Jason Hanson is a victim.

He was blessed with a golden leg and the raw talent and ability to break every professional kicking record on the books.

Then he was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1992 and has been there ever since.

Now I love the Detroit Lions, and I always will, but I'm a football fan first, so even I recognize that Hanson's numbers are a shadow of what they would be with another team.

A placekicker isn't like any offensive position. He can't put the team on his back and put up numbers regardless of his team's performance. If the team can't get into field goal range, the kicker can't score, period. There's no such thing as an 80-yard field goal.

So Hanson sits at seventh all-time in scoring when he has the talent to be several spots up. Jason Elam, Matt Stover, and John Carney are all active kickers sitting above him on the all-time scoring list by at least 150 points.

Carney and Stover are both older than Hanson, and Elam is roughly the same age, but all have been with more prolific teams than the Lions.

Yet have they been better kickers than Hanson?

All have comparable career field goal percentages (within about one point of 82 percent, though Stover's is the third-highest of all time at 83.82), but Hanson has maintained and even refined his long-range ability, while the others have become primarily short-range specialists.

To illustrate, Hanson set an NFL record by going 8-for-8 from 50-plus yards in 2008.  Elam, Carney, and Stover are a combined 8-for-15 from that range since 2005.

Now, it is difficult to say what goes into a Hall of Fame placekicker.

Only one, Jan Stenerud, has entered the Hall as a pure placekicker. Stenerud currently ranks 10th on the NFL's all-time scoring list and was admitted to the Hall with a career field goal percentage of just under 67 percent.

At the time of his induction, Stenerud was the second-leading scorer of all time behind George Blanda (who simultaneously played placekicker and quarterback).

If Hanson's production continues as it has recently to the end of his current contract, he will pass Blanda by over 100 points while having 15 percentage points of accuracy on Stenerud.

In addition, he is the highest-ranking player on the all-time scoring list to have only played for one team.

Which, of course, is part of the problem. Stenerud kicked three field goals in Super Bowl IV. Hanson has spent his entire career with a team that has only won one playoff game in the Super Bowl era.

Placekickers earn recognition by making clutch kicks in big games. But when the team is never in a position to win any game, much less a big one, a kicker cannot kick a game-winning field goal.

Regardless, Hanson's current contract with the Detroit Lions will end just before he turns 43, so it seems he intends to finish his career in Detroit.

If that is the case, it is unlikely he will see very many games to show what he can do with the game on the line, and though he may deserve the Hall, his credentials will likely suffer for it.

After all, nobody sees what a player should have achieved on paper. Either they didn't or they did.

Hanson, unfortunately, has as many game-winning kicks in playoff games as I do.

Sure, he holds two NFL records, is the only player still with the same team since the advent of free agency, is almost certainly the last No. 4 ever to play in a Lions uniform, and he could be as high as third on the all-time scoring list by the time he retires.

But will it be enough?

After all, he spent his entire career with the Lions.

Drew Stanton has caught the brunt of the Detroit Lions’ recent woes.

He was a second-round draft choice in 2007 to be to heir-apparent to Jon Kitna in a Mike Martz-led offensive system.

He was shut down his rookie year, both to nurse a minor knee injury (not unlike the one he suffered a few months ago in the preseason) and so Martz could tinker with his throwing motion.

Of course, Martz only lasted one season. Now, in three seasons, Stanton has seen three offensive coordinators, two head coaches, and four starting quarterbacks.

And none of those starting quarterbacks have been Stanton.

Stanton has systematically gotten a vote of  "no confidence" from every coaching staff he has seen.

The Lions with Martz running the offense put him on injured reserve early in 2007, effectively giving him a red-shirt rookie season.

Jim Colletto was offensive coordinator during the quarterback carousel that was the disastrous 2008 season. Jon Kitna was shut down after three games, then second-stringer Dan Orlovsky went down with an injury a few weeks later.

Then, in perhaps the biggest snub job in Stanton’s young career, Colletto said he wouldn’t play Stanton because he didn’t want him to "embarrass himself."

This, mere weeks after Orlovsky ran out the back of the end zone .

The answer, of course, was not to give the only healthy, available quarterback familiar with your offensive system a shot at playing.

