Lions Impressed By Stafford

May 3, 2009   ·   Paul Raymond   ·   Jump to comments

New Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford wasted no time in impressing management. The team finished up its rookie mini-camp today and coaches were raving about the youngsters ability. “I thought a couple times he rushed himself and he missed a couple things,” Mayhew said. “Then there were a couple times he threw some balls and it was like, ‘Wow, I haven’t seen anybody throw a ball like that in a long time.”

So does this mean Stafford is now playing himself into a starting role? General Manager Martin Mayhew isn’t sure yet, so who the hell knows.

“It’s May,” Mayhew said. “We’ve got plenty of time to figure all that out. Daunte is a guy who’s a vet. He’s been around. He’s a pro, and I trust Daunte. He’s got a lot of ability, and I anticipate that if we had something to do today, Daunte would be the guy today. But we’ve got a lot of time to work, and we’ll see how it goes.”

For years, we’ve all joked about the Lions management team and how stupid they are. But you know what? The Lions have a plan in place for Stafford and for once seem to be doing something right.

Mayhew said: “They get drafted early by teams that haven’t been successful, and then they got rushed onto the field, which makes it tough to succeed. I think that’s been a pattern if you look at a lot of these guys.”

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read those statements. The Lions are actually doing something right. Actually wait, its still early so I should say the Lions are talking about doing something the right way.

If Mayhew and head coach Jim Schwartz are serious with this, then the Lions could be on to something special. With the abilities of Stafford I have no doubts that he could start now but that’s not whats best for this team or the kids career. They just don’t have the pieces in place yet, with that offensive line he’d get murdered back there.

The Lions right now look like nothing more than a three or four win team next year, no matter who they have at quarterback. So that means another high draft pick and the chance to add more skill players or elite protection for Stafford. So his best bet is to sit back and learn from Duante and wait for that talent to arrive.

Come next season Stafford should be up to speed in the NFL game and have some weapons to succeed. It won’t be the immediate success of a Joe Flacco or Matt Ryan but these are different circumstances. Those guys were placed into situations with enough talent to succeed. Stafford’s a Lion so he’ll unfortunately have to wait a while for his chance.

I’m a firm believer in Stafford riding the pine this year, so hopefully Mayhew doesn’t rush things. “I think the most important thing is to focus on where the guy is in his development,” Mayhew said. “Is he ready? And when he’s ready, you put him in.”

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