2 passes huh? he was 6-7 to start the game and the next one was an awful drop by stovall...anything else to add?

Football is a momentum game. They started sharp, then his receivers fumbled the ball twice and blew the momentum. Then they asked Stafford to throw every down (and his line to block for him every down) and things went ary. Stafford could've played better, but he doesn't deserve as much blame as he's getting.

Go look at his stats. He literally had 63 passing attempts. That's absurd.

Watch the game again and get back to me. Better yet, step away from the forest and take a look at him the last 3 weeks. He's been terrible.

Down by 20+ points, do you really expect them to run the ball to get back in the game? Seriously?

He was awesome vs Denver

I would have been awesome versus Denver. He had all the time in the world against that team. It's easy to be calm when there's little pressure, and your team is working with the lead most of the game.

Sorry, but ever since that San Francisco game, Stafford just hasn't been the same. It's almost like he has Post Traumatic Stress. Once he gets hit in the game, he's basically done. He was bailing out of the pocket against Chicago WAAAAAAAAY too early, and never once stepped into the pocket to make a throw once that first fumble took place.

The young man has some mental issues happening, and has been dealing with it since week six. If you can't see that, you haven't been paying close attention.

all i said was he started out looking sharp

^alaska jack^

hahahaha

m2k, you often make great arguments on this forum, but your line of reasoning in this topic is full of logical fallacies and is circular in nature. Kind of "I'm right because I said I'm right"-thing.

I mean, I can do it to:

Stafford is a great QB. In the 9 games the Lions have played, he's been stellar in 8 of them. Yeah, he threw four picks against the Bears. But you know what? Tom Brady in his prime would've thrown those 4 picks--his team completely collapsed around him, there was no way for anyone to do any better.

Disagree with me? Well, you just don't know anything about football.

STELLAR? Really?! Did you watch the first half of the Dallas game? You wanna sit there and tell me he was stellar then? He was missing wide open receivers all over the place. Yes, he came back in the second half, settled down, got into his rythym and led the team back. It wasn't his fault that against Dallas and Minnesota the team fell behind by the number of points they did. But he certainly wasn't helping matters with his errant throwing in the first half of that Dallas game.

Sorry, Blueskies, but if you watch the first three or four games of this season, and how Stafford was playing then, and compare them with the last three or four games, you'll see a huge difference. In those first few games, he never took his eyes off the patterns downfield. He maintained his composure under pressure, was getting rid of the ball quickly, and only moved as much as he needed to to avoid pressure. He was setting his feet before he was throwing and stepping into the throws he needed to zip. He isn't doing that consistently now.

Is that all Stafford's fault? No. I have said, numerous times, that the offensive line hasn't done him any favors. But his mental struggles are apparent. I have made the statement that the offensive line isn't playing any worse now than they were at the beginning of the season, and I stand by that. The difference is with Stafford.

And, just an FYI Blueskies....I'm not the only one making that statement in this forum.

Stafford's basically in his second year in terms of playing time. This might just be a classic example of the 'sophomore slump.' I think his talent is plain to see. But he's also a gunslinger who's going to take his shots, which often can have great results but can also produce some headscratching moments (see Favre, Brett).

He has to refine his decision making, work on establishing a rhythm early on in the game, and get more help from his line and running backs. The only people who see the sky as falling after a couple bad games playing injured probably had unrealistic expectations to begin with.

I agree. Never did I say the kid has no talent. Never did I say this teams losses were all his fault. Never did I say that he is incapable of leading this team to where ever they want to go.

What I am saying is that he is struggling in these last few games. His play lately has not been as sharp and as decisive as it was earlier in the season. People immediately say it's the offensive line. I disagree. The line has been basically bad the whole season. Stafford is the one playing differently now than he was in the beginning of the season. While I understand that he's probably dealing with nagging injuries from the knee and ankle problems he had earlier, and the broken finger certainly isn't helping matters, he's also struggling mentally. That comes from inexperience. But it doesn't change the fact that it's happening. And at this point in time, I wonder if he really does give this team the best chance to win on Sundays. I don't feel Schwartz is throwing games away by having Stafford in there. But it's not like keeping Stafford in there is helping him. In fact, it could be stunting his development by causing him to take on bad habits....like taking his eyes off the field when there is a little bit of pressure. Good QBs keep their eyes downfield as long as possible. Matt was doing that earlier in the season. He's definitely not doing it now.

I think the hope is that he'll play through his struggles. I for one think that's the best thing for him, even if he's not playing his best. He's taken enough 'mental reps' the past two seasons. He's our future--we will sink or swim with him--so he should be out there getting the experience. That's my take, anyways.

This whole season (even the games Stafford has played well in) has been filled with a game plan that doesn't fit the player Stafford is. I think too many people see guys like Rodgers and Brady and want their QB to be the same type of player. That's not Stafford, never has been never will be. He's a QB that needs to limit his attempts to around thirty a game and have a solid running game to keep defenses honest and allow him to run play action something he is actually pretty good at running. Linehan needs to get more creative and find ways to play to Stafford strengths even if the O-line can't get a consistant running game going or give Stafford a pocket to step up into (thanks Dom). I'd really like to see a moving pocket that allows Stafford a little more room and to get himout of the Jim "Don't call me Chris" Everett habit of throwing off his back foot.

Wow, so much on here I don't agree with.

What do you mean that Stafford isn't like Brady or Rodgers? That they have to limit Staffords attempts to around 30 a game? Rodgers is averaging 30 per game. I really don't know what comparison you are trying to make. Stafford passed for 30 times against Denver and 32 times against Atlanta. Atlanta he looked horrible in and Denver he looked great in. He only passed 26 times the first game against Chicago. He threw it up 39 times against KC and 46 times against the Vikes. Stafford can throw it more than 30 times a game. Will he ever be a Brady or Rodgers? WTF, how many are? Rodgers is having argueabley the best season of any QB in the HISTORY of the game. Brady is considered one of the best of all time. I just don't know what you are saying with your comparison here. Stafford needing a running game to be a good QB is also inaccurate. Most of the games this year (even games they won) what RB has ran for 100+ yards...or even 80+ yards? Yet Stafford has played great in 5 games. Best in the first game against Chicago is the only time in which we have had a rusher with more than 80 yards in a game.

The game plan I don't like is when Linehan calls a conservative game. I do not like to see Stafford passing the ball for 5 or less yards. But how can you say the whole season has been bad game planning? What type of game plan do you think Linehan should call to help Stafford?

Stafford good at playaction? Wow...that is the area I think he is terrible in. It almost looks as if he is just going through the motions when he is doing his fake handoff. It doesn't look like he tries to sell it at all.

I agree with lomasbrown. He needs to play as long as he is healthy enough to play. He needs to work through this struggle on his own.