After all, Colletto was the offensive line coach during a season where the Lions gave up 54 sacks. So he knows all about embarrassment.

The answer was Daunte Culpepper. After four days with the team, a previously-retired, overweight Culpepper went out with the play book taped to his arm.

Stanton came in during a goal-line situation and in the fourth quarter of Culpepper’s debut and "embarrassed himself" to the tune of 6-for-8 for 96 yards and a touchdown.

He was effectively ignored the rest of the season, and the next game he saw action was last week at Lambeau Field.

Current head coach Jim Schwartz gave Stanton another confidence boost when they drafted new franchise face Matthew Stafford and paid him more money than any rookie in history.

In other words, nobody is going to give Stanton a shot unless they’re completely out of options.

The only good thing for Stanton is that Schwartz hasn’t gone out to sign Jeff Garcia to ensure there’s no chance of Stanton playing against the Rams after the bye.

That being said, nobody knows how long Stafford will be out with his current injury. But Stanton has exactly that long to show that he has worth to an NFL team, be it the Lions or anyone else.

This is assuming, of course, that Stanton would get the start over Culpepper if Stafford can’t go. Because if he doesn’t, it’s time to take Schwartz’s "best players will play" mantra and beat him over the head with it.

Stanton’s contract with the Lions runs through 2010, so he will theoretically be on the roster through next year.

By contrast, Culpepper is in the final year of his contract, which should bring Stanton up to a permanent No. 2 on the depth chart next year (if the last couple of weeks haven’t already done that).

But if Stanton can’t show himself capable of something by the end of this season, who’s to say the Lions don’t sign someone else in the offseason and bump Stanton down to No. 3 again?

Stanton’s career thus far certainly sets that precedent.

Another precedent is that young quarterbacks who never even make the backup job on bad teams tend to disappear when their contract ends.

Once Stafford comes back from his injury, he’s going to be the guy until the end of the season, and any talk about Stanton will cease.

Effectively, he will disappear.

If you ask Stanton about Stafford’s knee, he’ll say he hopes it heals up as soon as possible so he can get back on the field.

But Drew Stanton is a smart man. He knows that the amount of time remaining on Stafford’s injury is the amount of time he has to make a statement.

In the next few weeks, Stanton will hope to show someone he’s good enough to play football for a living.

If he can’t, his next job will be magician, as he vanishes from the NFL.

Does anybody know how bad Matthew Stafford's knee injury is?

Does anybody know when anybody on the Detroit Lions' injury list will be available to play?

Yes. The players, the training staff, and head coach Jim Schwartz.

But nobody else.

What started as a smart tactic of withholding all but the most essential injury information to cloud opponents' gameplanning has become a behemoth of misinformation.

It seems that Schwartz's philosophy with injury is that everybody is either out for the season or day-to-day and a game-time decision.

Of course, that's a lie.

He knew Stafford and Calvin Johnson wouldn't be ready to go against the Packers. He knows what each player's injury is, the severity of it, and how long it will keep them out.

But you'll never hear him say, "It looks like Stafford's injury will keep him out for two or three weeks." At best, he'll rule a guy out of Sunday's game on Thursday or Friday.

That was fine for a while. Lions fans would watch whoever showed up to play, anyway. Anything that might improve the Lions' chance for a win was okay.

But now it has gotten out of hand.

To compensate for Schwartz's lack of information, we are now seeing a flood of misinformation.

Now there are reports about Stafford possibly needing knee surgery.

And rebuttals to said report.

And rampant speculation about the future of Stafford's season.

And even confusion as to whether or not Stafford is practicing because of fake Twitter accounts.

If Stafford doesn't play against the Rams after bye, things only figure to get worse. Next we might see a photoshopped picture of Stafford's severed leg on the turf.

The sad thing is, fans are so in the dark about Stafford's injury, they might believe his leg has actually fallen off.

Keeping opponents off-balance by playing the injury report close to the vest is one thing. It's a good idea.

But this has gotten out of hand. Nobody knows whether Stafford is going to back on the field in a day or a year.

