After some back and forth battling in camp between Daunte Culpepper and Matthew Stafford, the Lions have finally come to a decision. The decision they made was to go with rookie quarterback, Matthew Stafford. Some people like the decision because he was their number one draft pick, and they feel that he needs to start playing to get better. I, on the other hand, do not agree.

The Lions are throwing Stafford into a situation where he is bound to struggle. That, I feel, is the worst thing you can do for a young player, especially a quarterback. Look at David Carr for instance. He was thrown right into a mediocre situation, and the rest of his career has been affected by that. He plays scared, and he has a lack of confidence in his offensive lines, which is a direct result of being sacked a million times on an inexperienced offensive line in Houston. Once your mind becomes affected, your game will undoubtedly follow. I feel that it would be much smarter for teams to let young quarterbacks develop on the sidelines and in practice.

Sometimes, though, I do think that playing a rookie quarterback right away makes sense. The times that it makes sense are when they are coming to a good team, and there is a real chance that they can have success. They do not need to feel the burden of carrying the team by themselves, and they can let the game come to them. Playing with this approach can get the young quarterback some victories, and thus they can build their confidence.

That, of course, is not the case with Stafford. He is coming onto a team that was 0-16 last season, and I feel that this could seriously hurt him in the long run. Not only that, but I feel that the Lions have a viable starter in Culpepper. He still has a strong arm, and the type of player, in Calvin Johnson, that can help him be successful. Stafford could really learn a lot from watching a guy like Culpepper who has been around for a while and has been successful in this league.

Well, I guess you don't go 0-16 unless you have some terrible decision-making along the way, and the Lions still clearly have that. 

With the 16th pick in the 1985 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks changed the face of the league as we know it. With that pick, they selected Bill "Loney" Wennington out of St. John's University. This 7 foot monster spent several nondescript seasons with the Mavericks, Kings, and Virtus Bologna before going to play for the Chicago Bulls, and subsequently changing his career forever. 

With Michael Jordan and the Bulls, Wennington had a defined and vital role. He did everything right, and he made one of the best teams in NBA history possible. "Without Wennington," stated Bulls Coach Phil Jackson, "this team would not have been as good. Nobody realized this, but he was the glue that held everything together." When you hear that from one of the best coaches in the history of the game, you know that it is legitimate. But what did Wennington do that Phil Jackson loved so much?

Years later, it came out that there was some inner turmoil in the Bulls locker room early on in the 1998 season. Players would fight at practice, including a fist fight between Michael Jordan and Steve Kerr, and Bill was always there to settle things down. Both parties would always appreciate what Wennington would do to break things up, and everyone agreed that he had a gift that allowed this Bulls team to stay together. Although Wennington was great at being the peacemaker, he also made some contributions on the court. 

Wennington's shining moment came in a game when MJ scored 55 points against the Knicks, in his memorable return to MSG. Even with Jordan scoring 55 that night, the game was still tight in the waning moments. It was a tie game with a few seconds left, as Jordan went up for a fade away jump shot. As he went up, he got triple teamed, and Jordan saw Wennington cutting to the basket. At that moment, MJ dumped the ball off to Wennington for the game-winning dunk. It was a typical Wennington play, as it goes under the radar, and it gets lost behind Jordan's 55 point game.

That was what Wennington was all about and it was the reason that the team always respected him. He always made sure to put the team first, and winning was more important than personal achievements. 

Wennington retired in the year 2000 with the Sacramento Kings. Over the course of his career, Wennington averaged a mere 4.6 points per game and 3 rebounds per game.

Wennington currently does color commentary for the Chicago Bulls.