Stafford: 'I Can Do Better'
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford turned in his worst statistical performance of the season Sunday against the New England Patriots, completing just 18 of 46 passes for 264 yards. More worrisome for the Lions: Detroit failed for a second straight week to score even a single touchdown.
Stafford said Tuesday he will focus on the latter problem more than the former.
"I'm not too worried about my stats," Stafford said. "I'm trying to get this offense in the end zone as much as possible. Whatever it takes to get that done, I'm going to do it."
The quarterback has completed 58.8 percent of his passes this season for 2,943 yards and has thrown 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Stafford said he feels comfortable in the new offense, but he knows he has room for improvement.
"There's a couple different things," Stafford said. "Obviously you want to complete every ball you throw, want to get the protection correct, called correctly every time, but you play a good defense and you don't play well on offense, it's not going to be a good day."
The quarterback said calling protections has not been as much of a challenge as one might think, but the turnover along the offensive line played a role in the struggles Sunday.
"For the most part we're on the same page, but we have guys - you know last week, first play of the game you lose your left tackle [Riley Reiff] and a guy [Cornelius Lucas] that's been practicing and playing right tackle the whole season's got to come in and fill in at left, and he's a rookie," Stafford said. "Not to say that he had a bunch of missed assignments, but it changes the whole dynamic. Those guys are trust. They've got to trust each other, play with each other as much as possible. You look at the o-lines that play great, they've been around, they've played together with a bunch of games.
"Our guys are playing at a damn good level not having a whole lot of games under their belt together," Stafford added.
In Sunday's game, the Lions had two rookies - Lucas and Travis Swanson - playing in place of injured veterans Reiff and right guard Larry Warford. Stafford faced a considerable amount of pressure. The quarterback said, however, that he does not play with the patchwork nature of the offensive line on his mind.
"As a quarterback, once you start thinking about that, I think you're in trouble," Stafford said. "I drop back every time with trust, confidence that it's going to be a great pocket in front of me. It's NFL football. They get paid to rush the passer. It's not always that way for everybody, but it's on me to make sure that when it is that way and things are right in front of you, you play as good as you can, and I can do better."
Lions head coach Jim Caldwell has noted often that quarterbacks receive more than their share of credit for wins and more than their share of blame for losses. Stafford struggled against New England, but it certainly did not help that three well-placed throws were dropped in the end zone, and players missed on some passes in the middle of the field as well.
"The position in which he plays, there are always some ups and downs and there are peaks and valleys," Caldwell said. "He placed some balls very well, I think. He did some things that were pretty pinpoint passes that he didn't have an opportunity to get credit for, for one reason or another. I think those are the things you have to be able to look at, at that spot. He gets you into the right running plays, he makes the checks that you need, he balances out the time period in and out the huddle, and he manages those things well.
"The big thing that you have to understand is that this is a team effort," Caldwell added. "The offense has to play well, the defense has to play well, and our kicking game has to play well. That's what we're interested in more than anything else. Does the team get its mission accomplished? We did not, the team failed in that regard, so we're finished with that one and on to the next one."