FanHouse DrewStanton

Not all that long ago, the Dolphins took a shot on John Beck as their starting quarterback. The 40th-overall pick in the 2007 draft out of BYU, Beck entered the Miami lineup after the team's 0-9 start to 2007. Beck lost four straight, committing eight turnovers and throwing exactly zero touchdown passes in that stretch.

And just like that, Beck's initial chance to be a No. 1 guy in the NFL ended. His career in Miami ended as well earlier this offseason, and now Beck will try to latch on with Baltimore after reportedly agreeing to a one-year deal with the Ravens this weekend.

Matthew Stafford might have had a forgettable first day of practice with his new team, the 0-16 Detroit Lions, but head coach Jim Schwartz was unconcerned.

On Thursday, Mark Sanchez told FanHouse's Ariel Helwani (as well as everybody else he talked to the last week or so) that he was all but certain quarterback Matthew Stafford would go to the Lions with the first overall pick.

Looks like he was right.

A week ago, the team reportedly opened negotiations with Stafford, offensive tackle Jason Smith and linebacker Aaron Curry, presumably in an effort to guarantee that they had somebody under contract come Saturday at 4PM ET.

I give Daunte Culpepper credit. Last fall, he went from his couch to Lions starting quarterback with predictably disastrous results. He weighed close to three bills at the time, and looked nothing like the Pro Bowl quarterback drafted by the Vikings in 1999. A career-threatening knee injury will do that.

Now, nearly four months after the Lions put the finishing touches on an 0-16 season, Culpepper has dropped 30 pounds, regained his confidence, and looks like a completely different player -- both physically and mentally. During the team's first minicamp practice of the offseason, the Detroit Free Press' Nicholas Cotsonika had only laudatory things to say about Culpepper:

Maybe he will go on to NFL greatness, but for now, Dan Orlovsky is best known as "that dude who ran out of the end zone for no apparent reason." The Lions' 2005 fifth-round pick, Orlovsky started started seven games at quarterback last season, but has decided to test the free-agent market instead of returning to Detroit.

It has less to do with the Lions' 0-16 putridity and more to do with the organization telling Orlovsky, in so many words, that there was a better chance he'd lead the league in rushing yards than win the starting quarterback job.

TAMPA, Fla. -- In talking to a cross-section of the National Football League intelligentsia over the last couple of days, one thing is clear: Almost everyone believes the Detroit Lions are planning to select Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford with the first pick in the NFL draft.

That doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen – remember when everyone thought the Texans would draft Reggie Bush? – but it does mean that other teams are getting prepared for the draft with the thought that the only way they can get Stafford is by trading up for the Lions' pick, something that few teams seem inclined to do.

When quarterback Jon Kitna landed on injured reserve six weeks into the 2008 season, many people figured his Lions career was over. It wasn't an especially earth-shattering notion at the time; the team would use the opportunity to see if Dan Orlovsky was a long-term option, or, worst case, get Drew Stanton some work in the hopes that he might emerge as something more than an embarrassment in 2009.

But these are the Lions we're talking about. Orlovsky was injured a month after taking over for Kitna and Daunte Culpepper was summoned off his couch to take over. Predictably, things didn't go so well.

Lucky for the media, they're only allowed to watch part of Lions' practice, but from what mlive.com's Tom Kowalski saw, things are worse than usual for the team just three games away from 0-16.

If you somehow missed it, Drew Henson, formerly of the New York Yankees, was under center for the last snap of Sunday's loss to the Vikings because Daunte Culpepper suffered a shoulder injury the series before.

Culpepper has since had an MRI on his shoulder and didn't take part in individual drills this afternoon. Dan Orlovsky, who missed the last five games with a thumb injury on his throwing hand, did take part in practice ... and proceeded to look like crap.

"... his throws were very inconsistent. It appears that Orlovsky is still struggling to get a firm grip on the ball. When he tried to really zip a throw, some were on the mark but others sailed high and others wobbled.

There's more (of course there is): Drew Stanton, the biggest embarrassment in the history of professional football, is the healthiest of the three quarterbacks who didn't previously play baseball for a living, although he's coming off a concussion. And he's embarrassing.

You know, it's still not too late to forfeit the Colts game and prepare extra hard for the Saints. Or, better still, maybe head coach Rod Marinelli can spread around some of that invisibility cream he's been bragging about. That might be the Lions last, best hope at avoiding a big fat oh-fer.

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around with his finger in the air while the next he's laying on his back, holding his facemask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's Studs and Duds.

Here's Week 12 at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory.

Studs

Matt Cassel and Randy Moss, New England (8 connections, 125 yards, 3 TDs) -- This team is starting to look a lot like 2007 if you ask me. Cassel has become comfortable, and is riding the huge wave named confidence to victory after dominating victory. Moss put out 100 percent on his routes, caught some beautiful passes from No. 16, who had himself a pretty decent game. Cassel has thrown for 815 yards and six touchdowns, and ran for one, in the last two weeks. I know Varsity Blues is a movie but if Gisele ends up leaving Tom Brady for the USC product I wouldn't be the least surprised. "Hey Tom ... I don't want, your life."

For an 0-9 outfit, expectations are surprisingly high in Detroit. Daunte Culpepper, freshly unretired and with one start already under his belt, will likely be under center this Sunday when the Lions take on the Panthers.

Head coach Rod Marinelli said he was pleased with what he saw from both Culpepper and the backup to the backup, Drew Stanton, in the team's most recent loss (thanks, Jaguars!), but admitted there is room for improvement. (Because the sterling record wasn't proof enough, I guess.)

In any event, Marinelli noted that Culpepper's "presence is really good, his leadership. He's got the arm. So now it's just about having another week and going out and doing it."

I suppose quarterbacks, by default, are team leaders, though it seems reasonable to give Culpepper time to grow into that role since, you know, he still doesn't know all his co-workers' names. Nope. Apparently not. Mlive.com's Tom Kowalski writes that Culpepper needs to fill the Lions leadership void, the sooner the better.

And as he stood in Detroit's locker room some 24 hours after the latest loss, Kowalski observed the unconscionable: