SB Nation - Drew Stanton

No Change with Matthew Stafford's Status; Daunte Culpepper to Start Again?

Sean Yuille — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:20:15 -0000

2 days ago: Detroit Lions quarterback Daunte Culpepper walks down the tunnel after the Lions 48 -3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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It is too early in the week to know for sure, but when talking about Matthew Stafford's status (see the quote below) for the Cardinals game, Jim Schwartz really made it sound like the rookie could be out again this week.

"Probably unchanged right now, but we’ll see as we get through this week. I mean, if he’s the same as he was last week, then he won’t play again. If he improves, then that door is open. But it’s probably too early to really definitively say anything there."

If Stafford ends up not being able to play, could this finally be the week that Drew Stanton gets his shot? In a word: no.

Schwartz was pressed about Stanton during yesterday's press conference, and it was extremely frustrating to listen to his answers to questions about why the former MSU quarterback hasn't gotten a chance to play.

On the perception being that Stanton hasn't had a chance
"Like I said, when we make a decision, it's not based on trying something new, experimenting, all those kinds of things. It's based on what we think gives us the best chance and we're going to ride with that decision, but it's not going to be based on just saying, ‘Hey, look, it's time - we've got to change just to change.' Or, ‘We've have to make this decision just to make this decision.' Everything's based on a set of criteria that we've established. If we think that fits our criteria, then we'll do it."

On if Stanton is not as good as Culpepper
"We spent a lot of time in training camp and offseason and during the season establishing what our depth charts are. Daunte's our No. 2 quarterback, Drew's our No. 3 quarterback. That's where that one is."

It's not too tough to read between the lines of those answers. Obviously the coaches feel that Stanton is not very good, which, I suppose, is why he isn't playing. I don't know how Stanton can perform any worse than Daunte Culpepper, but he must just not be very good in practice. That is really the only explanation as to why he hasn't ever received a shot at starting during his time with the Lions. I mean, there have been some pretty bad QBs in front of him the last two years, yet two different coaching staffs haven't given him a shot even once.

My biggest problem with this whole situation is that the coaches seem to be in love with Daunte Culpepper and are willing to look past or even justify his mistakes. I realize that the quarterback position is a different animal when it comes to accountability, but let's face it, Culpepper is 0-8 as a starter with the Lions, and although he is not the sole reason the Lions lost any of those games, is he even giving the Lions a chance to win?

Although Sunday's game ended up being a blowout, it could have easily been tied at halftime had the offense figured out how to finish a drive. Again, it's not all on Culpepper, but for somebody who has been in the league as long as him, he looked like it was his first ever start. I realize Schwartz doesn't want to make a change just to make a change, but what do the Lions have to lose? Maybe Stanton just performs well in real games and is a bad practice player. It wouldn't hurt to find out, especially considering it's not like Culpepper is playing even remotely well.

I know that Schwartz isn't going to apply his whole attitude of accountability -- make a mistake and take a seat on the bench -- to the quarterback position, but for someone who seems to have no problem benching players and throwing them under the bus after they make a mistake (see Aaron Brown and his "bone-headed play"), it just seems like Culpepper is getting off a little easy. I suppose some of you may have felt the same way when Stafford was playing poorly, but the difference is that he is a rookie and Culpepper is in his 11th season. At this point in a player's career a head coach should not be busy justifying underthrown passes, but that is exactly what Schwartz did on Monday.

On whether Culpepper’s underthrown balls were a concern
"Yeah – I think there was one he would like to have back; Calvin’s (Johnson) got the coverage beat over the top and then he wasn’t able to get the ball out where it needed to be; I mean that’s a long throw. The other ones weren’t as much of a concern because there was something that caused that play to be limited, whether it was rusher in his face, him moving out from the side, throwing on the run or something like that. Probably the one that he would like to have back – Daunte has a strong arm. But he’s got (Calvin Johnson) over the top, doesn’t want to overthrow it and ended up under-throwing it a little bit and wasn’t able to complete that one."

