Next week should be crucial for Lions

The Lions were off on a bye this week, so obviously it wasn't a very influential week. But next week, on the other hand, could be a very important one for them.

A statement will be made next Sunday, when the Lions take on the woeful St. Louis Rams. It will tell us a lot about our team. If the Lions win, it'll put them at 2-4, nothing great, but at least it would mean that they are capable of beating some of the slop that is at the bottom of the NFL. If they lose, it'll leave us questioning whether- after all this rebuilding- the "new" Lions are really that much improved from last year's squad.

And that isn't the only reason that the Lions need the win. It shouldn't be too hard to forget the dillema that they are in with fans and ticket sales. Win, and they should prevent a few blackouts. Lose, and they'll be lucky to sell out any games other than Thanksgiving.

Of course, their chances of winning ought to be highly impacted by whether or not Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford play. Johnson is the Lions' best player, at least on offense, and Stafford is probably the only quarterback on the roster capable of getting the ball to him.

I'm not kidding. I've decided that, from here on out, the Lions' best hopes of rebuilding lie in Matt Stafford. I was once a stubborn believer of the sit-back theory, but only now do I realize that the Lions are best off keeping him out there, partially because of their current situation, and partially because of the type of player that Stafford is

The scary part is over with. They got the win. Now that the pressure is off, Stafford ought to be able to concentrate better. He's made some mistakes early on, but he is improving. It'll take some time, but by next year, Stafford could potentially be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. No joke.

Earlier in this article I mentioned the "type of player" that Stafford is. There are different types of quarterbacks out there. I've realized that while Stafford is no Matt Ryan, he's not the type that you should have sit back and watch either. Peyton Manning would agree with me, although that might only be because, at the time, he was trying to convince the Lions to start Stafford in hopes that someone could break the record he set for most interceptions as a rookie.

Daunte Culpepper is clearly nowhere close to his old self, throwing a bunch of lobs. Stanton might have been a great quarterback, but, alas, it appears that the Lions have ruined him. So I repeat, their best hopes lie in Stafford.

Let's hope that it's an option next Sunday.