Mainly thinking out loud : Stafford came from a team that most years the expectations were pretty low. The Lions typically lacked talent on one side of the ball, had injuries or suspect coaching. Stafford did have a couple of playoff games but never came away with any postseason wins. If we fast fwd to this season he is surrounded with excellent coaching and talent. The message is Matthew is the missing piece for a championship caliber team and/or he is a guy that will test defenses and transform this offense to an attacking style scheme. I don’t know about you guys but I would feel more pressure in LA being deemed the savior, than in Detroit when fans marveled at how talented he was with the asterisk that the team was usually lacking in talent. Stafford is still learning a new offense while getting put in the spotlight like never before. While still mastering a new offense he has already been put in more high profile games this season than probably his entire tenure in Detroit. I’m certainly not making excuses for his up and down play from time to time, but he is still learning plays, and player nuances. Maybe that explains him relying so heavily on Kupp early this season, and not being on the same page with Jackson, Jefferson, and before yesterday Woods. Again just me thinking out loud.
Quote
max
This team is not playing very well right now. There are bright spots, but there are also concerns.
The defense is statistically at the bottom, and it shows up on the field. That cant continue if were gonna make a serious SB run. Any defense with 2 HOF players should be at least middle of the pack. They need to find their footing, settle into Morris running it, and get the right players in the starting lineup. Clearly, DLong is not good enough to start at CB2. Its his 3rd year, and hes shown me hes a backup at best. I have high hopes for Rochell, so we will see.
Stafford has been very uneven lately. And his hand is a concern. The hope here is that he get more comfortable with the offense as the season progresses and avoids injury.
Otherwise, I think the team looks strong, especially the OL. And I really like the combination of Henderson and Michel. I think our run game will be really good going forward.
We just gotta stay healthy to bring all this together.
