Matthew Stafford May or May Not Start Against Baltimore
By Sean Yuille Dec 8, 2009, 8:17am EST
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Jim Schwartz said on Monday that he has a "pretty good idea" of Matthew Stafford's status for Sunday's game at the Ravens, but in typical Schwartz fashion, he declined to say anything more for competitive reasons.
"I've got a pretty good idea of his status, but I don't feel any need to tell Baltimore that information," Schwartz said. "They play Monday night this week, so they are already facing a short week and the difficulties that brings. I'd rather not help their game-planning process by letting them know which quarterback we expect to play."
Schwartz went on to say that one of the main things that will determine whether or not Stafford starts is if his left shoulder can be further injured by playing.
"If there was something going on where he could make it worse by playing, we would have to think a lot harder about having him on the field," he said. "Right now, though, it is just a matter of pain management. If he can deal with the pain -- and that's a conversation we have on a constant basis -- he's our starting quarterback."
The other main thing that will determine whether or not Stafford plays is if he can be effective in spite of the pain he is in.
"I think the other thing that we look at when guys are injured is whether they're able to be effective as a player. There are a lot of times that a guy can go and play, but he's not 100 percent and it's better to put somebody else in there. All of those considerations will go into his status for this week and moving forward."
This is really the source of all of the debate over whether or not Stafford should have played as long as he did on Sunday and if he should play this week. It is just part of the situation, obviously, but it is definitely a topic worth discussing.
Stafford has played extremely poorly the last two games, and if that is because of his shoulder, then I would probably opt for him sitting against Baltimore. This basically boils down to if an injured Stafford will give the Lions a chance to win, or at least more of a chance than if Daunte Culpepper is the starting quarterback. To me, as long as Stafford can't do any more damage to his left shoulder, he should play if he can be effective. If he is in too much pain, which is behind his struggles the last couple games, then I would rather see Daunte Culpepper. There is no point to put him out there against a team like the Ravens, who are known for having a hard-hitting defense, if he is going to be in extreme pain after every single hit. At the same time, if he can manage the pain enough to play well, then by all means play him.
I know this topic has already produced quite the debate since Sunday, but leave your thoughts on whether or not Stafford should play this week and vote in the poll below.
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