Top draft pick Matthew Stafford will be the starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions' regular-season opener Sunday in New Orleans, Lions coach Jim Schwartz announced Monday. Stafford has beaten out veteran Daunte Culpepper for the job and will join No. 5 overall pick Mark Sanchez of the Jets as a rookie starting quarterback on Day One of the 2009 NFL season.The Stafford-Culpepper competition was, by all accounts, a close one, with the veteran Culpepper having reported to camp in top shape. He impressed the coaching staff with his mobility, arm strength and attitude during offseasn workouts and the preseason. But in several interviews with FanHouse this summer, Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan also praised Stafford, saying at one point that "you don't get the feeling you're dealing with a rookie quarterback."
"This isn't an internship, this isn't a trial basis," Schwartz told reporters at the Lions' practice today. "He's our starting quarterback."
"The criteria was that he needed to be ready and he needed to be our best quarterback," Schwartz said. "And I thought in both of those cases (he was). His command of the offense is very good. His command of what defenses are doing is very good. And what he needed to do was play. I think he had a very good preseason."




