The Lions have gone from relative peace and stability at the quarterback position to a four-ring QB circus in record time. Starting 0-8 will do that. But the best part is that they’ve pulled it off without ever demoting any of the players involved.

Let’s recap:

Jon Kitna. In week one, the Falcons thrashed the Lions’ D, but the offense kept us in the game. It was the third season of the Kitna Era, and the team seemed more or less fine with that. But after the Green Bay collapse, in which Jon both put us in position to win the game and then took us right back out of it, fans were outraged. The situation deteriorated with bad losses in the San Francisco and Chicago games, and when Kitna suffered a back injury against the Bears, the Lions seized the chance to put him on Injured Reserve, even though Kitna said he could still play.

Dan Orlovsky. Former fifth-rounder Danny O’s been on the team approximately 35 years, and never played much. It’s the last year of his contract, and it looked like maybe he’d never get a shot. But 2007 second-round pick Drew Stanton was still recovering from his preseason injury when Kitna got hurt, so in went Orlovsky for the last four and a half games. He didn’t make many mistakes and showed both skill and improvement, but not enough to win any of those games. Fans began to clamor for Stanton, the high draft pick and MSU alumnus. Then Orlovsky got hurt Sunday at Soldier Field. Though Orlovsky said his thumb injury happened on the first play of the game, he’s probably on the shelf now.

Drew Stanton. After spending his rookie season on Injured Reserve, Stanton excited fans with big plays in the preseason. And then, of course, he got hurt again. (Michigan State fans are familiar with the experience of waiting for Stanton to take the reins only to see him get hurt. His knee injury while playing on punt coverage in the 2004 Alamo Bowl is a lowlight of the John L. Smith years.)

Now he’s back, but just before Orlovsky got hurt, Jim Colletto, the Lions’ offensive coordinator, suggested Stanton would embarrass himself if he played for the Lions right now. (Colletto’s suggestion is that Stanton missed too many training camp snaps with his injury.) Stanton took that vote of confidence from his OC as well as could be expected, which is to say, not too well. But with Orlovsky hurt, he gets his shot after all, right?

Daunte Culpepper. Not so fast. Instead Culpepper, the former Vikings Pro Bowler whom Detroit signed over the weekend, apparently already has the inside track on the starting job for Sunday’s game at home against Jacksonville. The question with Culpepper is whether he’s sufficiently recovered from his own injuries to play effectively.

If he plays but isn’t effective, will the Lions bench him or blame an injury?

Looking forward: Culpepper and Stanton. I think if these guys are the #1 and #2 quarterbacks next season, there are some advantages in the sense that they play similarly. Both are rare in that they are mobile QBS who are more powerful than shifty, and that will give Detroit the ability to create one offensive plan that is tailored to both of them, which will make the team more adaptable and better able to handle next season’s QB controversy. See, the Lions are thinking ahead after all!

Just when you think the Lions are hapless, you see the beauty behind the scenes: they are making an art form out of QB crisis management.