Stafford the key to a franchise turnaround for Lions
The Detroit Lions have been the cellar dwellers of the NFL for the last decade and have become the joke of the league. Terrible management and poor draft choices prevented the team from improving for a long time. Ever since the retirement of Barry Sanders, the team has not contended for the play-offs and is yet to make it to the Super Bowl in the franchise’s history.
The Lions officially hit rock bottom in 2008 when they had the worst season in league history going 0-16. That led to a rebuilding project going into the next off-season. The team needed a new quarterback to act as a strong foundation for a revival. With the first pick, they selected Matthew Stafford out of the University of Georgia in the 2009 draft.
Stafford was drafted as a starting point to rebuild the team and eventually lead them to a new level of greatness, the likes of which this franchise has yet to see. He had a good rookie showing last year, passing for 2,267 yards and 13 touchdowns in what was a shortened season. He only played 10 games after suffering injuries to his knee and shoulder.
The highlight of his season, and one which illustrated his poise and toughness, was in a game against the Cleveland Browns. With the Lions down by six, they drove to the Browns one-yard line for the last play of the game. Stafford injured his shoulder on the previous play but insisted on finishing the game. He threw the winning touchdown pass while still wincing in pain. He led the Lions to their first victory in two years with a 19-14 victory over the Washington Redskins in Week three.
Stafford showed some good signs last year and was able to perform well despite having no defensive support and poor pass protection. He was missing a solid running game which would have made his rookie season easier. His injuries were likely caused from constantly taking hits and being forced to carry the offence.
The good news is that the Lions have made some major improvements in drafting defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh second overall and drafting running back Jahvid Best 30th overall. That gives them both a defensive boost and a boost to the running game.
Stafford threw 20 interceptions last year, which is a normal habit for a rookie on a struggling team. Stafford said the mistakes were caused by trying to make a play that wasn’t there. It’s a difficult lesson for young quarterbacks that can only be learned the hard way. They have to learn when to throw the ball out of harm’s way and live to fight another down.
Many of Stafford’s mistakes came on third-and-long last year. The Lions were constantly playing from behind and there’s no doubt that at times, Stafford was pressured to make big plays quickly.
"I've got to be better at trusting our backs," he said. "You just throw a checkdown and let them run and try to go get the first down, knowing that the best teams in the league convert 35 percent on third-and-long. Not everybody's making it every time. The goal this year is to stay out of that as much as possible."
Detroit coach Jim Schwartz has defended Stafford saying it’s unfair to criticize a rookie quarterback playing for a team that went 2-14. He thinks that what makes Stafford better at reducing his mistakes is to surround him with better players. Schwartz simply said that for Stafford to be better, the Lions have to be better.
"Generally, the quarterbacks that throw a lot of interceptions are on losing teams," Schwartz said. "I don't know what came first, the chicken or the egg. But I'll tell you a good recipe for throwing an interception: Be down by 17 points with four minutes to go in the game and so you need three scores and you don't have a whole lot of guys that you can go to and get open.”
It turns out a lot of interceptions Stafford threw came in the late moments of a game in desperation throws. That brought up his total, understandably. If Stafford is surrounded by better players, that'll make him more comfortable and reduce his mistakes. We can't forget that many rookies struggle. Peyton Manning struggled in his rookie year but he made the jump with experience and better players around him; just look at him and the Colts now.
Whatever the solution is, you have to believe that Lions’ fans want it quickly. They’ve remained loyal to the team throughout their futile seasons and want to finally call their team winners. Stafford has to be the one that brings the franchise from the ashes and makes them a contending team. As the Lions continue to rebuild, Stafford will build, and hopefully for Detroit, they can put their most embarrassing days of football behind them.
Tags: