By Jeff Seidel
http://www.freep.com/sports/lions/
October 26, 2017
Saints' Alex Okafor gets past Greg Robinson (73) to force a fumble on Matthew Stafford in the first quarter that was recovered for a Saints touchdown at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on October 15, 2017 in New Orleans. (Photo: Jonathan Bachman, Getty Images)
Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford walked briskly across the room and sprang onto the podium on Wednesday afternoon in Allen Park. It was apparent the bye week did wonders for his battered body. He looked refreshed and sounded rejuvenated.
“I needed to take care of myself a little bit physically and mentally refresh,” Stafford said on Wednesday. “Get away for a little bit and think about something other than football for a couple days, and that was what I did and I feel better now."
Stafford has been a walking piñata this season. He has been sacked 23 times, the second most in the NFL and the most of any quarterback in just six games.
The last time I saw Stafford, he walked slowly through the locker room in New Orleans, after getting pummeled by the Saints. He was sacked five times and hit a total of seven times. He looked totally exhausted – physically, mentally, and emotionally.
But after a week off, Stafford looked revived.
“I think it’s good,” Stafford said, of the bye. “I think guys had some stuff to take care of, start feeling a little bit better.”
Now, the question is, can the Lions keep him this way?
My gut says: Not with this battered offensive line, not on Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Lions have lost three of their past four games. If they have any shot at snapping out of this funk, they have to protect Stafford.
You don’t enter a Mercedes in a demolish derby, and that’s what they have been doing with Stafford.
In the first two games, the Lions were able to protect their star quarterback, allowing just four total sacks. The Lions won both games. But in the last four games, he has been sacked 19 times and he’s fumbled five times. In those games, he has completed just 56% of his passes.
“I can be better in getting the ball out a little bit quicker and helping everybody out,” Stafford said.
Maybe.
But everything is tied together.
The Lions’ offensive line has been decimated by injuries. The running game has disappeared – basically, the Lions have been reduced to running to the right. Also, they have to find a way to get the receivers open downfield. And Stafford isn’t helping anything by fumbling the ball.
New Orleans blitzed the heck out of Stafford, which has proved to be an effective strategy. He has a 73.2 passer rating against blitzes, which is 25th in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I wish it was probably a little bit more consistent like everybody does in this league," Stafford said.
But the blame is not all on Stafford.
"There’s not one area on our football team that you can separate one from the other and say, ‘Hey, this one’s doing well,’” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. “So, you certainly cannot just put your finger on one particular issue and say, ‘Hey, this was it.’”
Now for the seriously bad news, at least for Stafford.
Here comes Pittsburgh, a team with 24 sacks, tied for second most in the NFL.
And it’s not just one guy doing the damage for the Steelers. Six players have at least two sacks.
Who do you stop?
“Yeah, there’s no one guy to really clue in on,” Stafford said. “Their guys off the edge do a great job. Their guys in the middle push the pocket well. And they’re covering guys down in the back-end. It goes hand in hand. They cover receivers, make quarterbacks hold the ball, they’re going to get there, and every once in a while those just get there on their own.”
To me, it sounds like the making of another demolition derby.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel/.
No comments:
Post a Comment