Peyton Manning is always joking about somebody breaking his rookie interception record.

You can tell he hates owning it.

But he loves the fact he had the chance to get it.

Lions QB options from left: Matthew Stafford, Drew Stanton and Daunte Culpepper. (AP)

The Colts knew there would be mistakes. That's inevitable with a rookie starter. They were building something. And you can see what that is today, a passing offense as good as any and a Super Bowl ring on Manning's hand.

The Detroit Lions have to do the same thing.

They have to play Matthew Stafford as a rookie. Not spot duty. Give him the job. End the stupid debate that's going on in Detroit and name him the starter.

I keep hearing how Daunte Culpepper is in shape and isn't a tackle playing quarterback anymore. I hear he looks good throwing it again, that he's ready for a fight, ready to force new Lions coach Jim Schwartz make a tough decision.

That's all well and good, but what does that do for the franchise if Culpepper starts? Here's what: It stunts future growth.

Culpepper is 32 years old. His best football is behind him. The last time he was any good was in 2004 and he had a guy named Randy Moss in Minnesota.

The Lions aren't a good enough team that a veteran quarterback can make a difference.

They were 0-16 last year. Remember? They won't be a playoff team this season -- no matter who starts.

By playing Culpepper, they would be postponing the inevitable.

This is Stafford's team now and for the long run.

When the Lions used the first pick in this year's draft on Stafford, they landed the franchise passer they've been craving for years.

He is a prototype: Big, strong and understands the passing game.

I've watched enough tape of the kid to know that he has what it takes to be a top-level passer.

The Lions have to know it, too.

So why hesitate to play him? Schwartz has said he will play Stafford when he's ready and when he's the best quarterback for the Lions.

Deep down, he has to know that time is now.

Was Manning ready when he started as a rookie? Probably not, but the experience made him the quarterback he is today.

Manning has told me many times that playing experience is invaluable.

"You just can't get the same thing by watching," he said.

Stafford works with Detroit QBs coach Jeff Horton. (US Presswire)

The Atlanta Falcons started Matt Ryan all 16 games as a rookie in 2008 because they had a new coach and were coming off a losing season. All Ryan did was lead the Falcons to the playoffs.

The book on the Falcons heading into season was they lacked a good enough offensive line to protect Ryan.

Some wondered if the beating would melt his psyche.

But Ryan made the line better. He cured an ill, which good quarterbacks do. Todd McClure, the Falcons center, told me last year Ryan had a strong presence in the huddle, which made it hard to tell he was a rookie from the get-go. The Falcons allowed 47 sacks in 2007. With Ryan, it was down to 17 in 2008.

The Lions do have issues on their offensive line. It is a unit that gave up 52 sacks last season, the worst in the league. That's why we keep hearing how that line could ruin Stafford's confidence if he plays from the opener.

When Manning took over, the Colts had given up 62 sacks the previous year and the team was coming off a 3-13 record. Indy went 3-13 in Manning's rookie season, but he was only sacked 22 times.

As far as Stafford's psyche, does this sound like a kid with a fragile psyche?

"I'm a competitive person," Stafford said. "I love a challenge."

Did the 28 interceptions damage Manning's psyche? Did going 0-11 as a rookie starter ruin Troy Aikman?

That's the point here: If the quarterback is the right guy, rookie struggles won't impact their future.

The playing experience will.

Those who counter will bring up David Carr and Tim Couch and Cade McNown and some of the others whose careers flopped after stating for bad teams early in their careers.

Those passers simply did not meet expectations and, no matter what circumstances, would have failed.

Carr had all the tools to be a star. But the word out of Houston was he wasn't dedicated to the task. That's why he failed. Not because he was sacked a record 76 times.

Detroit fans went down this path in 2002 when the Lions drafted Joey Harrington with the third overall pick. He started as a rookie, struggled behind a bad line, and was later considered a bust.

Harrington didn't have the mental makeup -- or the skills -- to handle being the starter.

That doesn't mean Stafford can't handle it. If the Lions drafted him to turn the franchise around, let him do it.

If he sits this season, that will make 2010 a learning year for him because learning from the sidelines isn't learning on the field.

So let's say Culpepper starts the entire season. The Lions go 3-13. Then what? Stafford has his real rookie season in 2010, and the Lions are starting over again. For coach Schwartz, it would mean Year 3 before a playoff chance is even possible.

By playing Stafford this season and letting him learn on the fly, it might accelerate that timetable.

Matt Stafford wearing a baseball cap on Sundays this fall will do nothing for the Lions' long-term future.

Even if he breaks Manning's rookie interception record -- which Peyton sure hopes -- at least he'd be playing.