FanHouse Jim Schwartz

There was little on Sunday that matched the drama of the Cleveland-Detroit showdown. Yes, two 1-8 teams gave us a gripping game filled with highlights and lowlights from both sides.

After Matthew Stafford found Brandon Pettigrew for the game-winning touchdown on an untimed down that followed a defensive penalty, Browns coach Eric Mangini -- never one to shy away from controversy -- decided to accuse the Lions of faking injuries during the game.

When you're the Detroit Lions and you're thinking about making Matthew Stafford the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, you're a quivering Jell-O mold of fear and trepidation. Is the kid smart enough? Is he strong enough? Is he tough enough to not just play but thrive in the most crucial position any sport has? Will he represent the team well? Does he make a good impression? Is he a leader? You're risking dozens of millions of dollars and the future of your franchise on questions you really can't hope to answer by the end of April of his junior year of college, and it's scary.

But the flip side is what you know he can be, which is that rarest of NFL commodities -- a franchise quarterback. You imagine a day when he puts the team on his back, overcomes some ridiculous obstacle (an expired clock, say, or an injured shoulder ... or both!) and leads the team to an emotional, season-defining win. You believe he can be that kind of player, and so, you give him the money and hope. And then, in Week 11 of his first season, he gives you a glimpse.

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

That last thing that anyone wants in Detroit, or in the fantasy football world if you own either of these players, is for Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson to have problems getting along. Unfortunately, cameras caught the two young stars in heated debate on the sideline on Sunday as the Lions were losing to Seattle. At least, one side of the argument was heated, Tom Kowalski of Michigan Live says that Johnson was flat-out ignoring what Stafford had to say.

Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.

This has nothing to do with the 26-0 shutout the Packers laid on the Lions last Sunday.

Typically, this space is reserved for a player or players whose performance on a given week made his coach's week miserable or job status shaky. But we're going a little bit bigger picture this week.

In this instance, it was the Lions' brass playing the role of coach killer on a coach manning sidelines over 500 miles south.

NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.

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NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.

Consider this hypothetical: what if two coaches met in a dark alley and threw down in a no-holds-barred brawl? Who would emerge victorious?

First, some background: back when I was in high school, when my friends and I were pretty creative in finding ways to avoid actually paying attention in class, we'd create brackets (think NCAA Tournament) where we'd pit our teachers against each other**. Whoever we thought would win in a fight advanced to the next round. It always ended with our offensive line coach against our wrestling coach in the finals and a huge argument as to who would come out on top.

Anyway, last week, the Back Porch staff somehow ended up discussing whether Rex Ryan or Tom Cable would win in a old school playground scrap. I passed along the above information, and shortly after that, an idea was born -- NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament.

As the Detroit Lions' one-game winning streak was officially snapped Sunday in Chicago, fans were left holding their breath. Quarterback Daunte Culpepper might have been in the game only after it was out of hand, but he was also in there because rookie starter Matthew Stafford had gone down with a knee injury.

While it doesn't sound like Stafford's injury will be a long-term issue, the Lions appear to be planning on him missing Sunday's game against the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco started a trend last season: rookie quarterbacks who started from Week One and led their teams to the playoffs.

So the Detroit Lions and New York Jets are trying it this year with Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez. Although if Stafford gets the Lions from 0-16 to the postseason as a rookie, he probably should go directly to Canton.

In any case, Stafford and Sanchez will start Sunday in New Orleans and Houston as the NFL season finally gets under way after what seems like an eternal offseason.

There are other QB story lines the first week (although folks often forget there are 21 other guys on the field).

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews." We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Without playing a game, the Detroit Lions have matched their 2008 regular season win total. Naturally, this is an embarrassing fact, and one that Lions fans are probably sick of hearing. However, it also serves to show how easy it will be for head coach Jim Schwartz to be hailed as a genius this season. The Lions will win a game (or more!) in 2009, and Schwartz has done some things in the offseason to point this franchise in a positive direction. It's time now for the players to see the benefits of their hard work during the spring and summer.

There's a full boat of NFL preseason games throughout the day Saturday. The games run the gamut for drama, with guys fighting for roster spots, starting quarterback positions, and for the right to clang footballs off a large scoreboard.

Since there are nine games on the docket, we'll hit the key storylines that fans will want to keep an eye on throughout the day.