This is the one quote that I took the most issue with. Why did Schwartz feel the need to make excuses for Culpepper when he easily could have just said that mistakes were made on those passes? I mean, Schwartz specifically said that Aaron Brown was benched for his bone-headed play on the kick return at the end of the first half. Why didn't he make excuses for Brown? Because he benched him, but feels the need to justify starting Culpepper? Obviously this is all coach-speak, but come on, to justify Culpepper's underthrown passes by saying "that's a long throw" is just pathetic. Yes, that's a long throw. And yes, one of them was on the run. But you know what? Matthew Stafford can make those throws. Obviously that is why he is the starter when healthy, but a head coach should not be justifying bad passes by saying "that's a long throw." If it was that long then Culpepper shouldn't have thrown it. You might even say it was a bone-headed decision to attempt such a long throw if it was so tough for him. Never mind, that wouldn't fit the agenda of justifying Culpepper being the starter.

Perhaps I'm just frustrated with what happened on Sunday, but Jim Schwartz's entire press conference really irked me yesterday. I don't know what I would want a coach to do after a 48-3 loss, but it seemed like he backed off his whole accountability mantra, especially with Culpepper. Listen, I still have confidence in Schwartz that he will get things on the right track eventually, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't lose a little faith in him yesterday. I say that because I've heard that press conference many times before in the past. Maybe all coaches are like that after a tough loss, but we've been down this path before specifically with the Lions. Schwartz had a golden opportunity to really make a statement to the team in terms of accountability, but it felt like he backed off that attitude more than anything.

Like I said, I still have faith in Jim Schwartz; I just have lost some of it because of yesterday's press conference.

Sunday Notes: Daunte Culpepper Breaks Silence on Not Starting on Thanksgiving

Sean Yuille — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 10:00:47 -0000

Prior to the Thanksgiving game, Daunte Culpepper had what appeared to be an interesting conversation with Martin Mayhew about the fact that Matthew Stafford was starting. Everybody, including Culpepper, assumed that Stafford would be out and Culpepper would get the start against Green Bay. That obviously excited Culpepper not only because he was expecting to get a chance to play, but also because that chance was going to come on a national stage, allowing him to show what he's got to the rest of the league. Well, we all know what happened instead. Stafford started, and Culpepper was visibly upset over that decision.

Asked if there was a communication issue on gameday, Culpepper said Friday, "I mean, clearly it was. But, hey, it is what it is."

"I want to just let you know this: There was no issue between Martin and I," said Culpepper, who'll be the No. 2 quarterback again Sunday at Cincinnati. "That's all I'm going to say. Me and Martin had no problem at all. We didn't argue one bit. It's as simple as that. Anything else, it is what it is. But Martin and I didn't have any problem."

As for any lingering problems with the coaching staff, Culpepper said, "I ain't got nothin' to say about it. But it was handled. The situation was handled. And I'm moving on."
I really don't have much of an opinion about how Culpepper reacted to finding out that Stafford was going to start instead of him. On the one hand, Culpepper should know by now that his role on the team is to be Matthew Stafford's backup, and any issue he had with not getting to start should be kept to himself and not shown on national TV. Then again, on the other hand, if I were in Culpepper's shoes I would have been pissed off as well. All signs pointed to him getting the start, but when gameday arrived Stafford was ready to play. I don't know if I would have basically pouted on the sideline during warmups, but I can understand why Culpepper was upset.

I guess for me I really don't care about Culpepper's reaction one way or another because there's no question that this is Stafford's team, so it's really a non-issue. I suppose I would prefer for a veteran like Culpepper to keep his frustrations on the inside rather than let them be shown in front of a national audience, but like I said, I really don't care.
Stephen Peterman hates being injured because he doesn't like not being around the game of football.
Here's a depressing stat via John Niyo: In their last 9 games after Thanksgiving, the Lions have a record of 1-8. Ouch.
Gunther Cunningham is not a fan of the spread-style of offense from college that is slowly making its way to the NFL.
As a FanPost pointed out, Drew Stanton was named the Lions' Man of the Year for 2009.
Grady Jackson's brother, Javorris Jackson, has been found guilty of second-degree murder.
The Bengals ended up selling out today's game.

