"Shaun Hill has been surprisingly effective in his limited time as an NFL starter -- he has a 10-6 career record -- despite playing on some decidedly mediocre teams.

There's a reason for that, Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said.

"He probably understands the game better than most quarterbacks do because he really works at it harder," Linehan said. "I don't know that there's any quarterback that prepares any more in a detailed fashion for a game, whether he's starting or a backup."

Hill will make his first start as a Lion in Sunday's home opener against the Eagles. He replaces Matthew Stafford, who sprained his right shoulder in last week's 19-14 loss to the Bears.

"Shaun's got a lot of trust in the locker room," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said Wednesday. "They know what kind of quarterback he is and I think that the players respect that. That's not a sell job, that's not a massage job. Shaun will go in and lead the team."

Clearly, the Lions are better off with Stafford, last year's No. 1 overall pick, at quarterback. Stafford led two touchdown drives in a half of action last week against the Bears, while Hill had two turnovers and went three-and-out five times in eight second-half drives.

But players and coaches say Hill is the kind of insurance policy the Lions haven't had at quarterback in some time. Last year, the Lions went 0-6 and struggled to move the ball in games Stafford did not start."