Lions' Stafford Heralds Brady's Performance
--QB Matthew Stafford was asked what he thought of Tom Brady's 517-yard performance against the Dolphins Monday night? "He played good," said Stafford, winning the weekly prize for understatement. "He does such a good job taking what the defense gives him and they were giving him a lot of one-on-one coverage and he was taking advantage of it." OK, but what were you thinking as you were watching it? Were you envious? Did it give you something to strive for? Were you a little jealous? "I didn't think about it like that," Stafford said. "I just appreciated it. It was a great performance."
--Stafford threw for 305 yards and three scores Sunday, but he was far from satisfied. "I definitely missed some plays," he said. "The first one that comes to mind is the one where I got (cornerback Aqib) Talib to jump a short route and had Calvin (Johnson) in the end zone. We were at the 5 and I threw it about into the third row of the stands, I was so excited. I am my own worst critic. I thought I played OK, good enough for us to win. But there was still a lot left out there."
--One thing that Stafford and Brady have in common is the pace with which they operate their respective offenses. Both the Lions and Patriots attack quickly, relentlessly, lining up without a huddle at various times throughout the game. "We ran 49 plays in the first half," Stafford said. "I know that's the most since I've been here. We are getting better at it. It's something you practice and go out and make it work. We're getting a lot of reps with that and it is working for us."
Coach Jim Schwartz indicated they might have overcooked the pace a little bit in the oppressive heat in Tampa, but the no-huddle isn't going anywhere. "We sort of tired ourselves out," he said. "It got to the point where we had to manage our quarterback a little bit. But that's a big part of our offense and it will be a part of the game plan every week."
--The Lions aren't taking anything for granted. The Chiefs lost their best defensive back in safety Eric Berry (torn ACL). But that doesn't mean the Lions will alter their approach to exploit that. "He's a great player," Stafford said. "I played against him in college and I've seen the tape of him as a pro. It's a loss for them. But this is the NFL and everybody can play. The guy that backs him up is going to be capable of making plays."
--Because of the significant upgrade at linebacker, the statistics for the defensive linemen might not be as gaudy as they were last year. That doesn't mean their level of play has deteriorated. "Our goal wasn't to get highlight-reel stuff; our goal's to be effective and win the game," coach Jim Schwartz said. "I thought the D-line played very effectively. They obviously stopped the run, they were around the passer all day, they had a sack, a forced fumble from our D-line, a lot of other quarterback hits."
--Lions president Tom Lewand wouldn't comment Wednesday on any contract negotiations that could be ongoing or upcoming for players on one-year contracts. "I don't have any expectations," he said. "We're always looking at some of those issues but I don't have any specific comment on anybody or any number of guys at this point in time." Defensive end Cliff Avril, linebacker Stephen Tulloch and corner Eric Wright are just a few notable players whose contracts are up at the end of the year.
--The Lions are 8-point favorites for Sunday. That is the most they've been favored by in a game since the 2000 season finale against the Bears (nin points).
BY THE NUMBERS
20 - Consecutive games the Lions have recorded a sack, second most in the NFL.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Nobody is walking around here talking about good we are or how great this team is. We got a huge win and we feel like we need to get better. If we continue making the mistakes we made on Sunday, it's going to get us beat." -- DE Kyle Vanden Bosch.
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