Lions Would Have Won W/ Culpepper

Culpepper would have kept them in this game until the end. Linehan would have let him throw the long ball a few times and he would have hooked up with Calvin at least once. This game could have been a win with Culpepper.

I'm glad he wasn't in there.

I'm glad Stafford was in there because he is struggling. He has to figure this thing out. He needs to learn what his arm can't do in the NFL. He needs to learn to control the emotions and tempo instead of getting carried away with it. He needs to learn how to lead a team to a win. He had that opportunity and he failed.

You can't learn that on the bench. Schwartz said it best: If he's struggled with learning the plays and reading the defense, then give him the clipboard and let him watch. But if can do all of that and it's just about experience: play him or he'll never learn.

Better this year than next...

The front office would never admit it but when they decided to start Stafford they made a decision that this year is about the future. That's how they drafted this year too. It's not about records and it's not about winning as many games as possible this year. It's about becoming a winning organization with capable leader.

So yes, Schwartz lied. You can tell by the way Stafford plays that Culpepper would make better decisions and give the team a better chance to win right now. You can tell by the way play calls that they are afraid to open the playbook up.

This year it's about Stafford, Calvin, Smith, Pettigrew, and Brown meshing. It's about them learning how to win games. My take is that Kevin Smith is a player with a lot to play for this year. Don't be surprised if they take an RB high if he doesn't have his 'breakout' year.

But Stafford will play. Once he stops making bad decisions with the limited playbook they are going to open it up more and continue the testing. If that means 3-13 instead of 6-10, so be it.

The future is not yet...