Allen Park, MI (My Sportsbook) - Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz named Matthew Stafford as the starter under center for the team's opener Sunday at New Orleans.

The first overall pick in the 2009 draft, Stafford was named the starter over the more experienced Daunte Culpepper as Detroit seeks to erase the memory of its 0-16 2008 campaign.

"Experience is a funny thing," said Detroit first-year coach Jim Schwartz. "You can only get it by playing. He can't get it by sitting on the bench. There are some guys that may benefit from sitting on the bench and watching somebody else and those people typically don't have a grasp of the offense. They still need to learn what defenses do. Their knowledge isn't up where it needs to be yet.

"He was a different case there. What he lacked is playing experience and there is only one way to get that to him. But this isn't an experiment. This isn't an internship. We're not asking him to go out there and practice. He's out there to win and that's the bottom line in this league."

In the preseason, the Georgia product went 30-for-55 with 389 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. He also fumbled the ball twice.

Detroit gave Stafford a six-year deal worth as much as $78 million with $41.7 million guaranteed.

The Lions are hoping he will be a big piece of the puzzle to help turn around a team that is 40-104 since its last playoff appearance in 1999.