Lots of good stuff on this thread....
I got to watch the TB game and I thought Joey looked great, but the best is still to come. It was clear to me that he wasn't quite 100% on the same page as his receivers. I was encouraged by how much time he got to throw, a factor that was severely lacking for him in Detroit.
A lot of people are bringing up the comparison with Daunte. To me, Daunte is just as unproven in his current condition as Joey. We just don't know how he will do without his former scrambling ability and without Randy Moss to loft the ball to. He's going to have to make some plays, and I have yet to see him really doing it in the pre-season. That was a nice TD pass, but most of the time Daunte stunk up the joint in this last game. You have to be honest: Joey looked at least as good and probably better.
A lot of people say that Joey is a great pre-season QB. Well that is true, but remember this: Joey always had the full complement of players in the pre-season, and then by the time the season started, his receivers always got injured. Specifically, Charles Rogers comes to mind, but Roy Williams had frequent injuries as well, and so did Az Hakim. The Lions are the only team I have ever seen that had to start two different practice squad guys at WR in the same season (David Kircus and Scottie Vines). That means they went through like 5 or 6 guys and had to raid the practice squad. That is pathetic. Whoever said those receivers didn't get separation was absolutely on the money. Couple this with an incredibly predictable offense, and Joey was hamstrung before he ever begun.
I tend to think that Daunte will be the starter unless he gets injured, but I also think that he had better not get injured for long, or HE might be the trade bait, not Joey. Also, I would pay a lot of $$$ to see Joey start at Ford field this Thanksgiving. Wouldn't it be interesting if Saban let him start that game even with a healthy Culpepper?