Stafford is catching flak in Detroit
While Georgia coach Mark Richt considers a quarterback change in Athens, it’s worth noting that a former Bulldogs’ quarterback is starting to catch a lot of heat in Detroit.
Matthew Stafford, the first overall pick in the NFL draft, was heckled by Lions fans in Sunday’s 17-10
A Detroit fan (above) yells at Matthew Stafford, who is catchin heat for Lions' start. (Photos by Detroit Free Press, above, and AP)
loss to the St. Louis Rams. It apparently was bad enough that center Dominic Raiola felt compelled to come to Stafford’s defense. Raiola told the Detroit Free Press that he fired back at some of the hecklers who were seated in the Ford Field stands, immediately behind the Detroit bench.
“He’s the guy here,” Raiola said of Stafford. “I was very disappointed when I came to the sideline and fans were telling him, ‘Throw it to me,’ and, ‘I’m open’ — this, that and the other. I popped off and said something to the fans.
“You want to pick on him, all right. He’s not going to say nothing. I’m going to say something.”
Ironically, Raiola was fined $7,500 last season for flipping off Lions fans. So it’s probably not like they were feeling any love for him, either.
Stafford has started five games (1-4). He returned from missing two games with an injury Sunday and completed only 14 of 33 for 168 yards with one interception and a rushing touchdown. For the season, he has completed 54 percent of his passes (93 of 172) with three touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has been sacked 12 times.
The Lions’ franchise has been a black hole for highly drafted quarterbacks, so it’s not surprising fans would jump on Stafford so soon. But this is a bad team — made worse by the fact Calvin Johnson has been out with an injury.
Stafford shouldn’t be expected to turn Detroit around immediately. Then again, he knew what he was getting into when he left Georgia.
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53 comments Add your comment
Herschel Talker
November 2nd, 2009
1:08 pm
Stafford has all the talent in the world, but I question if his ego will prevent him from getting better.
Burdell
November 2nd, 2009
1:10 pm
Give the guy a break! At least he led them to a victory. Lions fans are about as reasonable as UGA fans.
Give Stafford some time and see what happens. I think he’s capable of being a middle-of-the-road NFL QB. And that is not a knock….it’s a compliment.
Herschel Talker
November 2nd, 2009
1:11 pm
Burdell is a toolbox.
rhynster
November 2nd, 2009
1:13 pm
That guy looks a little old to be taking football THAT seriously.
David
November 2nd, 2009
1:16 pm
Detroit fans are so dumb, even Peyton Manning was horrible his rookie year, you cant rush progress. In the long run Stafford will be the guy that saves Detroit but they got to get better players around him first
DawgFan
November 2nd, 2009
1:17 pm
I hope the best for Matthew Stafford, I really do. Unfortunately not every rookie quarterback can be Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco. The O-Line has to protect and the Receivers have to catch. If they don’t help him out, the quarterback is going to look bad.
Ronnie
November 2nd, 2009
1:57 pm
Matt won’t make it in the NFL. Should had stayed one more year in college.
Jamaaliver
November 2nd, 2009
2:01 pm
He’s no Joey Harrington, I’ll tell you that much.
Cuz
November 2nd, 2009
2:09 pm
Well, 41 million can buy a lot of friends who will tell you how great you are.
UGAFan
November 2nd, 2009
2:10 pm
@burdell Was the shot at UGA fans really necessary? I would invite you to stroll over to the Gator blogs at Gainesville Sun. They were ready to fire all of their coaches last week and they are undefeated!
Tech Tony
November 2nd, 2009
2:22 pm
I am in the minority on this but I too believe Stafford would have benefitted professionally by staying at UGA for his senior season.
Financially, which is in the end is what counts, he made the right choice. This upcoming draft is far more talented than last year’s crop so taking the #1 money was the best thing for him.