A Somewhat Depressing Blowout

Mitchell_M — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:03:02 -0000

Green Bay had several things going for it this week. In no particular order, they were:

Coming off the bye week
Getting Chad Clifton and Atari Bigby back from injury
Playing Detroit at home
Playing against a team missing it's best QB (Matthew Stafford) and WR (Calvin Johnson)

All together, these things pointed to a dominant Green Bay victory. And, in the end, it was, if you consider only the final score (26-0). So then why did this feel like a letdown? Short version: we saw the same old problems surfacing again. Long version: after the jump.

Here are some things that I saw that I didn't like. As usual (sadly), these are all impressions that I got despite not watching the game.

13 penalties for 130 yards. Green Bay netted 435 yards. They allowed Detroit to gain 149. Their 130 yards lost to penalties were over 25% of their offensive gains and nearly 90% of Detroit's. That is absolutely unacceptable. Let's do a rundown of how many of what penalty there were:

5 personal fouls - 75 yards
3 false starts - 15 yards
2 holding - 20 yards
2 illegal formation - 5 yards
1 illegal contact - 5 yards

False starts happen, even though they shouldn't. Holding happens way more than it's called. Illegal contact happens almost as much as holding. Even illegal formation happens, even though it's a stupid penalty that you should get out of your system in high school. But personal fouls? Absolutely ridiculous. Unless there's a brawl, there's no way any team should get called for five personal fouls in one game. I have no idea whether or not these were legit penalties, but the fact that Packer players were in position to have these penalties called in the first place infuriates me.

You know what that says to me? On-field discipline is a major problem. In a way, that's almost worse than off-field issues. Personal fouls cost the team 3/4 of a football field, while the rest of the penalties combined for 1/2 a field. This will kill you against an opponent with a better offense. I don't care how young a team is; you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT be whistled five times for 15 yard penalties. I cannot express in a family friendly manner how angry I am over these penalties.

Of course, penalties have been a problem all year. The Packers have been flagged 43 times (4th in NFL) for 359 yards (3rd in NFL). Mike McCarthy said that it was something they would have to fix. You had a bye week, coach. And even that didn't keep the team from putting up a season-worst performance penalty-wise. Ugh.
Five sacks for 30 yards. If the penalty yardage wasn't bad enough, tack on the losses to Detroit's pass rushers. Now, I have respect for Julian Peterson and Cliff Avril. They are the best pass rushers on a team that doesn't perform well in this department. Still, they combined for 3.5 sacks, which is not good. But Turk McBride, a player who had one tackle all season before Week 6 and isn't even listed on Detroit's depth chart on NFL.com, had 5 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

I know Clifton was dealing with an injury. I know the offensive line has been all shuffled and jumbled around this season. I know Mark Tauscher isn't ready yet. But you cannot give up five sacks a game! Yet that's exactly what they're doing (5 games + 25 sacks = 5.0 sacks/game average)!

In other news, Aaron Rodgers' contract was renegotiated to include extended medical coverage, a personal chiropractor, yoga classes, and sleep therapy. Because if the season continues this way, he will end up more messed up than Ryan Leaf. If there was any debate as to whether the Packers' O-line is broken, I think this should settle it.
30 rushes for 107 yards. This statistic isn't even that bad. But then you consider that the majority of the yards were gained by Ryan Grant (24 carries for 90 yards), which still isn't that bad. But then you look at the drive chart for the game, and you realize that nearly half of his yards came on the game's final drive, when Green Bay simply took advantage of a tired Lions' defense for the final 7 1/2 minutes (where Grant totalled 41 yards on 7 attempts, including a 22-yarder, resulting in his final stat line). Before the 7:52 mark in the 4th quarter (when the score was already 26-0), Ryan Grant had 14 carries for 49 yards.

Again, I didn't watch the game. I don't know if the lackluster running performance was the fault of Grant, the O-line, or just good run defense by Detroit. But surely the Packers can do a better job establishing the run against a team that is less than notorious for it's run-stopping. Even with Jason Spitz as a surprise inactive, you have to take it to a team that boasts Grady Jackson as their primary run defender.

