News Good On Stafford's Ankle
The Lions got relatively good news regarding QB Matthew Stafford's injured ankle on Monday. MRI results came back clean, meaning there was no structural damage.
"It's nothing more than day-to-day," coach Jim Schwartz said.
Stafford sustained the injury on the final offensive play of the game Sunday and was in a walking boot Sunday night and Monday.
"We will see where he is on Wednesday and hopefully we can get him back on the practice field," Schwartz said. "But he is no more than day-to-day. He's got an ankle; (his) knee is not an issue."
When asked to discuss the MRI results, Schwartz said, "I don't like to go there because I'd never want to discuss those kinds of things. But if there was (something on the MRI), he would be more than day-to-day. If he had a broken bone, he would be more than day-to-day."
The injury may be the least of Stafford's worries. He and the offense are in the midst of a two-game mini-slump. His passer rating dropped into the mid-70s for the second straight week. He completed a season-low 15 passes for a season-low 218 yards. The Lions were an abysmal one for 12 on third-down conversions and 0-for-2 in the red zone.
In the last two games, the Lions have had five goal-to-go situations and converted only one into six points. They are 3 for 27 on third-down conversions.
"That's not where we want to be," Schwartz said. "But I think if you talk about rhythm offensively, it was more first and second down for us than it was third down. It put us in those situations on third down."
What's been puzzling is Stafford's recent jitteriness in the pocket. He has been under some pressure, especially the previous week against the 49ers. But he seems to be rushing his throws and bailing out of the pocket too soon.
Former Ravens coach Bill Billick, who was part of the CBS crew that worked the game Sunday, agreed that Stafford was rushing.
"And I don't know if he needs to," he said during the broadcast. "I don't know if it's perceived pressure or actual pressure, but he's not settling in and throwing the way we've seen him throw before."
Schwartz said the problem was on the offense as a unit, not on Stafford specifically.
"It all works together;" he said, "the offensive line protecting, the quarterback making good decisions and good throws, and the receivers finishing the plays with catches. We were inconsistent in all three of those phases.
"We have the potential to do it, we've done it before, and we have confidence that we'll get back to it."
Copyright (C) 2011 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.
