Who is to blame for Detroit's discouraging start?

A little over nine months ago the Detroit Lions were one horrible pass-interference call away from winning their first playoff game since 1991. Today, they are the worst team in football.

Yep, we got a real dumpster fire at Ford Field.

One season removed from finishing 11-5 and leading the Dallas Cowboys 20-7 in the second half of that fateful playoff game, the Lions might as well be back in 2008.

You know, the year when they finished 0-16, arguably one of the worst seasons in American professional sports history.

All that hard work, all for nothing. All that effort to pull themselves out of the mire, undone in five weeks.

After struggling to hold onto and move the ball consistently through the first four games, the Lions got blown out against the Cardinals 42-17 on Monday (AEST).

Quarterback Matthew Stafford was benched after throwing three interceptions, the rest of the offence turned the ball over twice more, and the Lions were relentlessly booed at home.

The Lions still hold the dubious distinction of being the NFL’s only winless team and the whispers about the possibility of another 0-16 season have started. So have the questions about who should be held accountable, who should be benched and who should be sacked.

Lions coach Jim Caldwell said after Monday’s game that Stafford’s spot under centre was safe.

“It’s like a pitcher not having a very good day,” Caldwell said of his quarterback. “That pitcher comes out and the pitcher, obviously, he’s still the starter. He’s still our starter, so there will be no issues there. There is no quarterback controversy or anything of that nature.”

A coach talking about quarterback controversies can be a kiss of death. Like when a chief executive comes out to publicly support an embattled rugby league coach – you just know that coach is getting fired.

The first rule of any quarterback controversy: if a coach goes out of his way to say there isn’t one, then there almost certainly is.

Stafford was 20-32 for 188 yards, a touchdown and three critical interceptions against Arizona. He has eight picks and six touchdowns through five games and has been sacked seven times and lost one fumble. His interception total is the most in the NFL.

Much of the blame for Detroit’s disappointing start has been levelled at Stafford’s undisciplined play and his inability to move the Lions down the field.

But an equal amount seems to have been heaped on Lions second-year offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. Lombardi was praised in 2014 for revamping the Lions offence, but this year he has faced questions about his gameplan, schemes and the continuity of his play calling.

It seems obvious the offensive struggles begin at the line of scrimmage. Stafford’s interceptions have cruelled his team’s chances in just about every game this season. The 27-year-old quarterback plays his best football safely inside a clean pocket. He has seen few of those in 2015.

On a number of those crucial takeaways, Stafford was either under heavy pressure or being flushed out of the pocket. Although it should be noted that some of those interceptions have just been errant or ill-advised throws, including two picks in separate games to defensive ends that Stafford doesn’t even appear to see.

Against the Cardinals, poor clock management forced Stafford to burn a time-out on the opening series. On the very next play, the Cardinals’ edge rush pushed Stafford up into the pocket and to the left. He ran sideways and threw across his body and into the arms of Cardinals safety Rashad Johnson.

His second interception came on a pass that could have sprung rookie Ameer Abdullah for a big gain. But Stafford didn’t even look where he was throwing and tossed it straight to Cardinals defensive end Corey Redding.

The third interception came with the Cardinals up 28-7 in the third quarter. Stafford told reporters later he had been advised at half-time he would be benched if he threw another pick. That didn’t stop him from taking a chance on Calvin Johnson down the right sideline. But it was a desperate throw and there seemed to be little or no communication with Megatron as Stafford either threw to the wrong spot or underthrew the talented wide-receiver.

These three plays show Stafford has clearly regressed since last season and certainly since his breakout 5000-yard 41-touchdown season in 2011.

So what should the Lions do? I think they have two choices. Keep starting Stafford and try and make the best of a hopeless season. Keep in mind the Lions’ playoff chances are dead and buried at 0-5. No team has come back from such a start to make the post-season. They’d have to win every game the rest of the way just to match last year’s finish, and that’s not happening.

But perhaps with Stafford the Lions finish 2-14 or 3-13 and at least avoid the ignominy of another 0-16 season. Stafford undoubtedly gives the Lions the best chance to win (which is saying something about the ability of back-up Dan Orlovsky).

The other option is put Orlovsky in and let history repeat itself. Orlovsky started seven games in 2008 when the Lions were winless. That way the Lions would finish with the first overall pick in the draft and could select someone like California Golden Bears quarterback Jared Goff or Ohio State’s Cardale Jones. The Lions could then cut ties with Stafford and Detroit could pin their hopes on another young quarterback.

Stafford signed a three-year, $53 million contract extension two years ago, but his potential cap hit finally becomes manageable after this season, according to Bleacher Report. If the Lions decided to move on from Stafford after the season, the organisation would save $11.5 million in cap space.

Hypothetically, the team could then turn around and select a quarterback with the number one overall pick in the 2016 draft and still save about $6.75 million.

I think that’s the way to go. Stafford has shown he is not the quarterback to lead the Lions to the Super Bowl. It’s time to fail for Cardale, as they say. Or just lose and select Goff. It’s not as catchy, but he might be the better long-term quarterback.