Mayhew: Lions 'Would Win A Championship Every Single Year' With 22 Staffords
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
At 1-6, the Lions are a long shot to make the playoffs. But that's not stopping general manager Martin Mayhew from declaring the team "buyers" prior to the NFL trade deadline next week.
Mayhew spoke with reporters in London prior to the Lions' Sunday matchup with the Chiefs, and dispelled the theories that the team should trade away quarterback Matthew Stafford or wide receiver Calvin Johnson. Most publicly, former NFL linebacker Bart Scott went on the Damon Amendolara radio show this week and said the Carolina Panthers should make a move for Johnson.
"I think the trade deadline's coming," Mayhew said. "We're probably gonna be more buyers than sellers, and we've had some dialogue already about some guys around the league, so we're actively looking at those situations."
Mayhew also threw his full weight behind Stafford, after the quarterback has dealt with fan criticism and booing all season. As the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2009, Stafford has always had weighty expectations on his shoulders.
"We have a franchise quarterback like Matthew Stafford, you keep that guy," Mayhew said. "If we had 22 Matthew Staffords, we would win a championship every single year, and same thing with Calvin Johnson … great people off the field, great teammates, and both of those guys have Hall of Fame potential. To say that we should move those guys doesn't make a whole lot of sense."
Part of Stafford's struggles this season lie with his protection. The offensive line has been putrid most of the season, and two position coaches were fired this week, in Terry Heffernan and Jeremiah Washburn.
The Vikings' defense sacked Stafford seven times last week, and kept him from having more than a couple seconds to search for plays downfield. The offensive line also has struggled to open holes for the Lions' running backs - Detroit is dead last in the league in rushing yards per game.
Mayhew, in his support of Stafford, said that it was his job as GM to bring in talent to surround the quarterback.
"I think we have a number of quality players on the offensive line but it just hasn't come together," Mayhew said. "First couple games, Matthew got hit way too much, so we're trying to get that cleaned up. As you saw last week, it was another situation where there was too much pressure on him, so we've got to get that cleaned up to be effective on offense."