And is it worth it? Is Schwartz getting enough of a leg up on opposing coaches to justify throwing the entirety of the Lions fanbase into purgatory about the players they pay to see play football?

It's not just Stafford. I can buy that Schwartz isn't sure about Stafford's knee just yet.

He had complications, so they're having Dr. James Andrews look at his MRI. I have my doubts as to whether we'll hear anything concrete about the results, but okay, fine.

But Schwartz is playing every single injury like this. Ernie Sims.  Calvin Johnson. Sammie Lee Hill.  Dewayne White. Grady Jackson. Gosder Cherlius.

All of them, the same thing. To paraphrase everything Schwartz has ever said about an injury, "We're going to see if they can practice, and if they're good to go, they'll play. It'll be a game-time decision."

Right. A game-time decision that he has made by Thursday.

At 1-5 and coming off an embarrassing shutout loss, the Lions should have shaken any straggling asylum-dwellers of the notion that the Lions are playing for the playoffs this year.

So at the very least, maybe they can show the fans a dim glimmer of information regarding the guys on the injured list to slow this downward spiral of misinformation?

The future attachment of Matthew Stafford's leg might depend on it.

The Detroit Lions' current injury report reads like a list of Lions impact starters.

Matthew Stafford, Gosder Cherlius, Kevin Smith, Calvin Johnson, Grady Jackson, Sammie Lee Hill, Ernie Sims, and a handful of others populate the team's injured list, with various levels of practice participation between them.

Some will play, some will not.  We likely won't know which until Sunday.

This is the injured list heading into Sunday's game against the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

So why am I not concerned?

Simple.

The Lions are almost certainly going to lose this game anyway. Starters or no starters, it's going to be very difficult to overcome this Steelers team, even though they've struggled thus far in the season.

What this is, instead, is a sort of preseason game.

Yes, I know the game counts, and yes, I know the Lions would have a better chance of winning it with a fully healthy roster.  But winning only really matters if you're trying to get into the playoffs.

And if you've watched the Lions for the first four weeks and you're still thinking playoffs, they make very special padded rooms for people like you.

I've said since before this season started that the 2009 season would be sort of an extended preseason for 2010, and it still rings true.

Sure, you want to win preseason games, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter.  All you really want is to evaluate your roster top to bottom, work on team chemistry, and identify areas of need for the future.

In other words, winning this game is not as important as getting a look at a few depth players.

Don't believe me?

Consider the case of one DeAndre Levy.

Buried on the depth chart for the first two games, Levy got the call to start after an injury to star linebacker Ernie Sims. Almost unanimously, Sims's injury was decried as a terrible blow to the Lions' defense.

But Levy responded to the call, notching 14 total tackles (including two straight on the goal line against Washington) and a forced fumble in the two games since Sims's injury.

Now, we know Levy is a pretty good football player, and we owe it all to Sims's injury.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not happy about injuries to any of these players.  And indeed, seeing rookies like Stafford and Hill go down is a blow, since those players need to develop (though if Stafford misses time, Drew Stanton getting some reps would make it easier to swallow).

But I can't be upset about getting to evaluate players with upside like Aaron Brown, Landon Cohen, and Zach Follett as a result of injuries to Smith, Jackson, and Sims.

We already know the starters are good, and we know more or less what they can do.  They will help the Lions win when they return.

In the meantime, can Brown produce?  Will Cohen's 50 reps translate to on-field impact?  Can Follett unleash the hurt in the NFL like he did in college?

Answering these questions now, in regular season action, only serves to improve the Lions' outlook for the future.

If any one of these players proves capable of performing, even on a second-string level, then that's one less free agent signing needed. One less draft pick needed. One roster spot secured, at a time when the entire roster has been somewhat transient.

Personally, if I had to choose between the starters playing and coming out with a win against Pittsburgh, or losing and finding out one of the Lions' seventh-round picks can play at a starting level in the process, I'd rather fill the roster spot.

The Lions' management spent the entire offseason signing bargain players, hoping some might impress, given the chance. It's time to find out if they can.

Because the difference between the Lions and teams gunning for the playoffs is not wins and losses—it's players.

If the Lions beat the Steelers, would you think the Lions were a better all-around team?

