First order of business: Rod Marinelli announced at his weekly press conference today that Dan Orlovsky will start this week against New Orleans. No surprise there. Orlovsky gives the Lions (0-14) the best chance to win. He's taken care of the ball in his five starts, does a fine job managing the game and played well against Indianapolis after missing five games with a thumb injury.

“That wasn't the same Dan that I saw in the Vikings game running out of the end zone that ended up on the bloopers that will be on bloopers for the rest of his life,” running back Kevin Smith said. “This was a nice, smooth, comfortable – you  could tell he was very comfortable. He had a swagger like, 'You know what, I'm the man in charge, I'm going to make it happen, I'm going to come out here and help my team beat Indy.' And to me that's the way he performed. I give him an A.”

Even if Daunte Culpepper was 100 percent – and Marinelli said he's not and is “probably not in the mix right now” –  starting Orlovsky this week would be an easy decision. Marinelli wouldn't commit to Orlovsky long term, but I think it's safe to say the free-agent-to-be will finish the season under center unless his right thumb or another injury makes that impossible.

As for his future, Orlovsky will generate some interest on the open market this winter and I'd be surprised if he didn't sign elsewhere. He's only 25, is likable off the field and has just two turnovers (both after he fractured his thumb) in 126 pass attempts as a starter. The Lions, meanwhile, have four other quarterbacks under contract next year in Culpepper, Jon Kitna, Drew Stanton and Drew Henson, and could select a signal caller No. 1 overall.

“That'll take care of itself when the time comes,” Orlvosky said Monday when asked if he wants to re-sign with the Lions. “I'm just going to continue to focus this week on New Orleans.”

I hypothesized in my game story today that, had Orlovsky been healthy the whole season, the Lions would be in the same 0-for predicament they're in now. Maybe that isn't totally fair considering the leads they had against Tampa Bay and Carolina (though the truth is the Lions were intent on starting Culpepper even before Orlovsky got hurt), but my point was that a healthy Orlovsky doesn't atone for a wretched defense.

Still, there's no disputing how much the Lions have been hurt by their quarterback shuffle. Remember, Jon Kitna started the first four games of the season, then Orlovsky made four starts, then five for Culpepper, now (likely) three more for Orlovsky.

“There's no continuity at that position for us,” Marinelli said. “That's not an excuse. We still got to go execute that game, that day. But when you just lack a little bit of the continuity that you need to move the ball consistently …

“He did a great job, came in with a week of preparation. Some of it here is just mentally. He knows where to go with the ball. So he did a nice job like that and hopefully we'll get another good week of improvement from him.”