My point is this: if you look at the franchise type quarterbacks in the NFL (Manning, Brees, Brady, and one day soon Matt Ryan), they, to a man, completed their eligibility. There’s something to having that extra year of leadership under the belt before entering the NFL.
This isn’t to say Stafford will never succeed as a pro QB; I just think the Lions are hampering his development by throwing him to the wolves before he is fully ready.
bass stringerfish
November 2nd, 2009
2:22 pm
I watched this game because Atl. was not on just to see how Matthew was doing. I agree with the assessment of the Detroit Fans..they are idoits. I counted 5 dropped passes that would have sustained drives. and you just can’t do that to anyone much less a rookie QB on a bad, bad NFL football team. He did fine. made some great, tough throws on the money that were just dropped. The only bad thing I saw was the last series of plays where he litteraly threw the ball out of bounds which didn;t allow his players to make any play at all…those last three throws were awful, but the rest of the game…Detroit could have won it if they weren’t the Lions.
Rectal Bleeding
November 2nd, 2009
2:24 pm
So he is not the second coming of Christ like many UGA fans claimed…..Wow.
Gatorzone
November 2nd, 2009
2:36 pm
Upper midwesterners…. We sure get our fill of them down here. what a bunch of loud mouthed know it alls (lots) of them are. Not all, of course but enough to leave an impression.
joe
November 2nd, 2009
2:38 pm
“Give Stafford some time and see what happens. I think he’s capable of being a middle-of-the-road NFL QB. And that is not a knock….it’s a compliment.”
This comment borders on stupidity.
“So he is not the second coming of Christ like many UGA fans claimed…..Wow.”
He’s played 5 games with one of the worst teams in the NFL. Your comment is even more idiotic than the one above. You have the right username.
Ronnie
November 2nd, 2009
2:54 pm
He sucks dawg fans, plain and simple.
TechStudent
November 2nd, 2009
3:28 pm
Nice 5 year old comeback Herschel Talker. You going to wow us with another zinger… I’m open….
SHOULD HAVE DRAFTED FLACCO
November 2nd, 2009
3:51 pm
TOP 5 Ryan vs SAINTS EXCUSES:
1. O-Line sucks
2. Turner is too slow
3. Receivers didn’t get open
4. The crowd was not nice
5. It was too loud
Another Perspective
November 2nd, 2009
3:53 pm
If Stafford was the Falcons qb, the team would be 6-0.
Matt "Choke" Ryan
November 2nd, 2009
4:06 pm
So the Panthers started the season 0-3.
After tonight, they will only be 1 game behind the Falcons.
kimmer
November 2nd, 2009
4:13 pm
Good grief. A starting rookie QB in the NFL is rare for a reason. Take a look at the great QBs in the NFL and tell me how many were starters in their rookie season. They need time to adjust to the pro game. Here it is made doubly worse because you have a rookie starting for the worst team in the league. And now the fans are all over him!?!? Yeah, let me know how much that helps the situation detroit fans.
Unbelievable!
gdawginkalamazoo
November 2nd, 2009
4:41 pm
Jeff, I am a Lions fan. Left over from the Barry Sander years. Now I have Stafford and Calvin to cheer for. I douobt many of you guys down South watched the game but the receivers dropped like 7-10 of those passes. I could have caught them. Hell half the drunken tailgaters tossing the ball around in the parking lot could have caught them. Not all Stafford’s fault. He played a good game. The defense played lousy and the O line didn’t block for him. Sound familiar? Except this year he banked 40 mill instead of living in a dorm room in Athens. And in spite of what most people think about Detroit there are suburbs where 40 mill can buy an excellent view of Canada.
Brian Hunt
November 2nd, 2009
4:51 pm
What in the world is Another Perspective smoking? I’m among those that don’t think he’ll ever be any better than average, if he gets to average. Detroit is the place where QBs go to drown in obscurity.
grrrrtrfan
November 2nd, 2009
4:53 pm
Thats because Matthew Stafford has ALWAYS been over-rated. He wasn’t successful at UGA and he won’t be successful at a second rate professional program either.