Of course not.  The Steelers have more guys who can play the game, whether they're do-it-all superstars or solid role players.

A good team has its fair share of both. The Lions lack both.

But maybe, after this Sunday, they'll be one or two steps closer.

Alright, that’s enough.

If you’re still hungover from the Detroit Lions’ victory over the Washington Redskins, grab some coffee.

We’re getting back to business. There are 13 more weeks of football to be played, so pay attention.

The Lions played a good game last week, but it was full of holes. Even the most dominant win leaves room for improvement. While they were strong, the Lions were not quite dominant, no matter what I may say.

So, what lessons from their victory over the Redskins can the Lions use against Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears?

1. Keep Matt Forte Down

One of the most disappointing feature backs in football this year is Matt Forte.

Heralded as the Bears’ new star after a sensational rookie campaign, he has rushed for less than 200 yards total in three games this season and spearheads the league’s 28th-ranked rushing attack.

In their last two games, the Lions have been up against two very high-profile backs in Clinton Portis and Adrian Peterson. Peterson was held under 100 yards, Portis under 50.

If they can continue that kind of containment on the already-slumping Forte, it should force the Bears into some 3rd-and-long situations, where the Lions may be able to capitalize on some Cutler turnovers.

2. Keep Pressure Off Matt Stafford

Matt Stafford is flying high after his first NFL victory, which happens to also be the first for the Lions since he was a sophomore at Georgia.

So, what was the difference between the Washington game, as compared to New Orleans and Minnesota?

Reduced pressure.

I’m not just talking about pocket pressure, though it’s important that he stay upright against a strong Bears' defensive line.

I’m talking about game pressure. Stafford played well because he was comfortable.

He played much of the game with a lead, which allowed him to calm down and not force the ball as much as he did in his first two starts. He had less 3rd-and-long situations to contend with, his running game backed him up, and never did the team have to put the ball in his hands to win it.

These factors combined allowed Stafford his strongest—and only turnover-free—start of the season so far. Perhaps it is also a sign of him maturing.

That game was a necessary confidence-builder for him, and he should be able to carry that momentum over to Soldier Field…as long as he doesn’t feel forced to do too much with the ball.

3. Continue to Target Bryant Johnson

Calvin Johnson has had a fairly quiet season thus far, compared to expectations. Granted, expectations were pretty lofty, but in three games, Calvin has yet to notch a 100-yard game.

Much of that is because he’s drawing all the coverage. The perception, when a team gameplans for the Lions, is that Calvin is the only threat. Everyone else in single coverage is okay, as long as everyone else covers Calvin.

In response, Stafford started targeting the other Johnson.

Bryant Johnson had a comeuppance against the Redskins, leading the team in receptions and yardage, including two of the biggest offensive plays of the game: catching the first touchdown pass of the game on a 21-yard lob, then drawing a pass interference call in the end zone for 47 yards.

If Stafford can continue to make defenses pay for leaving other receivers in single coverage, then some double coverage should lift from Calvin Johnson, which will open him up to make more plays.

4. Don’t Let Up

As well as the Lions played against the Redskins, it still ended up a close game that came down to the final play.

How?

Well, after going up by 13 against the Redskins with five minutes to go, and shutting down the offense for most of the game, they let the Redskins sneak back in with a quick score to Santana Moss, then failed to hold onto the ball to run the rest of the clock out.

Consequently, what would have been the Redskins’ game-winning drive ended in Lions territory, a mere 30 yards from a 20th straight loss.

The Lions have been notorious this season for failing to play solid football for 60 minutes.

In week one, the Lions came out flat and allowed the New Orleans Saints an early double-digit lead, which they would keep for most of the game.

In week two, the Lions had a phenomenal game against the Vikings…in the first half. In the second, they looked like a different team, allowing 27 unanswered points.

Last Sunday, of course, the Redskins charged back with five minutes to go, and may have completed the comeback if they had an extra minute on the clock.

If the Lions are able to get ahead of the Bears, it will be imperative that they sustain their efforts.

The Lions’ secondary is average on their best day, and the Jay Cutler-Devin Hester connection has proven capable of putting up numbers in a hurry. They’ll want to make sure their lead is as comfortable as possible.

