There's No Reason to Worry About Calvin Johnson's Fantasy Value

OK, it's not like the Detroit Lions were going to make the playoffs under the guidance of Daunte Culpepper. If anything the choice to start Matthew Stafford over Culpepper was based solely on the fact that Lions management realized they weren't going to be any better or worse. It also comes down to a depressed football town in a depressed economy and yes, putting people in the seats on Sunday. Culpepper was a causality even if he probably was good for at least two more wins.

However, do we really care that much about who the Lions' starting QB was/is gonna be in the fantasy football world? Of course not, all we care about is how this will help or hurt the investment many of us made in Calvin Johnson. From the glass is half-empty perspective, we see this as doom. A starting rookie QB with loads of inexperience trying to be the butter to our No. 1 WR's bread. Then again, from the glass is half-full perspective do we really care who throws the ball to Megatron? He's an animal.

Let's weigh in on the pros and cons before we panic.

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Yes, it's not always an ideal situation any time a rookie QB is asked to carry the burden of a team. Is Stafford going to be given free reign or will he be on a short leash? The conservative guess is that the answer is yes and no. Look, the Lions aren't going to play the yo-yo game with Stafford where he has a couple bad plays or games and gets benched. It's not happening that way. But he certainly won't have the green light to just grip it and rip it.

Stafford will be your typical "game manager" type rookie QB. This doesn't sound so encouraging right now for Calvin Johnson owners, though consider what Roddy White was able to do last season with a rookie QB in Matt Ryan. I know, it's not fair to compare Ryan and Stafford. But you really have to think, what more could Culpepper possibly produce statistically this season?

It's not like Culpepper and Johnson exactly hit it off last year. Those dreams and visions of Culpepper-to-Moss are what they are, delusions. As much as we heard how solid Culpepper looked in camp, he wasn't gonna suddenly revert to the old days and make magic with Megatron. He still was facing the same uphill battle that Stafford will face on a team that sorely lacks talent all around the field. Besides, Johnson made his money more with Dan Orlovsky last season than anyone else.

The encouraging news for Johnson owners is that Stafford has looked to throw the ball downfield this preseason. He's not going to be afraid to test his strengths. And we'd be fools to think he's not going to turn to Megatron as his ace. Not many rookie QBs get to play catch with somebody as gifted as Johnson. This hardly means there won't be those moments where you worry on Sunday, but overall I think Calvin will be just fine.

Let's face it, he ripped it apart last season with a complete disaster happening around him. You weren't concerned about Megatron when you thought Culpepper was going to start, so no need to worry now. He's a freak of nature and it's never really mattered who the QB was gonna be. Johnson will still be a stud, bank on that.