Overrated
November 2nd, 2009
5:05 pm
Stafford—-great arm, but not much else. He’s not a winner, which is why he never won anything at UGA. He’s got all those millions in the bank—he could not care less about winning with that dreadful team. Just keep sending him the cash so he can buy a bigger mansion and tricked up hummer!
Lee
November 2nd, 2009
6:07 pm
The ideal situation for Stafford would have been to get on a team with an aging, veteran QB (like Farve) and spend a year or so learning the system, getting coached up, etc.
He’s a gamer and he has a great arm. Unfortunately, I don’t think he really got the coaching at UGA that would prepare him for this level. He burst onto the scene as an amazing freshman, and never really progressed past midway of this sophmore year.
JMHO
Zorro
November 2nd, 2009
6:15 pm
Rectal Bleeding
And you’re bleeding because you had a tooth pulled?
John L
November 2nd, 2009
6:27 pm
Plainly the thing that would help Stafford the most would be a real offensive line and receivers who can actually catch a football.
Starring Ted Knight as Judge Smales
November 2nd, 2009
8:15 pm
Stafford=Jeff George
GaCFB
November 3rd, 2009
12:02 am
Stafford was not the best available qb, that’s pretty apparent now.
The Lions are still a pretty sorry team that’s missing quite a few pieces. If you take away that one win they got, I’d probably rank the Bucs ahead of the Lions, with the Lions being the worst team in the league.
Last: Lions, then Tampa, then Washington
Phil
November 3rd, 2009
8:27 am
I have no sympathy for Stafford. He knew he was going to be drafted by Detroit if he went pro. This is what he asked for and he got it, so suck it up Stafford.
can't make it up
November 3rd, 2009
9:58 am
Gee what was the first glue to all of you NFL analyst that Stafford may not be the 5 star player you thought he was? Did you not take a look at last year’s GT-UGA game? GT QB Josh Nesbitt compiled better stats and Tech made fools out of both Stafford and Moreno.
Lightnin
November 3rd, 2009
10:31 am
He’s getting paid millions. He deserves everything they throw at him, good or bad.
Randy in Dalton
November 3rd, 2009
10:40 am
How many pro games has Stafford played in? I thought so.
I just hope he doesn’t get killed before the Lions get him some protection.
thevorlon
November 3rd, 2009
11:27 am
Stafford was never really anything special to begin with. Even with his time at Georgia he was never consistent. He would have one really good game one week and then one awful one right after that. I don’t see him ever being an elite NFL quarterback
count_schemula
November 3rd, 2009
11:31 am
Stafford might = Jeff George without the sourpuss attitude. Great arms, maybe nothing else. Anyhow, this is why you do not get on a boat with 20 naked women in the off season, or if you do, make sure there are no freaking cameras. He already had a rep as a being a little bit playboy and a little bit slow in the bean. Stafford should have played it like Matt Ryan and treated himself like a serious corporation instead of telling the whole world “I’m on a boat!” Whatever they are saying about Ryan, his work ethic is NOT being questioned.
Topp Dogg
November 3rd, 2009
12:06 pm
Bobo was his position coach at UGA ,that says it all.
TS
November 3rd, 2009
12:09 pm
Who is surprised? He didn’t complete 60% of his passes in college.
coach smith
November 3rd, 2009
12:18 pm
Stafford and Johnson are ALL THAT DETROIT HAS and Calvin has been out
Stafford is “protected” by a bunch of human revolving doors, there is NO running game,
He basically has to try to do it by himself
dan
November 3rd, 2009
12:57 pm
I agree Phil,
Stafford is making 41 Million in a city where the average home is selling for $18,000. This is a league for men. Either produce or deal with the consequences.
Dan
GW
November 3rd, 2009
4:56 pm
Do you think Stafford gives a rat’s butt what Detroit losers, Shultz and AJC bloggers think?
