Stafford re-injures shoulder, could sit against Ravens

Here we go again. Stafford re-injured his left shoulder in the game against the Bengals this week, which means we can all look forward to a week of speculation as to whether he will play against the Ravens next Sunday. As far as I'm concerned, I have seen what I needed to see out of Stafford this season; there were the expected rookie mistakes, but there have been flashes of brilliance as well. In my eyes Matt Stafford has nothing left to prove to Lion's fans this season, except that he can heal up and return even better next season.
I'm not saying I want Stafford to sit out the last four games this year and that I want to cradle him into the 2010 season, but I think its time we accept this one fact, these games mean nothing. The entire 2009 season has been a preseason for 2010, we needed to focus on identifying holes in the team and we did that, we needed to get these young guys some playing time and we did that to. I don't want to see Stafford out there risking serious injury on a shoulder that has given him trouble on multiple occasions this season. I guess what I'm saying is I want the Lions to do everything they can to be competitive and potentially win another game this year, but I don't want to see them make a mistake that could forfeit future victories.

You can read more about Stafford's injury at www.freep.com and www.detnews.com.

I also recommend reading Jaime Samuelson's on Stafford's injury at freep.com. It takes a similar viewpoint as mine, but has some additional information that I found interesting.
http://www.freep.com/article/20091207/SPORTS01/91207040/1049/No-way-should-Matthew-Stafford-play-through-pain

Stafford Injury

On the second to last play of the Lion's second victory, Matthew Stafford was sent to the ground in an attempt to throw a last second touchdown pass. After the play, which resulted in defensive pass interference and put the Lions on the one yard line, Stafford walked off field with obvious pain in his shoulder and even though he returned to throw the game winning touchdown pass it is now being reported that he likely won't start in the Thanksgiving game against the Packers.

"I don't know, but I'm in a pretty good amount of pain" said Matt Stafford the following day in an interview with Mitch Albom. If this pain holds up I agree that it will be unlikely that Matt Stafford will play against the Packers and rightly so as the Lions need to do everything in their power to protect the sizeable investment they made in this quarterback. It is however unfortunate that this injury came on a career day for Stafford and a hopeful one for all Lions fans. Now it appears we will be forced to watch Dante Culpepper start against the Packers and if his earlier play this season is any indication for this game, it could be another long day for Lions fans.

If you would like to read more on Matt Stafford's injury, coverage can be found at www.freep.com and www.detnews.com

Lions break through against Browns

It didn't start off the way Lions fans had hoped. Falling behind 24-3 in early in the first half, Lions fans were treated to their first come from behind victory in over two seasons. On what was potentially the last play of the game Matt Stafford scrambled out of the pocket to fire a pass into the end zone that was picked off by the Browns, luckily the Browns were called for pass interference in the end zone and the Lions were given one last chance on the Browns one yard line to punch the ball in for a touchdown. The score stood 37-31 in favor of the Browns before Stafford threw his fifth touchdown pass of the game to fellow rookie Brandon Pettigrew. After the extra point the final score was 38-37 in favor of the Leos, giving them their second victory on the season.

In a game this high scoring it's hard to decide on a defensive MVP, so I'm going to go with two offensive players this week. Obviously Matt Stafford showed us what he is capable of doing as an NFL quarterback this week, passing for 422 yards and five touchdowns (according to ESPN.com this was the most touchdowns by a rookie in the modern football era), but also Calvin Johnson had a big game this week and will hopefully quiet some of the naysayers after going for 161 yards and a score in today's ballgame.

If you would like to read more coverage for this game full articles can be found at
www.detnews.com and www.freep.com

Well at least there were no picks

As I'm sure we all predicted, the Lions fell earlier today to the first place Vikings in a 27-10 effort. While I can't say I'm happy about the loss there are some positives that came from this game. We all know Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin are dangerous and that Brett Favre has been killing us for years, but what we didn't know is how Matt Stafford would respond after his worst outing of the season. After a five pick game in Seattle, I thought Stafford responded today with a solid outing, allowing for everything that was stacked against him, he still passed for over 200 yards and threw for one touchdown. Most importantly from this effort is the fact that he threw no interceptions and in my opinion to come out against one of the leagues better defenses and refuse to turn the ball over is a sign I like to see from a rookie quarterback. Maybe I'm just feverishly looking for the silver lining in yet another Lions loss, but these are signs that make me like the pick of Matt Stafford more than I did at draft time.

If you would like to read more about the Lions vs. Viking game, you can find coverage at the following websites.

www.freep.com
www.detnews.com

Stafford or Manning....how is this even a debate?

