Stanton gets the nod

• Lions quarterback Drew Stanton (here’s a link to his website) will get the start against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Drew was drafted in the second round (43rd overall) in 2007 by he who shall not be named’s regime.  Stanton played in 3 games in 2008 and came in last week after the half in the 31-24 loss to Arizona after Culpepper completed his decent into the trash can.  Stanton went 10 for 19 and 72 yards with 1 pick and a rushing TD, his first as a pro.  The team rallied as soon as Stanton came in with Louis Delmas returning a pick 101 yards and Maurice Morris rushing for a 64 yard TD.
  Is Stanton talented enough to be the future back-up in Detroit or possibly to be a starter in the NFL?  This is more or less an audition for Stanton.  How will he handle himself in the start and more importantly, how will he handle being the leader on the field.  I’m looking forward to the game and sincerely hope Drew performs well.
• Lions rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford will finish the season on IR and have minor surgery on his knee.
  

  This is a procedure that our doctors … anticipate him walking actually out of the operating room,” Schwartz said.

  Drew Stanton, if he plays well, will likely start the remainder of the season.

• The NFL is starting to take head injuries more seriously.  This is a good thing.  Multiple concussions and playing with the injury can lead to future problems including diminished capacity in players.
  

  "Ten years ago, when a concussion happened, it was more like asking the player, ‘How many fingers am I holding up?’ " Podell said. "And if you were within two, you were good to go. "Based on research, we know those pros often tend to recover in five to seven days.”

• If the Lions remain at 2 wins for the season and the Rams can win one more game, Detroit will have a shot at the first pick in the 2010 NFL draft.  Can anyone say Suh?  I’d really like to see Stanton lead the Lions to victories the last two games but getting Suh in the draft would be fantastic.  If the Lions do win out, the worst they would fare in the draft is 6th.  They’ll have a shot at getting a top notch player no matter what.
• What’s up with Jason Hanson?  He has, year after year, been the most reliable player on the Lions and one of the better kickers in the NFL.  This season, he can’t seem to hit the side of a barn (mostly from long range).  Is it a mental thing or physical.  He needs to find out soon so the Lions can decide what to do next season.  Hanson has been great but he needs to make those field goals to help win games.  Jason is an 18 year veteran and I don’t know if he’s considering retirement or not but, I’d rather he fix the problem and continue to be a valuable part of the Lions team in the future, which looks bright as a whole.