Of course, if they keep the pedal down, then there won’t be any concerns over a late comeback, will there?

Remember last week?

Remember life before Sept. 27, 2009?

It was a time fraught with anxiety, despair, hopelessness.

It was a time where columnists like myself were predicting that last Sunday’s game against the Washington Redskins was going to be the Detroit Lions’ last chance at a victory until after their Week Seven bye.

Now, suddenly, that seems a bit hasty.

This team has finally won a game, and in somewhat convincing fashion. They didn’t sneak out a win, they—dare I say it—dominated most of the game, and almost let the Redskins sneak away in the final seconds.

That one win changes the complexion of the rest of the season. No longer is the question, "can the Lions win this week," it’s "will they?" The Lions have proven they can win.

It sounds cliche, but it’s an important distinction. The Lions have long existed outside the "any given Sunday" cliche, and slipped into their own variant: "every given Sunday."

It goes like this.

On any given Sunday, any NFL team can beat any other team. But on every given Sunday, one NFL team will beat the Lions.

No more.

Now, games that once looked hopeless have an element of mystery to them.

Does anybody believe the Chicago Bears are an absolute lock to beat the Lions? The struggling Steelers? The schizophrenic Packers?

Will the Lions win all of those games? Of course not. One win does not make the difference between an 0-16 team and playoffs, no matter how much Sunday’s victory felt like a playoff game.

But they can win them. You don’t know. I don’t know, nobody knows. But this is a team capable of winning, and the only remaining question is who, when, and how often.

Don’t mistake me. This is one win. One win is something every team in the league has celebrated at least once a season every year except 2008, 1982 (Baltimore Colts, 0-8-1), 1976 (Tampa Bay Bucs, 0-14), and 1960 (Dallas Cowboys, 0-11-1).

The only thing the Lions have really accomplished on paper is not being historically bad. Again.

Theoretically, they could lose 13 more games this season, lose 36 of their last 38, and their progression over last season will be a single win.

Or they could surprise some people. They could win a few more games, maybe even against teams that should beat them handily.

The point is, Lion fans no longer need that anxious feeling leading up to Sunday. The feeling that occupied every game in recent memory, the deep dread of "how will they blow it this week," (don’t lie, you know you felt it during Washington’s last drive) was turned aside for at least one day.

In the place of that fear and dread, which was so mercifully lifted for one week, Lion fans can make room for a little more optimism for the future.

That starts now. Think the Bears have an easy victory next Sunday with golden boy Jay Cutler at the helm?

Not so fast.

The Lions can win now.

Everyone just calm down.

I’ve heard a whole lot of comparisons to the 2008 Detroit Lions after Sunday’s 45-27 trampling at the hands of  the New Orleans Saints.

It’s understandable; they did lose by 18 points, and they are the 2009 Lions. It’s natural to compare them to last year’s version.

As I remember, though, the 2008 Lions lost to roughly the same Saints 42-7, and that was without an injury to their top cornerback against the league’s most prolific passer.

So let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first.

Yes, the Lions lost. Yes, it was an 18-point loss, and their 18th-straight loss. Yes, they became the first modern-era team to have a losing streak spanning three seasons. No, they didn’t even cover a double-digit spread (13).

Yes, Drew Brees threw six touchdown passes and a second-string running back had a career day. Yes, Matthew Stafford had a bad day, showing his inability to finish drives and a propensity to throw interceptions at the worst possible time (two of his picks were caught inside the 20-yard line).

Kevin Smith was shut down and Calvin Johnson had only three catches, though one was for what should have been a long touchdown.

Heard enough? Good. I know the Lions lost big, and in many ways it looked very bad. Now let me follow that up with two very important words:

So what?

That’s right, I don’t care. Anybody who expected to open the season in New Orleans with a big, statement-making win needs to start up a support group with Joey "Blue Skies" Harrington, Jon "10 Wins" Kitna, and Kevin "20 Touchdowns" Smith.

Temper your expectations, people. If you didn’t believe it before, believe it now. We are not looking at a playoff team. Deal with that. The Lions are going to lose a lot of games this season, and the Saints are one of the toughest games on the schedule, so what’s the problem?

