The Lions looked almost like a good football team yesterday in Detroit.  Daunte Culpepper got the start in this game and he completed 7 of 12 passes for 67 yards with 1 TD pass.  Matthew Stafford followed Culpepper in the game and he was also good completing 13 of 19 passes for 160 yards with 1 interception.  Drew Stanton finished out the game and he was sharp completing 4 of 6 passes for 56 yards with 1 TD pass (the eventual game winner).  Kevin Smith was very effective in this game as he carried the ball 8 times for 50 yards (6.3 ypc).  He also caught 3 passes for 33 yards (11.0 avg) in this game.  WRs Calvin Johnson (67 yards) and Derrick Williams (63 yards) each caught 4 passes apiece in this game.  The Lions finished up with 412 yards of total offense in this game (151 rushing, 261 passing).

Linebacker Julian Peterson led the way for the Lions in this game with 8 tackles.  The Lions held the Colts to 299 total yards in this game (50 rushing, 249 passing).

The Lions got absolutely destroyed by the Browns last Saturday Night as they were behind 20-0 at the end of the first quarter.  Matt Stafford got the start in this game and he often looked like a deer in headlights completing only 5 of 13 passes for 34 yards with a pickoff.  Daunte Culpepper was solid in this game completing 10 of 16 passes for 86 yards.  Drew Stanton finished up the game completing 5 of 12 passes for 66 yards with 1 TD pass.  Fullback Jerome Felton led the Lions in rushing in this game with 34 yards on 7 carries (4.9 ypc).  WRs Dane Looker and D.J. Boldin each caught 3 passes for 39 yards (13.0 avg) to lead the way in the passing game for the Lions in this game.  TE Carson Butler only caught 1 pass in this game but it was good for a 20-yard TD from Drew Stanton.  The Lions finished up with 288 total yards on offense (102 rushing, 186 passing) and that’s not good when you consider they were playing against the Browns’ defense.

Linebacker Jordon Dizon led a not so hot performance by the Lions’ defense with six tackles.  The Browns rushed for a stunning 194 yards (6.1 ypc) in this game which made the fact that they only threw for 154 yards mean less.  The Lions’ special teams were also terrible as Joshua Cribbs ran a punt 84 yards for a TD against them in this game.  The Lions looked like last year’s version last Saturday Night.

The Lions have signed 26-year old linebacker Rufus Alexander to a contract.  Alexander hasn’t shown much in his NFL career to date playing in 1 game (0 starts) for the Vikings and not making even one tackle.  He’s a long shot to make the Lions and that’s saying quite a bit about his talent level.

The Lions have claimed 25-year old WR/KR Glenn Holt off waivers from the Vikings.  Holt played in 15 games (2 starts) for the Bengals last season and he caught 3 passes for 26 yards (8.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.   He also returned 46 kickoffs for 1,110 yards (24.1 avg) last season for the Bengals.  Holt’s special teams play is likely what appeals to the Lions who are pretty well set at WR for this season.  Holt has now played in 42 games (2 starts) in his 3 year NFL career and he has caught 20 passes for 172 yards (8.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Holt has also returned 122 kickoffs for 2,961 yards (24.3 avg) with 1 TD in his career.  This was a good move for the Lions.

Daunte Culpepper will start the Lions’ third preseason game on Saturday against Indianapolis over first overall pick Matthew Stafford, Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz announced today.  He added that Culpepper will play into the second quarter before giving the ball up to Stafford.

Schwartz insists that competition for the starting job on September 13 at New Orleans is still wide open.

“I don’t want to handicap it one way or the other,” Schwartz said. “But the final decision has not been made.”

Stafford, a rocket-armed Georgia product, has looked shaky in two preseason efforts.  His poor accuracy through two exhibition contests has led to him completing only 12 of 27 passes with two interceptions. The young QB looked especially green in his first preseason start last week, during which his passer rating was a mere 14.6.

Culpepper, a 10-year veteran with Minnesota, Miami and Oakland, played five games for the Lions last season.  He threw for 4 touchdowns and six interceptions while contributing to the worst regular season record in NFL history.   But although he possesses a boatload of experience over Stafford along with two thirty touchdown seasons under his belt, Stafford’s raw talent is making this race tight. Jim Schwartz, welcome to the NFL.

“It’s going to be based on the information we have at hand,” he said, “not from wetting our finger and holding it up in the air, not from taking a poll and not from an ‘ask the audience’ lifeline or anything like that.”

He added, “We’re going to do what’s best for our club.  We’re going to do what’s best for the guy that we drafted, not what somebody outside of the building says and not what worked best for another player. Every player is different.”