OT: Report - Stafford might be done for year

Submitted by emGeauxBleu on

This weekend couldn't have been any more depressing for Lions fans. We lose a heartbreaker to the Jets, a game we could have won, and now we lose our starting QB to his 3rd shoulder injury in 2 years. UGH. If Michigan didn't win on Saturday, this would have been the most depressing weekend ever. 

Blue_Sox

November 9th, 2010 at 1:03 PM ^

The Lions face the winless Bills this Sunday with Drew Stanton at QB.  They look poised to break through after nearly beating the Ravens on the road and being up on the Bears in the 4th quarter the last couple weeks. After looking so promising against the Jets, this season could quickly take a turn for the worse.

mGrowOld

November 9th, 2010 at 1:04 PM ^

MIke and Mike were talking this morning about his injury and how this could potentially damage his entire career.  They were saying just how good he looked and how dangerous (funny to hear that word used by NY media to describe the Lions) they were with him under center.

I sure hope he fully heels and comes back better than ever. 

emGeauxBleu

November 9th, 2010 at 1:08 PM ^

he was in there, the offense just clicked. Even on obvious passing downs, the Jets still couldn't stop us. Stafford seemed to find a place for the ball and got it there. It's a shame that what once looked like a bright future now looks even more like an injury prone bust. 

 

LIONS CURSE.

Tater

November 9th, 2010 at 1:06 PM ^

It's time for the Lions to start thinking about next year.  They need to let Stafford take the rest of the year off to heal and finish with yet another very high draft pick.  This time, though, they need to trade down and take a couple of OL's so that Stafford can survive the rest of his contract. 

Stafford has shown a lot of potential when healthy.  If they could protect him enough to keep him off the DL, this could end up being an entertaining team.

psychomatt

November 9th, 2010 at 1:10 PM ^

This weekend couldn't have been any more depressing for Lions fans.

Actually, it could be worse. They could have announced they are rehiring Matt Millen.

jlcoleman71

November 9th, 2010 at 1:16 PM ^

with the offensive line............the Lions have good skill position players on offense, but will continue to stuggle if they can't protect their QB.....they need more BEEF up front.....

Greg McMurtry

November 9th, 2010 at 1:43 PM ^

I feel the O- line is average and needs upgrading, but it's not terrible. Also, Staff got injured on a QB scramble when no one was open. This was a completely different hit than a lineman missing a block and Staff getting crushed.

Michigan4Life

November 9th, 2010 at 2:11 PM ^

2nd in the NFL in adjusted sack rate at 4% according to Football Outsiders.

 

The only bad part about the OL is they can't open holes for Best or Smith to run through which is why the Lions are dead last in rushing offense and next to last in run blocking department.  Interestingly, the Lions have more success running to the left side where Jeff Backus reside.

 

People like to rag on Jeff Backus, but he has been playing at pro bowl level for the last two years(counting this season).  Aside from Julius Peppers sack on week one, he hasn't allowed a sack.  He did it against Osi, Tuck, Mathews, Allen, etc.

steelymax

November 9th, 2010 at 1:16 PM ^

Even when the Lions didn't win, Stafford was fun to watch. Hill made the games tolerable. Stanton makes the Lions completely unwatchable. With so much cash tied up in Stafford, this team should pray for a lockout next season.

EZMIKEP

November 9th, 2010 at 1:17 PM ^

Has been called fragile and glass QB by a lot of fans now. I disagree with that assessment. Its too early to tell. A few NFL QB's had early injury issues including Troy Aikman for his first 3 years, then it all worked out. 

 

That shot Peppers gave him early this year should have kept him out longer, but the other QB's were out and it forced him in early. Big mistake. The shot he took last year in the Cleveland game would have taken any NFL QB out including Favre. 

 

They have absolutely no O-line to protect him and need to focus on that as priority #1 in the offseason. Possibly going after Logan Mankins & some draft picks? Detroit Lions fans have waited Decades for something to happen. Waiting 1 more year for a team I think is on the verge of showing some great things isn't going to kill us. 

Michigan4Life

November 9th, 2010 at 5:30 PM ^

in pass blocking is fine.  They're #2 in the NFL in adjusted sack rate. 

 

Stafford was just unlucky with the three injuries that he suffered.  The first one was understandable since the DT drove Stafford right to the ground.  The second one was he got his foot stuck when he got sacked.  The third one was understandable since he was blindsided and Peppers drove his shoulders to the ground.  The last one was kind of weird but he landed on his already injured shoulders.

 

Stafford just needs to build his shoulders up with weight training program and he should be fine.  The future is bright with Stafford and the Lions.

GoBlueInNYC

November 9th, 2010 at 1:21 PM ^

Noooooooo, this sucks!

Not only were the last two weeks showing Stafford's awesome potential, but he was my back-up fantasy QB this week with Brees on a bye. Damnit! He could have destroyed the Buffalo D, which angers me for fantasy reasons, but even more so as a Lions fan.

That being said, I like the direction the Lions are headed. They were looking pretty good even with Hill in the game earlier this season. Provided they spend the off-season replacing Stafford's glass shoulders with some kind of adamantium, I have faith the team can turn it around over the next couple of seasons.

Derek

November 9th, 2010 at 2:26 PM ^

After finally dumping Favre (I didn't make the pick; I had a draft stand-in who made it against my explicit "do not draft Favre" instructions) and picking up Stafford a couple weeks ago, I was excited to finally have a competent, potentially consistent QB for my fantasy squad. Back to Eli Manning it is, I guess. The let-down is what I deserve for putting faith in the Lions against my better judgement.