Again, this falls to Mike McCarthy. For someone who still uses a workhorse back approach, why didn't he give Grant more carries in the first three quarters of the game? Detroit was a team ripe for the pounding, and Green Bay desperately needs to foster some sort of momentum for their rushing attack to build off of for the remainder of the season. They certainly haven't developed any momentum in the first 4 games. Unless, of course, the season is destined to end on January 3rd, which I sincerely hope it does not.

Okay, so those were all the things that bothered me. Here's what impressed me:

Zero. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. As a former defensive player, nothing quite compares to the feeling you get when you shut out an opponent. I think the best analogy in sports is a no-hitter in baseball, where everyone from the catcher to the pitcher to the outfielders does their job just right. That's what happened today on defense for Green Bay.

The Lions' quarterbacking duo of Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton combined to produce this line: 11/25 for 105 yards and 3 INTs. While that might be a good day for Jamarcus Russell, that's a terrible day for an NFL quarterback, and that's exactly what Dom Capers' 3-4 defense is designed to do. It's fitting that Atari Bigby got the final interception in the end zone to seal the shutout, considering his absence forced the defense into a more conservative (read: more crappy) approach.
Clay Matthews. I know I already talked about how well the defense played as a whole, especially against Detroit's passing game. And of course Matthews wasn't the only one responsible, as Aaron Kampman, Al Harris, Nick Barnett, and Michael Montgomery all came away with sacks. But Matthews' 2 sacks were just another example of how dynamic of a player he is becoming. I barely knew who he was before the draft, and I was clueless as to why Ted Thompson would trade back into the first round to grab him. But I am glad he did. Now the question is: which linebacker has to lose snaps in order to get Matthews on the field more?
Another interception for a defensive lineman. Remember my whole tirade above about poor discipline? Cullen Jenkins' read of the screen pass was the exact opposite. When an end or tackle gets that much penetration with minimal resistance, that means he either beat his man beyond recognition, or there's something unusual happening. In this case, it was the latter, and Jenkins immediately halted his rush to disrupt the screen pass. A wonderful play.
Green Bay's receivers. I made a big deal out of the erratic and sometimes frustrating play of the Packers' receiving corps. Well, today they all came to play. Greg Jennings' one-handed grab in the first quarter was a beautiful play, as was James Jones' juke of Marquand Manuel for a 47-yard TD. Even Jermichael Finley continued his development, putting up 54 yards on 5 catches.

But the big story from Lambeau was Donald Driver's record-setting catch in the first quarter, leaving him as the sole leader in receptions in Green Bay history. Of course, his 7 catch, 107 yard performance on the day was nice, but there's something about the story of a 7th round pick becoming a franchise leader in a major category that makes you smile, win or lose. Congratulations, Donald. You're a class act both on and off the field, a true role model, and a top receiver in the history of one of the NFL's premeire franchises.
Aaron MF'ing Rodgers. Of course, someone has to get Donald the ball so he can break that record. And Aaron Rodgers did that, and so much more.

Now, let's not go crazy, because Rodgers wasn't perfect. His fourth quarter interception to former Badger LB DeAndre Levy was simply underthrown, and Jones was closely covered anyway. Rodgers also danced around too much when faced with a collapsing pocket, which led to his fifth sack and a fumble recovered by Larry Foote.

But there was little else Rodgers did poorly. He bought time when he had to, and met with thrilling success on two occasions in the third quarter (especially the play where he faked one way, started out the other direction, then went back in the original direction and, as he was falling backwards, fired a strike to Jermichael Finley off his back foot). All his throws were crisp, and he did an excellent job providing space for his recievers to work after the catch. His 78.4% completion rate and his 113.7 passer rating were stellar, despite his protection issues.

Altogether, this was a decent game all-around. Not great, because the offense surely could have played better. But the defense was outstanding, and even the special teams performed well after Jordy Nelson got hurt. There were things we can take away from this games as positives, but still significant flaws that must be addressed before visiting Cleveland. I'm torn between optimism and pessimism, but perhaps you could sway me one way or the other in the comments section.

