when does stafford start?

[b-diddy]

first question asked when a qb gets drafted.

rushing a qb can ruin him, especially when hes gonna get sacked 52 times. i think that was the case with joey.

but part of the reason we drafted him was his demeanor, so he should be able to handle getting roughed up. imo, he should start as soon as hes better than daunte culpepper, which should be game one.

thoughts?

[Glenn]

I think they'll try to hold back, but the fans will want to see him.

There's potential to let the bonuses that he won't earn unless he plays right away to become a problem between him and the team/coach.

[Jethro34]

2010. He'll be lucky to get any regular season snaps this year (assuming Culpepper is healthy).
The only way he sees the field this year is if Culpepper is extreme.

If he's extremely bad, Schwartz might have difficulty resisting the temptation to play Stafford, especially if Stafford looks to be progressing well in practices.

If Culpepper is extremely good (this is never going to happen) and the Lions blow some people out, Stafford might get some 4th quarter time.

I would put the over/under on 40 snaps for Stafford this season. But I would then give him a 75% chance of being the starter for 2010. Probably the only way he doesn't start in 2010 is if Culpepper plays fairly well this year and Stafford really struggles in practice. Then the team might try to resign Culpepper to an extension.

[b-diddy]

I think they'll try to hold back, but the fans will want to see him.

There's potential to let the bonuses that he won't earn unless he plays right away to become a problem between him and the team/coach.

agreed with the first part. but if this isnt a popular pick, the best way to boost his popularity would be to keep him as the backup.

as for preventing him from getting the bonus, thats a pretty prickly proposition. guys are pretty sensitive about that. i dont think you want to fuck with your #1 pick and have him disgruntled right off the bat... let him get jaded after years, not instantly. plus it would only further diminish the lions' reputation in the league, if thats possible.

[Jethro34]

first question asked when a qb gets drafted.

rushing a qb can ruin him, especially when hes gonna get sacked 52 times. i think that was the case with joey.

but part of the reason we drafted him was his demeanor, so he should be able to handle getting roughed up. imo, he should start as soon as hes better than daunte culpepper, which should be game one.

thoughts?

Oddly enough, Joey wasn't sacked nearly as much as Kitna and others since Joey. In 4 seasons with the Lions, Joey was sacked 77 times (though 60 of those were the last 2 seasons). Meanwhile, the 52 sacks given up last season were the lowest total in 3 years. The Lions gave up 63 in 06 and 54 in 07. I think part of that number that is deceiving is that Joey threw the ball away a lot but still got knocked to the ground, whereas Kitna was incapable of saving the team from the lost yardage by throwing it away.

[Tahoe]

It just depends on how successful a training camp he has. If he dazzles, we'll see him at some point. If he struggles a lil bit, we won't, unless Cpep gets hurt.

If we can run the ball, it'll take pressure off the QB. If we can run the ball, the chances of seeing Staf goes up too, imo.

[b-diddy]

starting game 2 of preseason.

same old lions.

[Kstat]

the same old lions were undefeated in their last 6 preseason games.

Let's not make too much out of a meaningless game. Nobody was calling them champions when they were winning them.

[WTFchris]

Same old Lions have top 3 WR's sitting. I'd like to see him out there with the regular WR's.

[Zekyl]

He looked terrible, but he was missing the top 3 WRs and Pettigrew. That's not a whole lot of help. Still, I'm hoping that he gets back to working with the second unit next game.

Maybe they started him BECAUSE the top receivers and tight end were out. Culpepper can't work on his timing with them if they're not playing, so you give Stafford a chance to play against someone's starters.