Wolvmarine

November 9th, 2010 at 1:29 PM ^

Maybe they can use the positives from this season to build for next year, and if the team tanks, without Stafford this is likely, then they use a good draft pick to get a strong Left Tackle. 

trueblue262

November 9th, 2010 at 1:34 PM ^

a little bit of Luck........andrew luck that is. Stafford is already injury prone. Can't blame him though, it doesn't matter who the qb is, he's gonna need some protection.

Can Suh play QB?

icefins26

November 9th, 2010 at 1:38 PM ^

As a Bears fan, I always wonder why Lions fans think that Stafford is a "china doll".  He had virtually zero major injuries at UGA - it's a shoulder.  Last time I checked, QB's use it.

lunchboxthegoat

November 9th, 2010 at 1:46 PM ^

I am going to bang this drum until I'm dead. The Tackles aren't the problem. Backus is services and so is gosder your guards are HORRIBLE. Stephen Peterman is a complete dolt and I'm shocked he still has a job. Godsder and Backus HAVE to cheat inside to not let Stafford get murdered on a rush up the middle and in turn have gotten him murdered on a rush from the outside because they've been cheating inside.

It can all be told by the run game. By and large the pass pro has been decent (which speaks to good guard play, DTs aren't typically rushing the passer unless you're Suh.) and the run game has been BRUTAL (which speaks to awful interior line play).

Griff88

November 9th, 2010 at 2:22 PM ^

 is the best QB the Lions have had since Bobby Layne. Which is a sad indictment on the organization. It looked like the shoulder was giving him problems early in the Jets game. Did he hurt the shoulder at the start of the game? Or is it because he wasn't completely healed from the original injury?

In any event, If there is an NFL season next year, I hope there is some sort of salary cap for rookies. That or the Lions need to win a couple more games. The last thing the Lions need is another high priced draft choice. They have over $100 million guaranteed tied up in 3 players... Johnson, Stafford, and Suh. Throw in the other first rounders Best, Pettigrew, and Cherlius... that's a great deal of money tied up in a handful of players. With all this money already allocated, it becomes imperative, that Mayhew and the scouting department hit on their mid-round selections.

trueblue262

November 9th, 2010 at 2:35 PM ^

But really? The guy has played 13 games! As far as I'm concerned he is still below Joey. He would be and could be good if he could stay on the field and off the sidelines. Besides, Eric Hipple was much better!

Michigan4Life

November 9th, 2010 at 6:20 PM ^

it hurt so much because the Lions are on the verge of actually have a shot of getting .500 record.  The back end schedule are very favorable.

If the Lions finish the season with 4-5 wins, I would consider a successful season in terms of improvement, but it's going to be hard to take because you know the Lions are much better than that.  The future is bright for the Lions and the expectation for next year is contending for the playoff.  That's how much progress that Mayhew and Schwartz have made in 2 years after 0-16 season.

The Lions is likely to have a top 10 pick and that should land them Patrick Peterson or Prince Amukamara.  They will have a trio of CBs who can cover.

blueheron

November 9th, 2010 at 3:12 PM ^

Sell the team.

Please, sell the team.

For the good of SE Michigan and all its pro football fans, sell the @#$%ing team.

It's cursed, you see.  Years of lousy micromanaging by WCF and Billy haven't helped, either.

jerseyblue

November 9th, 2010 at 3:31 PM ^

I don't see the Lions much so I'll take your word for it about your bad O line. As an outside observer(Giants fan) I get the impression he's fragile. It was the O-line's fault he got flushed out but the hit was nothing. The guy just grabbed his legs and he went down no harder then a rough touch game any of us would play in. When Chad Pennington was on the Jets people around here said he was as delicate as an egg. Got hurt on what seemed to be harmless falls. I hope it's not the case. I like the young core you're putting together and Thanksgiving is more fun when the Lions are decent.

NinjaDMM

November 9th, 2010 at 3:55 PM ^

He got hurt on that fall because his shoulder was not right from week 1, where he got absolutely destroyed by Peppers. This is the same thing that happened to Sam Bradford, his shoulder wasn't right, he came back for the Texas game, fell on it wrong, injured it again. He needs to let it heal.

Stafford isn't getting those nagging injuries that you can play with. He got killed last year by a 330  pound NT. If you saw that hit, I don't know how any QB survives that. He got hit by Ogunleye for his knee injury, if you saw that hit, you see his cleat dug into the ground and it popped his kneecap. Then the Peppers hit, while throwing, then slamming the shoulder into the ground. ANY QB would be injured on those plays, it just so happens that its our QB.

I think he needs to be on the IR for the rest of the season. That game for us (Jets game) was the one that was going to define the season. If we won, we might have had an outside shot. Well, we lost, time to worry about next year. The team is going in the right direction. We need a top line OL and a top line CB. Don't forget, we had plenty of guys injured in that Jets game. Season over.

Blue82

November 9th, 2010 at 3:56 PM ^

This does suck - hoping this shoulder doesn't become a chronic issue ala Chad Pennington.  He never fully recovered, though his arm was never as good as Stafford's

SFBlue

November 9th, 2010 at 5:05 PM ^

The Lions are very close to being a good team, and they need Stafford healthy to take the next step.  At 2-6, sad as it sounds, this is the best they've played in a very long time.