Now, having said that, with as bad as it looked, it wasn’t as bad as it looked.

See, despite the final score, the game wasn’t a blowout. At no point did the Saints pull their starters and start beating down the Lions with second-string players. In fact, it was still a reasonably winnable game (though a long shot) until Stafford’s third interception.

Though they never led, the Lions never trailed by more than the 18 points they lost by. In fact, after falling behind by 14 points early on, they battled back to within four points early in the second quarter.

At any given point, the Lions were one missed opportunity away from making it a much closer game.

Much of that has to do with Stafford. The interceptions he threw were momentum-killers, and he was unable to get touchdowns instead of turnovers or field goals.

But he’s a rookie quarterback, and he’s making rookie quarterback mistakes. This is his first real game against NFL competition, and therefore the first in which he must realize that his gifted right arm is not enough to carry him to success without  good decision-making.

His problems and mistakes are coachable, and he will learn, but expecting him to know it before he steps foot on the field is unrealistic. These are games Stafford has to have before he learns what throws he can make at this level and how.

For that matter, these are games the entire Lions team has to have.

They fought hard, but at the end of the day, they were outgunned. The Saints are a team thinking playoffs, and the Lions are looking to snap an 18-game skid.

I’m not going to say this is a moral victory, because I don’t believe in moral victories. For a team that hasn’t won a game in almost two years, the only moral victory this season will be the numeral "one" on the left side of a hyphen.

That being said, as losses go, this one could have been worse. The Lions were supposed to lose this game, and they did, but they didn’t perform below any reasonable set of expectations.

They will get better, visibly, as the season goes on. More than half of this year’s 53-man roster was not on last year’s 53-man roster, so chemistry is a major issue.

And hey, the Lions have all kinds of issues, all over the field. We know this, but don’t throw them under the bus yet.

The only question right now is whether the Lions are playing better than last year, and if they’re headed in the right direction.

After one game, the answers to both questions are yes. It’s unusual to say that after a 18-point loss, but this is a team under unusual circumstances, who lost to the same team by 35 points last season.

So everyone calm down and enjoy the show. Start a pool at the office for the Lions’ first win. Smile politely at the guy who picks "2010."  But don’t be that guy, don’t throw your hands up in September.

This ride is only beginning, and it will get better soon.

Detroit now knows who will be taking the field against the New Orleans Saints this Sunday.

After the Lions’ cuts, waiver wire acquisitions, and more cuts, the field of 53 is set… for now.

As is the case with every cut list, there are some (mostly) good cuts, some question marks, and a few scrappy players who just drew the short straw.

In case you don’t know which is which, here’s the entire cut list (via NFL.com), broken down into those three categories.

The Good

Brooks Bollinger - Nothing more than a placeholder while Drew Stanton and Daunte Culpepper were on the shelf for the final preseason game…unless Culpepper becomes trade bait later on this season, then he’s a phone call from being No. 3.

Billy Cundiff - Capable, but no Jason Hanson. Hanson is expected back for the New Orleans game, which leaves no room for Cundiff.

Ramzee Robinson - Had a good run for a 255th "Mr. Irrelevant" pick, and his play had actually picked up some since he was drafted. But he had really only gone from atrocious to below average, without much more upside.

Ikaika Alama-Francis - Too weak and small as a tackle. Too big and slow as an end. Never developed into a better player or improved his technique. Another second-round bust for Matt Millen.

Milford Brown - Veteran guard wasn’t expected to make a lot of noise, and didn’t. Nobody will even notice.

Sean Conover - Came into camp as a third-year converted tight end after spending the first two with the Tennessee Titans as a defensive end.  Conversion unsuccessful.

Keary Colbert - Single-handedly made every Lions quarterback look worse than they were.

Dropped passes, tipped passes (turned into interceptions), and falling down on routes (allowing interceptions) were all themes of Colbert’s preseason. Had he avoided the cut list, rabid fans with pitchforks and torches would have gathered outside Ford Field.

Zach Follett - I like the kid, you like the kid, and defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham likes the kid. His attitude is right. The physical skills? Not so much.