Wednesday Notes: Lions Re-Sign Jennings, Release Figurs

Sean Yuille — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:10:58 -0000

Jim Schwartz was "mic'd up" on Sunday, and there is an awesome video on NFL.com letting us see and hear Schwartz at different points in the game. I could watch it over and over.
Hoping to make their special teams better, the Lions re-signed wide receiver Adam Jennings and released Yamon Figurs, who was claimed on September 6.
Ernie Sims practiced today for the first time since injuring his shoulder against the Vikings. His status for Sunday is unclear, but he hopes to play against the Bears.
Cliff Avril also returned to practice today.
Kevin Smith, Sammie Hill, Kalvin Pearson, and Dewayne White missed today's practice.
I was a guest on ESPN 1410 WNER yesterday to talk about the Lions' first win. You can listen to audio of my appearance here.
Theo "Gridiron" Spight, the man who sings the fight song every time the Lions score, was interviewed by NPR to talk about the Redskins win.
Drew Stanton and Kevin Smith talked about the win on their blogs.

Wednesday Notes: Lions Sign Matthias Askew to Practice Squad, Release Brock Berlin

Sean Yuille — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:10:51 -0000

The Lions signed defensive tackle Matthias Askew to the practice squad and released quarterback Brock Berlin. Askew played for Michigan State in college and has been on the Bengals, Redskins, and Broncos in the NFL. Berlin was likely released because Drew Stanton returned to practice today, meaning the Lions no longer need a QB on the practice squad for insurance purposes.
I haven't heard anything yet about the ticket situation for this week's game, but we should know how many tickets are left shortly. My guess is that there are more available than there were at this time last week, and although another surprise could happen, I don't have a good feeling about the game not being blacked out.
Free agent linebacker Matt Wilhelm worked out for the Lions this week.
Jim Schwartz invented a couple new words when asked about his style of coaching.

"A lot of my philosophy is Belichickian," he said. "I like to tell people that I got a Ph.D. in footballology from the University of Coach Belichick," he said.
Do you get a free hooded sweatshirt upon graduating?
Albert Haynesworth, now a Washington Redskin, has good things to say about Schwartz.
Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick will be the announcers for this week's game against the Redskins.
DIRECTV is having a contest to find the "Ultimate Displaced Fan." The way it works is you have to live over 100 miles away from your favorite team and submit a picture or video along with a short write-up about how big of a fan you are. The winner will receive a trip to the Super Bowl along with some other cool experiences, so if you are a displaced fan (I know there are a lot of you out there), enter the contest.

Thursday Notes: Jason Hanson Expected to Play on Sunday

Sean Yuille — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:19:51 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

4 months ago: Detroit Lions kicker Jason Hanson kicks a 47-yard field goal, held by punter Nick Harris, with three seconds remaining to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 27-26 in an exhibition NFL football game, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

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Jason Hanson is probably going to play on Sunday, though there is still a chance the Lions could sign another kicker for kickoffs. Based on how Hanson did in yesterday's practice, I don't think that will happen unless his leg is too sore to do all the kickoffs.
Drew Stanton's knee is feeling better.
The now teamless Shaun Smith has been suspended for four games for allegedly taking a water pill, which is a violation of the NFL's anabolic steroid policy. Tom Kowalski doesn't think his suspension was the main reason why the Lions released him (assuming they knew of the suspension), though it obviously could have been one of the reasons why he was cut.
The Lions are suing Charles Rogers, as he hasn't paid the team the millions of dollars he owes them. The Lions are owed $6.1 million by Rogers, who has 20 days to respond to the lawsuit.
Tristan Davis is simulating Reggie Bush in practice.
Four games on the schedule stand out for Julian Peterson.

"I've got four of them. Seattle because they traded me. San Francisco because they didn't give me a contract to my liking. Washington because I'm from there and they didn't even try to draft me. Green Bay on Thanksgiving, just because I don't like the Packers."
I like his reasoning for the Packers game the most.

