Time Is Ticking

I checked the stats. Jimmy Howard's goals against average actually is the lowest in the NHL right now. So for my critical piece of the week, it's time to analyze the other most scrutinized player in Detroit sports: Matthew Stafford. If Sunday night was any indication, the Lions may be in trouble. Who are we kidding? Substitute "motor city" for "river city" and the music man has been singing about the Lions all year long. This year for the honolulu blue is as lost as Atlantis. That said, there is everything to gain in the next three weeks.

Matthew Stafford loses his grip on the ball in Sunday's loss to the Packers photo credit: newstimes.com

The Lions are bad. Get rid of the argument that goes, "they've lost a bunch of close games, they aren't that bad." Good teams win close games; it's what makes them good. Good teams have a quarterback who drives the ball down the field in the fourth quarter, a defense who makes the big stop when they need it, and a coach who makes the right calls. Quick synopsis of Sunday night: no, no, and no. All three aspects, all failed with grounded colors. It shouldn't be a surprise at this point. The Lions are 4-9. Any hope of the playoffs vanished with the illegal challenge flag. They probably vanished before that. So here's the question now: is what we have good enough to get us to where we want go?

That's a question for Martin Mayhew. No matter how many times fans can scream "draft defense you moron," the final decision is his. I'd argue that almost 50% of Lions' fans think they can do a better job than Mayhew. Some of them might be right. But you're not going to get that chance. Mayhew drafted Stafford. For one year, he played with a cocky attitude, he was healthy, and he threw touchdowns. Apparently that means go ahead and fling the ball with your wrist whenever you want because you are God's gift to football.

Matthew Stafford celebrates his first quarter touchdown in Sunday's loss to Green Bay photo credit: i4u.com

It's not ALL Stafford's fault. However, this loss points the finger right at number nine. That fumble changed a lot of people's views on Stafford, whether they are willing to admit it or not. The Lions were up 14-3 and driving...in Lambeau...in the snow. That doesn't even happen in the movies. They had a chance to stomp on Green Bay's throat. Instead they held the door open for the Packers and seated them in first class. I get it was a fluke play, it doesn't happen very often, and it probably doesn't happen if it's not thirty-three degrees outside. But it happened. And again that play didn't lose the game for Detroit. But when you lose a game like that, you look to the quarterback. That's how it has always gone and that's how it will continue to go...forever. At the end of the day, he's the one with the ball in his hands the most. He's the one who can bring his team back from that awful moment and win the game. And in this case, he's the one who didn't.

Stafford has an immense amount of physical ability. It's scary how good this guy could be. He has an AK-47 attached to his right shoulder. Yet for some odd reason, he doesn't seem to use it. Stafford flips more balls up in the air than any quarterback I have ever seen. I'm tired of it. He looks like a pansy when he does it. He looks like he's afraid to step up and be a quarterback. Sometimes he has to do it. Most times he doesn't. It's a huge problem for Stafford. If he doesn't fix it, I'm not sure he should be the long term quarterback of the Lions.

Difficult to agree with me after the dude racked up 5,000 yards last year, isn't it? Well, when you throw it forty-five times a game, you are likely to pick up some yards. But why are we anointing him as the answer after one good year? They went 10-6 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. That's a bad year for Tom Brady. If you really want the Lions to exit the rut they've been in since, oh I don't know, forever, then maybe it's time you start holding them a little bit more accountable. They had a nice year last year for where they were as an organization. Now they're back to the same bad habits of losing leads and losing fans. It starts with the quarterback, and Stafford has to figure it out...now.

It seems lately that for every good throw Stafford makes, there is a back foot lob ten feet behind Tony Scheffler. STEP INTO THE DAMN THROW. I've screamed it at my television far too many times. He's too talented to be making mistakes that are expected of a high school signal caller. This is the NFL, son. People make bank to laugh at those throws and take them to the house. If you want to be the franchise quarterback, then you better make a better effort to look like you belong. Right now Stafford does not look like he belongs. That is harsh and true, it is. He looks out of place, minus two or three drives per game. He doesn't make the right decisions, he throws balls that would sail over Shaq, and he can't even celebrate a touchdown the right way. Okay the last one was a joke, but he really should learn not to slip before the celebration. The first two points I stick by, though. He has to make better decisions and learn that you can't fling the ball up ten times a game. Two or three times, okay sure. But ten times? No. Not now, not ever.

I'm not saying abandon ship on Stafford. He's too good when he wants to be. But it's time we started looking at the Lions as what they are, not what they were a year ago. They are a bad team with little to no leadership. They have no one who has ever won anything. Their games seem to have a pattern to them. Calvin Johnson is double teamed from the start, so they try and stay away from him. Then, before you know it, they are down ten with four minutes to go. Next they force the ball to Calvin, and as insane an idea as it is, holy s*it he catches it...almost every time. And then they lose. That's not how every loss goes, but more than a few have gone like that.

Whoever decides the plays (Scott Linehan) at the end of the game needs to figure one thing out. If you are going to throw the ball to anyone other than 81, that player better be wide open. I'd rather have Calvin against two or three defenders than anyone else on the Lions against one defender. I really believe that. And on fourth and ten with the game on the line, the ball needs to go to 81. If it doesn't, then you need to be fired. Or better yet Matthew, how bout you make a decision for once. How bout you say, "I've got the best non-qb in the league, and if we need a play he's going to get it." That would go a long way for me. But I'm gonna sit here and criticize you for as long as you are going to take shots down the field, and throw it behind Scheffler, when we have one play to get it right.

Time is ticking Matthew. As most analysts will tell you, NFL means "Not For Long." You've got all the ability in the world. You've got the tools to get yourself to Canton, and to get this team to a Super Bowl. Start acting like it, and start playing like it. There's three weeks left to start doing things right, and gain some steam going into next year. No better time than the present.