Willie Young Looking Forward To Chance To Sack Matthew Stafford
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - Defensive end Willie Young spent years chasing after quarterback Matthew Stafford in practices. As a fellow Detroit Lion, he never got to actually hit Stafford, of course.
"You bust your tail out there in practice trying to get to the quarterback, and you give it all you've got, play after play," Young said. "You could beat the guy across from you, you could beat him four times in a row, but I dare you to touch that quarterback."
Now a member of the Chicago Bears, Young - who spent the first four years of his career in Detroit - will finally have a chance to sack Stafford.
"We're in a situation now where it's totally different for me," Young said Tuesday. "I'm probably one of few guys that has an opportunity Thursday to come out and tee off on Matt Stafford. Trust me, it won't be anything personal. It's just business."
Stafford grinned as he talked about Young, who celebrates sacks by mimicking a fisherman reeling in a catch.
"He's a high energy guy all the time," Stafford said. "He's got one speed. He likes to go and likes to talk. He's a great guy and one of my favorite teammates we've played with, honestly. He's a fun guy, very talkative and very fun to be around.
"He's a big fisherman, so [we'll] try to keep the sack dance away from him this week as much as we can," Stafford added.
Young spoke highly of his former quarterback, calling him a cool guy and describing him as a passer who gets rid of the ball quickly and makes smart decisions. He joked, however, that Stafford's compliments were intended to get Young to take it easy on him Thursday.
"Absolutely, yeah, he's trying to butter me up on that one," Young said with a laugh. "I can see why he might be trying to be kind of nice to me right now. He's a little low on protection right now, so I don't blame him for being nice right now."
The Lions will likely start two rookies Thursday - Cornelius Lucas at left tackle and Travis Swanson at right guard. The offense has struggled, failing to score a touchdown in either of its last two games, and the Lions are 28th in the NFL in points per game, but Young dismissed the importance of scoring more.
"What are they, 7-3 right now?" Young said. "Well, guess what, my man? Guess what? Last time I checked, this league was all about winning, my brother. At the end of the day, you can have all your sacks, tackles for losses, you could have whatever you want, but if you don't come away with that win, it doesn't matter. I don't care if you win by a point or by 500 points, you get that win, you're doing something right, you know? I don't know what it is, but you're doing something right."