew Stafford's feeling great, too, though. He told Lage he's still preparing with the idea that he'll be ready to start in Week 1.

MLive.com's Tom Kowalski reported on the Lions' two-minute drills from camp yesterday. Both Culpepper and Stafford had their highlights -- C-Pep hitting Calvin Johnson on a 40-yard bomb (though Killer says it wasn't a great ball and Calvin adjusted on it); Stafford zipping completions to a few different receivers. But neither quarterback got the ball into the end zone, and Stafford had a ball batted at the line and an interception, Killer reports.

Then there's Drew Stanton. Killer says ... uh ... not that good. And Coach Jim Schwartz seemed to concur.

"He flashes. He hasn't been quite as consistent as I'd like at times,'' Schwartz said of Stanton. "The one thing that's going to happen with Drew is that Drew isn't the classic drop-back passer. He's going to make plays off-schedule a little bit and sometimes you don't see that at practice. You don't see the quarterback scrambling around in practice and extend the play and tuck the ball and run and those things. Those are the plays he made in college, that sort of defined him as a quarterback, that he could make those plays. We'll see that a little bit more when we get to preseason games. It's a little bit hard to read that style of quarterbacks in the stuff we're doing out here because you're throwing everything from the pocket in practice."

Anybody who thinks that sounds good for Stanton's chances to stick with the team ... well, you must be a very strong Stanton fan and a very positive thinker.

Discuss in The Den!

---