| Andrew Perna. 16th December, 2008 - 2:18 pm
 There are just two weeks remaining in the NFL season, and the Detroit Lions have yet to win a single game. That means that you, no matter who you may be, have at the very least won just as many football games this calendar year as Rod Marinelli's team.
The Lions will host the Saints this coming Sunday in their home finale before traveling to Green Bay to battle the Packers in the season's final weekend.
After a rough stretch of opponents in recent weeks -- including the Titans and Colts -- the Lions will face off against a pair of teams that are fighting for absolutely nothing, and undoubtedly less than they are battling for, or rather, looking to avoid.
On Monday, Marinelli named Dan Orlovsky the team's starting quarterback against New Orleans. Daunte Culpepper, who was signed to try and help resurrect the team's season, is suffering from both a shoulder injury and a bruised ego after playing relatively poorly in five games.
Orlovsky may not have the reputation or personal accolades of guys like Culpepper and Jon Kitna, but he has been Detroit's best quarterback this season.
Lions' Quarterback Statistics For 2008
Player: Games, Comp. %, Yards, YPA, TD, Int, Rating
Dan Orlovsky: 8, 58.4, 1,266, 6.7, 6, 4, 80.3
Daunte Culpepper: 5, 52.2, 786, 6.8, 4, 6, 63.9
Jon Kitna: 4, 56.7, 758, 6.3, 5, 5, 72.2
I opted to omit the numbers of Drew Stanton and Drew Henson, who have attempted a combined sixteen passes. Not nearly enough to accurately gauge effectiveness.
Looking purely at the numbers, Orlovsky has been the most efficient quarterback in all facets of the position. You just have to forget the immortal, self-induced safety that has become a part of YouTube lore.
When you lose fourteen games, you are bound to lose each a little differently. Taking a look at how Detroit has performed in Orlovsky's five starts only confirms that he is the right man for the job, not only against the Saints this Sunday, but also in the season finale in Green Bay.
The Lions have lost nine games by an average of 19.2 points when Orlovsky doesn't start this season. Their average margin of defeat, no matter how depressing it might seem, drops to 6.2 points in the five losses that the former UConn star has started.
Detroit has scored 18.4 points in Orlovsky's starts and 16.8 in those other nine games. That isn't a huge difference, or at least not as much as the disparity in point differential, but it does prove that he has helped relieve some of the pressure on Marinelli's horrible defense.
More light bulbs on the scoreboard means that the offense is on the field longer, and in turn, the defense gets more time to catch its breath.
The old adage is that the best offense is a good defense, but when your defensive unit is as horrible as Detroit's, perhaps the best defense is a halfway decent offense.
It's also worth noting that Orlovsky will be a free agent at the end of the season.
"I'm not thinking about it like that," Orlovsky told the Detroit Free Press last week. "I understand the situation. ... But I'm just going to go out and play. I'll be prepared, and I'll know where to go with the football. And I'm confident that I'll be able to go and play well and move this team down the field.
"That'll take care of itself. It's nothing that concerns my mind."
That's a good sign for the Lions, but something that could start concerning the organization's mind is if Orlovsky is able to lead them to a franchise-saving victory in the season's final two weeks.
Andrew Perna is a Senior Writer for RealGM.com. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail – Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. |