KJ
November 3rd, 2009
7:05 pm
“GT QB Josh Nesbitt compiled better stats and Tech made fools out of both Stafford and Moreno.”
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA
Let’s just take a look at the UGA-GT game stats:
Stafford: 24/39 407 5TD 1INT
Nesbitt: 1/6 19 0TD 1INT
Oh, and Nesbitt had a whopping 2.2 yards per carry. Yeah, he really made a fool out of Stafford didn’t he?
You’d better stick to bleating “45-42″ like your boy Saint Simons, gnat.
YellowJacket
November 3rd, 2009
7:26 pm
He new what he was getting out of when he left Georgia. A cesspool.
Sonny Clusters
November 4th, 2009
8:54 am
Jeff, does Stafford dog fight too? They looks tired and we hear dog fighting does that to you, maybe they can join Michael Vick on a long list of dog fights. When we was going to Parkview, we was in our own group putting criminals on lists like Vick.
PMC
November 4th, 2009
9:12 am
When you earn more than GM….you’re going to have unrealistic expectations.
Ginger
November 4th, 2009
9:33 am
Detroit Fans should give Stafford a break. Do think that he will develop into a midlevel NFL QB which really is pretty good…..time will tell if He develops into an elite QB….takes lots of intangibles to make it to elite status. He has the arm strength…but has to become more accurate, develop his leadership skills, become better at reading defenses and calling audibles to correct play, and just become better at elevating everyone around him…..The Elite QB’s do this so well…..Watching New Orleans play Atlanta Monday night….You could just see Brees elevate everyone around him.
Wish Stafford at stayed and completed his SR yr at UGA….boy do I wish that….think it would have benefited him from in developed all of his skills listed above…and would have been fun to see how good AJ and the other receivers would be with him….and UGA running game would be better because our passing game would take pressure off young running backs. But Stafford made the right decision as far as getting # 1 money…..Here is a question—-it remains to be seen if he will develop into an elite QB with the Lions….would Stafford have been better off money wise to remain at UGA…get picked by another team that maybe could do a better job of developing him into an elite QB and then make more money as elite QB in yrs to come rather than as middle of road QB or injured from taking beating with Lions. Who knows..to many factors and wild cards in that scenairo..and Stafford could have gotten injured playing at UGA his SR yr….Just wish he was at UGA now and hope with that great arm that he is in the right place to develop to elite QB one day
Yellow Fuzz
November 4th, 2009
1:31 pm
This just in, Georgia just accepted an invitation to play in the Poulan Weedeater Bowl in Northern Louisiana (Shreveport). As a payout, Georgia will receive $990,000 and 75 free weedwackers, one for every Parks and Recreation Major in the program.
Georgia Tech will play in THEIR conference championship game (sunny Tampa Florida) in hopes of advancing to the BCS Orange Bowl (sunnier Miami Florida). As a payout, Georgia Tech could receive $1,490,000 and 75 free deep sea fishing excursions. Georgia Tech plans to watch georgia’s bowl game on December 28th from its hotel over looking Key Largo.
Look at the Weedwackers falling from the sky!
Look at the Weedwackers falling from the sky!
Brooking 56
November 4th, 2009
7:19 pm
Starring Ted Knight as Judge Smales
November 2nd, 2009
8:15 pm
Stafford=Jeff George
Nah Stafford’s not smart enough to equal Jeff George
secondguesser
November 5th, 2009
12:12 am
Picking up right where he left off in college! Can anyone say Ryan Leaf? These are the same people that say Tim Tebow can’t pass effectively. What a bunch of morons!
scottbravesfan
November 5th, 2009
1:47 am
I like how they are holding that old guy back like if he actually went after Matt Stafford he would stand a chance in a fight. Some fans are idiots. It’s like fans that scream and curse at UFC fighters. Do you really want to fight them or are you just trying to look cool because you know the security guards are there?