(More after the jump)

Kevin Smith put up a new post on his blog about how he considers himself 0-0 in his career rather than 0-16. He also talked about how the team is supportive of all three quarterbacks, especially Matthew Stafford now that we know he is starting.
Stafford basically laughed off some comments Saints players made about how they're looking forward to playing against a rookie quarterback.
Saints running back Pierre Thomas is questionable for Sunday. That's good news for the Lions and bad news for one of my fantasy teams.
Saints defensive ends Charles Grant and Will Smith aren't going to be suspended this week. Both were involved in the StarCaps case, which is why there is no suspension this week. I imagine the same goes for Grady Jackson. His case is still under review, but the league isn't going to suspend him this late into the week of a game.
SBNation.com isn't the only site to relaunch this week. DetroitLions.com, the team's official site, also got a much-needed makeover. The new site is much more modernized and is a huge upgrade over what the Lions had before.

Wednesday Notes: Stafford Expected to Start Tomorrow, No Official Word on Culpepper

Sean Yuille — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:15:06 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

4 months ago: Detroit Lions quarterbacks Matthew Stafford (9) and Daunte Culpepper (11) practice during NFL football training camp Monday, Aug. 3, 2009, in Allen Park, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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Drew Stanton's specific injury is torn knee cartilage, and he could have surgery done on it today.
As for Daunte Culpepper, he cut his toe when he stubbed it on carpet at his house. I'm guessing he caught it on the edge of the carpet or something, because to end up with eight stitches, he really must have stubbed it.
Culpepper hasn't officially been ruled out of tomorrow's game yet, but the chances of him playing seem slim. Matthew Stafford is expected to start, but it is unknown just how long he will play.
Ernie Sims, Phillip Buchanon, and Anthony Henry are probably going to be out of tomorrow's game against the Bills. Jason Hunter, who has a rib injury, could miss the preseason finale as well.
Jason Hanson is starting to slowly work his way back, kicking in the indoor facility by himself on Tuesday.
To make room on the roster for Kevin O'Connell, the Lions waived wide receiver Glenn Holt, who was just claimed last week.
According to John Niyo, the Broncos, Browns, and Jets all put in waiver claims for O'Connell. There was no mention of the Chiefs, but it still is evident that there is some demand for the newest Lion. Whether or not that actually results in a trade is left to be seen, but as Niyo pointed out, the Lions have way too many needs to keep four quarterbacks on the roster going into the regular season (it is assumed that Brooks Bollinger won't be around for long). Considering that, I think either Stanton is going to be placed on the injured reserve or O'Connell will be traded.
The Bears have signed cornerback Rod Hood.

Drew Stanton to Have Surgery; Lions Sign Brooks Bollinger

Sean Yuille — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:57:48 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

3 months ago: Detroit Lions quarteback Drew Stanton throws against the Indianapolis Colts during the fourth quarter of an exhibition NFL football game, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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Drew Stanton just can't seem to make it through an entire preseason healthy. In his rookie season, Stanton suffered a knee injury and was placed on the injured reserve. The injury probably wasn't serious enough that Stanton had to go on the IR, but that's what the Lions decided to do with him. Then, after playing well in the first couple of preseason games last year, Stanton suffered a freak injury on the last snap of practice, hitting his thumb on a helmet.

Yesterday we found out that Stanton had an MRI done on his left knee, and today we learned that he will have arthroscopic surgery on it (done by Dr. James Andrews). The injury will likely keep Stanton out for "several weeks," but the Lions aren't going to put him on the IR just yet, instead waiting to see what happens.

In the meantime, the Lions have signed quarterback Brooks Bollinger. Offensive guard Terrence Metcalf was released to make room for Bollinger, who will probably see significant playing time on Thursday despite only having a couple days to learn the playbook. Bollinger worked out for the Lions last month alongside a couple other free agent quarterbacks, likely just in case a situation like this happened. That is why it's good to be prepared.

