Detroit Lions Weblog

Lynn Henning on Matthew Stafford

Lynn Henning is probably my favorite local sports writer. Usually, Henning’s learned focus is placed upon the Detroit Tigers, Michigan State sports, or the wonders of the Michigan outdoors.

Within his extensive body of work, he has made a few, too-brief forays into analyzing the Detroit Lions. Recently, it appears that Henning has been called upon more frequently to plunge into the depths of understanding what constitutes, in my view, the most incompetent and unsuccessful franchise in the history of professional sports in this country.

Henning has recently done two excellent features about Matthew Stafford’s pro day workouts in Athens, Georgia, which took place this past week. One of the two, which I found particularly enlightening, “Is ‘The Sky the Limit’ for Mathew Stafford”, reveals a lot about what some informed voices see in Stafford’s immense potential.

From one NFL scout:

“He’s (Stafford) got an off-and-on switch,” said one scout, a former NFL standout who asked not to be identified in the tradition of scouts who choose to protect their teams and their information. “The question is can he stay interested for four quarters?” The same scout did later add, ““With the right coach, the sky’s the limit.”

In the vast gadget-packed world of fast-paced, video game-induced, twitter-length, minute attention spans, the Lions, and by proxy Lions fans, want to ask a young guy to be focused and stay on task? To be fully committed?

Obviously, to be successful at all, the franchise quarterback, who is the embodiment of, and an organization’s most outward manifestation of, the coherency and solvency of their “plan”, must be fully engaged and focused.

In the words of another scout, who provides backhanded commentary/criticism of Bulldog’s coach Mark Richt and his offense:

“Scattershot offense,” another NFL scout said. “(Stafford’s alleged meanderings) might have been the game plan. They never seemed to figure out if it (crunch-time strategy) was going to be Stafford or Knowshon (Moreno)

In response to that observation, Henning added:

But what offense can afford to be individually based, except during two minute drills? Stafford is being looked at by the Lions as an integral, dynamic piece of what they hope will at last (Steve: “cue Etta James?”) be a shrewdly constructed football roster.

Their question is whether Stafford qualifies as one of these quarterbacks of such luster that he can be a difference-maker on a team that desperately needs to select one with the 1st draft pick?

Ultimately, that is where the real risk lies, because that question will not be answered unless the Lions jump into the shark-infested depths feet first, and actually select Stafford. The speculation and projection will only answer so much.

Stafford adds (He should be careful what he wishes for, methinks):

“I think it would be an honor to be taken No. 1,” he said, “And No. 2, I also want to get a chance to turn something around.” “That would be a heck of a place for me to go.”

Since the time that Stafford provided these amiable quotes, I haven’t necessarily believed them to be transparent, but do believe they are an indicator of the overpowering influence of agents and the media-savvy, 24-hour-sports-news saturated world that big-time athletes reside within.

I don’t want to accuse Stafford of being disingenuous, but obviously, he understands his role, and plays the part as scripted, in this “movie”.

Ultimately, the best insight, comes from the strangest of places (Deadheads:Sometimes, you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right). Henning spoke with Georgia Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity member, Scott Jackson, who is a sophomore from Greensboro, North Carolina. Jackson sums up Stafford in a few, brief words:

“If he(Stafford) can’t throw to Calvin Johnson, he can’t throw to anyone.”

On April 25th, Lions fans will be viewing first-hand the team’s decision as to whether the potential Stafford-to-Johnson connection is ultimately a success or a failure? I hope you find the time to get some calm sleep before then, Martin Mayhew, as you ponder the dream/nightmare scenarios, which are precariously straddling two sides of the same coin for the rest of us, at this point.

Addendum: Michael Lombardi wrote a great article on The National Football Post about the conspicuous absence of former Lions offensive coordinator, Mike Martz this season in the NFL.

There is, I know admittedly, I’m sick, a small part of me that wonders if the Lions were to eventually add either Jay Cutler or Matthew Stafford this off-season, with the presence of Kevin Smith and Calvin Johnson, what could the mad scientist Mike Martz conjure from the Lions offense, if he were still in charge.

There is an even sicker part of me, I’m sorry Drew Stanton, your nightmares will likely never subside, that would want a bird’s eye view of the maniacal Martz de-constructing Matthew Stafford first-hand, changing his approach to how he holds the ball, utilizes his footwork, etc.

Martz reminds me of a delirious, dehydrated conquistador searching the desert for a fabled “Lost City of Gold”, or in Martz’s case, regaining an elusive, but no less pertinent, career high point, which is located on some far off vista, but as the thirsty warrior/Martz approaches, it fades again from view, and Martz approaches madness, or at the very least uncontrollable anger as the realization that his “El Dorado” exists only within the imagination, at this point.