That being said, he may have some future potential, and the Lions retained him on the practice squad. If they hadn’t, this would have been a "bad" cut.

Calvin Lowry - Quiet signing, quiet performance, quiet release.

Rufus Alexander - Would have gotten a second or third look on last year’s Lions team. This year, couldn’t find his niche with a very good Detroit linebacker corps.

Cletis Gordon - Was cut by the Chargers and Texans before finding his way to Detroit. Didn’t show anything worth keeping around.

Tristan Davis - I went on the record as saying he might have earned himself a look with his long touchdown run in Buffalo. I was right… but that look landed him on the practice squad.

Speed is always a good thing, but Davis isn’t ready yet. The Lions did well to leave him off the 53-man roster, and equally well to retain his rights.

Adam Jennings - Showed a flash or two, but not nearly enough. Three unimpressive catches in preseason is not good enough for a 5′9″ wide receiver.

Lydon Murtha - Seventh-round tackle selection didn’t show well enough to warrant a roster spot above the veteran group of Jeff Backus, Ephraim Salaam, and Jon Jansen.

Will stick around on the practice squad for now, perhaps to work his way up long-term.

The (Potentially) Bad

Dane Looker - Seemed versatile enough to earn a roster spot somewhere.

Was a decent receiver, where the Lions are thin. Was a decent kick/punt returner, where the Lions are undecided. Was an acceptable auxiliary kicker, with Hanson coming off surgery. Didn’t excel in any one area, but was adequate in several.

John Standeford - Came in last season due to injuries and trades as the No.2 receiver, and made some plays. Performed adequately in preseason as a possession guy, but lack of versatility and physical gifts likely spelled his end.

Stuart Schweigert - Was the team’s primary playmaker in the secondary throughout the preseason. Struggled in pass protection, but was an above-average run-blitzer.

With the weak state of the Lions’ safety corps, he deserved a shot. The acquisition of Ko Simpson from Buffalo likely slashed what would have been his roster spot.

Dan Gronkowski - At one point, Gronkowski and Will Heller were the team’s only healthy tight ends. Gronkowski made the most of his time, with four catches for 39 yards and a touchdown, and lots of good blocking.

Gronkowski got caught up in a tight end logjam, with 20th overall pick Brandon Pettigrew, new acquisition Heller, and oft-injured veteran utility man Casey Fitzsimmons ahead of him.

He landed on the practice squad this season, and should replace Fitzsimmons on the roster next season.

The Unexpected

Chuck Darby - Not at all an expected cut, but absolutely a good one. Darby was a Marinelli guy, a smaller Tampa-Two tackle, and increasingly not a very good one as his age sapped his quickness.

Was cut in favor of young 300+ pound space eaters like Sammie Lee Hill, Andre Fluellen, and Orien Harris.

Aveion Cason - A long overdue cut, and one that nobody will mourn except Cason himself.

Surprising because he has seemed unusually adept at avoiding Lions cuts when he should be one of the first. News of Cason being cut set off many a celebration in Detroit.

Keith Smith - There’s no question Smith was a below-average player, but it’s surprising to see him cut for the same reason as Cason: we’re used to seeing him stick around, regardless of bad play.

Fun fact: after this season’s cuts, the number of Millen-era draft picks still with the Lions (not including 2008) is six out of 51. Three of those (Drew Stanton, Manny Ramirez, Calvin Johnson) are from 2007, two (Backus, Dominic Raiola) are from 2001, and the other is Ernie Sims, the only draft pick from 2002-2006 to survive.

Shaun Smith - Perhaps the biggest surprise, as Smith was acquired with a starting role in mind. But head coach Jim Schwartz is from the Bill Belichick school of team management, and Smith’s attitude and unrestrained mouth didn’t mesh well with the coach.

The release of Smith, Darby, and Alama-Francis is a testament to the fast progression of Sammie Lee Hill.

Daunte Culpepper had better not get too comfortable in his honolulu blue jersey this season.

After head coach Jim Schwartz made the call to start Matthew Stafford at quarterback from day one, Culpepper’s presence is suddenly much less valuable to the Lions… except maybe on the trade market.

