Not that the Lions need any more mountains to climb, but they will be without quarterback Matthew Stafford and star wide receiver Calvin Johnson Sunday as they attempt to break an 18-game losing streak at Lambeau Field. Both players are listed as inactive for the matchup in Green Bay, though Stafford will serve as Detroit's third-string, emergency QB.Daunte Culpepper will get his second straight start at quarterback for the Lions. In Week 5, he was 23 of 37 for 282 yards, a touchdown and an interception in Detroit's 28-20 loss to Pittsburgh.
Despite Stafford's presence on the sidelines at Lambeau, the 2009 No. 1 pick's right knee injury -- suffered on a Week 4 sack at Chicago -- may be worse than first feared. According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, Stafford had some additional swelling in the knee Wednesday, and will send his MRI results to famed surgeon Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion. Should surgery become necessary, Stafford would likely be out until 2010.
Lions general manager Martin Mayhew disputer Mortensen's report.
"It's just gossip," Mayhew told the Detroit Free Press. "It's gossip. I'm not going to comment on it. I'm not going to give it any credence or credibility by making a statement about it."
The Lions' wide receiving corps gets a lot less formidable without the dynamic Johnson. Bryant Johnson and Dennis Northcutt will likely be Detroit's starters, with increased roles for rookie Derrick Williams and recently re-signed John Standeford.
Sunday's injury news was more promising elsewhere in the NFC North -- Vikings rookie wide receiver Percy Harvin will be active against Baltimore, despite a shoulder injury.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-18-2009 @ 12:28PM
dmack said...
Culpepper is better than Stafford anyways, oh yeah, and who really cares about the Lions??
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10-19-2009 @ 9:51AM
toddsworld05 said...
your a freaking idiot dmac,I care about the lions and stafford is much better than culpepper
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10-19-2009 @ 11:46AM
Darin said...
I am a lions fan....but sorry to say...it's too bad they won that game against Washington...they do deserve the record for losses as they REALLY ARE the worst team/sports franchise in modern day history
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10-19-2009 @ 11:48AM
Darin said...
Too bad they won against the skins as they do deserve the record for most consecutive losses...they truely are the worst team/sports franchise in modern day history
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10-19-2009 @ 2:24PM
Dutchthunder said...
Stafford standing the sidelines yesterday looked like a big, dumb, buck-toothed 14-year-old; hat on backwards, teeth hanging out, hair askew and a bewildered look on his face. Not an inspiring, motivating look for a quarterback to have.
Get a haircut, keep your lips together, look like a team leader, act like a team leader, not like some doofus that suddenly rolled out of bed and dashed off to watch a game in which he seemed to have no interest.
The Team deserves better, the fans deserve better!
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10-19-2009 @ 3:15PM
John said...
Dmac---Outback has their blooming onions, we have our blooming idiot in dmac
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10-20-2009 @ 3:54PM
basman1234 said...
I used to go to the Lions training camp as a kid when they practiced at Cranbrook. The have sucked hard since Bill Ford bought the team. The Lions are the ONLY team in the NFL to have had three stadiums,, Tiger Stadium, the Silverdome and now Ford Field. so you KNOW Ford is making money on the team. They say that for every bad draft year in the NFL, it takes three years to recover. Football genious, Matt Millen had FIVE years of bad drafts, That's 15 years to recover. They better get some linmen for this kid at QB, or he'll be running for his life like Barry Sanders (undeniably the BEST of ALL running backs to EVER play the game) did.
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