I know my posts have been really focused on Matt Stafford to this point, but lets face it he is the face (and hopefully the future) of the Lion's franchise. If you've been following the team closely this season you also know he has been the topic of much debate, whether its been the question of starting in the first game or wondering whether his first injury would be one of many to come. I've been able to hold my tongue on these debates until I heard some people making the comparison between Matthew Stafford's and Payton Manning's rookie seasons.
The comparison being made was in the amount of interceptions Manning threw his rookie season (26) and the amount Stafford is on pace to throw (24). Ok I can see that comparison, but don't tell me these rookie seasons are even remotely similar. If you recall Manning also threw 24 touchdown passes that year and Stafford is only on pace for about 12. Even more important than the numbers is how they were achieved. Manning in the last four weeks of that season threw six more touchdowns than picks which means he showed improvement as the season went on. Stafford on the other hand has regressed in his past two games; he managed to put together one drive against the Rams and threw a ridiculous five picks against the Seahawks (a team that by the way only had picked off three passes all season). So the next time you hear someone saying that Stafford isn't all that different from Manning at the same points in their career just remember that one of these guys actually showed progress and the showed incompetence.

From Clicking to Picking: A Matthew Stafford Story

Today started off as a great day for the Detroit Lions. The defense forced two early turnovers and by the end of the first quarter the Lions had jumped out to outstanding 17-0 lead. In that first quarter Matt Stafford threw for two touchdown passes, one to tight end Brandon Pettigrew and the other to wide receiver Bryant Johnson. Unfortunately that was the end of the Lion's good fortune. On their way to another debilitating loss Matthew Stafford found a way to throw five interceptions, tying this season's high mark for all quarterbacks, and was the main contributing factor to the Lion's futile offense for the next three quarters. In the end the Seahawks pulled off their third victory of the season by beating the Lions 32-20.

Time for a Rebound?

This week the Lion's have a chance to grab a second victory for the season. Detroit enters Qwest Field with the possibility of their three biggest weapons returning to the field. For the first time in weeks Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford and Kevin Smith all can potentially play this week according to www.freep.com.

If you ask me this could provide enough of an offensive boost to make the Lions competitive in any game they play in this year. Stafford has been progressively better in each game this year, Kevin Smith provides a solid presence in the backfield and Calvin Johnson is one of the best wideouts in league. Against a team with a 2-5 record I would like to tell you that this would be enough to get the Lions another victory, and I would if this game were being played at home. Unfortunately this game will be played at Qwest Field, often considered the loudest stadium in the NFL, where the Seahawks have already shutout two teams this season. The Seahawks shutout the Jaguars 41-0 earlier this season and the Rams, who beat the Lions last week, 28-0.

So while I would like to reassure you and tell you that this is the week the Lions get another elusive victory I think the Seattle just plays to well at home for the Lions to steal this one. So to answer my question "Is it time for a rebound?" well, maybe next week.

Raiola does some Blocking off the Field.

At this point I'm looking for anything to talk about other than the depressing Lions loss to what WAS arguably the worst team in football. So instead of writing about that debacle I'm going to focus an interesting story that came out of this game.

At one point some fans were heckling new Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and this apparently got under the skin of his starting center Dominic Raiola. Raiola, who has been one of the few vocal leaders of the Lions in the last few years, told fans that they needed to lay off Stafford. "Back him up," Raiola said. "It's his first year here. You want to run him out of town already? You know what I'm saying? That just hit home with me because I've been through it with Joey. They sent him packing. Quick. And they're not going to do it to this guy. I'm going to be right here next to him."

I don't know what the reaction of most Lions fans is going to be on this subject, but I know that I enjoy seeing my players show some unity. Even though the Lions still have problems this situation makes me think tha there is a chemistry in this locker room that hasn't been there in a long time. I believe that in the past Lions teams were content with losing, but with a new coach and a new style its starting to look like these guys finally have some fire in their belly.

Now I know there are gonna be some of you out there that think Raiola is just getting into another arguement with fans (fined $7,500 for shooting some hecklers the bird last season), but I don't think thats the case. Raiola is tired of losing and I think he thinks Stafford is the right guy for the job and if thats the case I would be upset if he wasn't defending his quarterback in the press.

Well thats my take on the topic, but I want to know what your thinking. If you've got something to say leave me a comment or two and I'll do my best to defend my position.

Also if you would like to read more about the Raiola situation you can read articles from the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News respectively at the following links.

http://www.freep.com/article/20091102/SPORTS01/911020338/1049/sports/Raiola-Show-Stafford-more-patience-than-Joey

http://www.detnews.com/article/20091102/SPORTS0101/911020351/1265/SPORTS08/Dominic-Raiola-confronts-fans--defends-Stafford