Of course, what if the Lions are just testing Stafford out? They could pull him and send in the veteran, Matt Leinart-style.

If you follow the cues, Stafford is in for good. According to Schwartz, starting Stafford "isn’t an experiment. He’s our starting quarterback."

But are the Lions interested in shopping Culpepper, instead of keeping him on as a reliable, steady backup to Stafford?

It’s possible that the Lions are interested in keeping him on, but Schwartz seems to think "He’s back," and that "he did everything to win the job."

So, Stafford is "our starting quarterback," and Culpepper "is back?" Who is Schwartz trying to convince? It sounds an awful lot like he’s sending out a press release to the other 31 teams: "If you need a starting quarterback, we have one sitting the bench here, available cheap!"

Under normal circumstances, Culpepper would be a tough sell. After years of injuries, decline, a retirement, and then half of a sub-par season playing about 50 pounds overweight, he came back strong, in great shape and reportedly playing some of his best football in years. Then he lost the starting job to a rookie quarterback, anyway.

But then, Culpepper looked more than adequate in the preseason, which is more than some teams can say about their projected starter (I’m looking at you, Denver Broncos).

The X-factor in all this is Drew Stanton. After he suffered another knee injury, Schwartz avoided putting him on injured reserve. Schwartz has said that Stanton’s injury is minor, and that he should be back within the first half of the season.

If Culpepper is traded, Stanton becomes the backup, which may be well-warranted, since he was arguably the most impressive and most successful quarterback in the preseason.

But whether Culpepper is traded or not may depend on whether Schwartz and Co. are confident with increasing Stanton’s role, which they will be unable to do until he’s healthy again.

The problem with that is money.

If the Lions were to trade Culpepper, they would want to do it before the start of the regular season, when Culpepper is due a large roster bonus.

But beyond the difficulty of convincing another team to effectively pick up his bonus in the next two days, Stanton will not be ready in that time, which will force the Lions to possibly pick up two quarterbacks to back up Stafford while Stanton heals (if he heals).

Still, the question of trading Culpepper is almost certainly when, not if. The Lions have taken care of their quarterback issues with Stafford, for better or worse, but there are still holes to be filled all over the team.

Culpepper now represents a vehicle with which to fill those holes, either with players or picks.

Jim Schwartz must have seen something he liked Thursday night.

One day after playing against him in a Bills uniform, the Detroit Lions engineered a trade to bring safety Ko Simpson to Detroit for an undisclosed 2010 draft pick.

When not watching the quarterback battle, the Lions have been trying to figure out all preseason who they could start at safety. Louis Delmas was one starter, but who was the other?

Gerald Alexander? Traded.

Daniel Bullocks? Injured.

Kalvin Pearson? A decent player, but had a miserable preseason.

Stuart Schweigert? Showing well, but inconsistent and coming off an offseason calf injury.

Marquand Manuel? Had an okay preseason, but nobody cares (apparently).

Simpson just leap-frogged the field by showing up in Detroit. He is entering his fourth season, and has been a solid contributor in Buffalo since his rookie season in 2006.

Better yet, if Simpson performs well, he could, at age 25, be a long-term answer for the Lions at the safety position.

The darker side of this trade is that it means the Lions’ coaching staff didn’t see enough from any of the prospective safeties on the squad to start them comfortably. So any strong preseason performances you thought you saw are irrelevant.

As it stands, the Lions just added a player the day before final cuts, which means an extra safety will be packing his bags. Manuel and Schweigert are the obvious choices (though probably not both), but even former projected starter Kalvin Pearson should be looking over his shoulder.

In fact, everyone should. Even the guys who survive Saturday’s cuts.

For days now, the Lions have been saying they were going to scour the waiver wire for every last shred of talent, using that No. 1 waiver priority to full advantage. Apparently that applies to trades, as well.

It is increasingly obvious that the coaching staff is not really happy with the roster they have in place, even after turning over half of it. They still want to - and frankly, need to - improve.

It’s safe to assume we’ll see a lot of front office activity in the week leading up to the regular season. That may or may not be smart, since at some point they should be able to tell their players to stop worrying about getting sent away and go play football.

The way things look now, that point might be the trade deadline.