Monday Notes: Culpepper, Stanton Injured; News on Two Free Agents

Sean Yuille — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:55:00 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

3 months ago: Detroit Lions quarterback Daunte Culpepper throws against the Indianapolis Colts during the first quarter of an exhibition NFL football game, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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Daunte Culpepper's status for Thursday's preseason finale is unknown after he cut his toe at his house on Saturday and had to get eight stitches. He didn't practice today (obviously), and since the Bills game is only a few days away, I'd say his chances of playing are slim.
As if that wasn't bad enough news, Drew Stanton also missed practice today because of "significant swelling in his knee." He was scheduled to have an MRI today, so we will have to wait and see how that turns out. If it is anything serious enough to keep him out of Thursday's game, the Lions are going to have to sign another quarterback. While Matthew Stafford did take every snap in practice today, you don't want him out there for all four quarters of the final preseason game. Most of the time starters play one series and nothing more in the preseason finale, and though Stafford isn't technically the starting QB, he is the only uninjured one right now (knock on wood).
Free agent safety Lawyer Milloy worked out for the Lions this morning and took a physical. It looked like he was going to end up signing, but he and the Lions couldn't come to an agreement on his contract. He wanted more money than the Lions were willing to offer and decided to walk.
More news from the free agent front is that defensive end Kevin Carter is leaning toward retiring rather than signing with anyone (the Lions could really use him at DE with Jared DeVries done for the year).
I agree with Tom Kowalski's assessment of Louis Delmas; the rookie safety needs to slow things down and stop worrying about making a big hit on every play.
Adam Schefter thinks Matthew Stafford will be the Lions' starter.
With all of this unexpected news coming out, I decided to shelve the roster prediction until tomorrow, so look for it then.

Friday Notes: Culpepper to Start; Lions Sign Alexander, Release Ervin

Sean Yuille — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:50:12 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

5 months ago: Detroit Lions quarterback Daunte Culpepper throws during football minicamp, Wednesday, June 24, 2009, in Allen Park, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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Daunte Culpepper will start for the Lions against Indianapolis tomorrow. Culpepper will play for all of the first quarter and half of the second. Matthew Stafford will come in after that and play until the end of the third quarter. (Drew Stanton will get to play in the fourth quarter.) The starters will be in the game for both Culpepper and Stafford, allowing the coaches to get a look at what each can do with the No. 1 offense.

Jim Schwartz cautioned to not read into this very much, as someone has to go out there first. He also made sure to mention that a starter probably won't be named until the week of the Saints game, and even then we probably won't hear who is getting the start until right before the game. That way the Saints have to spend time preparing for both quarterbacks.
The Lions signed linebacker Rufus Alexander and released running back Allen Ervin on Thursday. Alexander has previously played for the Vikings and Colts. Ervin had played quite well in the first preseason game before suffering an injury the next week in practice. He was not going to play on Saturday, and the Lions probably figured he wasn't going to make the team, so it's best to move on and give someone else a chance.
Starting cornerbacks Phillip Buchanon and Anthony Henry both will not play against the Colts. Keith Smith will play in his first preseason game, but I think Peyton Manning is going to have a field day with our secondary. He very well may have anyways, but with the starters out this probably will get ugly really quickly.
Dennis Northcutt has also been ruled out of tomorrow's game.
Kevin Smith and Ernie Sims are going to be game-time decisions tomorrow.
Brandon Pettigrew is going to play against Indianapolis.
Daniel Loper and Manny Ramirez are battling it out for the starting spot at left guard.
People were actually lined up at Ford Field's box office to buy Lions tickets when they went on sale Thursday morning.
With all of this talk about backup kickers lately, Jim Schwartz decided to show the team a clip of when offensive line coach George Yarno kicked an extra point back when he played for the Buccaneers. He was actually the long snapper, but when the starting kicker got hurt, Yarno ended up coming in as the emergency backup and did quite well.

(More after the jump)

The Vikings' locker room reportedly is already divided on Brett Favre.
Roy Williams hurt his shoulder last night during a Cowboys practice and will likely miss the rest of the preseason. There was a report from PFT that he broke his collarbone, but his X-rays came back negative.
The Broncos have suspended Brandon Marshall.
The Cowboys are not going to have to raise their giant scoreboard, as the NFL has simply created a do over rule, meaning that if a punt hits the scoreboard, the play will just be done again. I realize it would cost $2 million to raise the scoreboard, but this rule is just stupid. The Cowboys have spent over a billion dollars on the stadium already, so what's another $2 million? Besides, they are the ones responsible for not testing this out in the first place, so they should be responsible for fixing the problem. This rule will just cause problems, and I can't wait to see the outcry the first time a do over punt is blocked.