Stafford lounging in ATL while he should have been preparing for game!

by Lionsffl on Nov 7, 2009 4:29 AM EST

I could not believe what I was watching last week Sunday. After all the progress that I thought we had made as a team this year we should have blown out the worst (or so I thought) team in the league. The only thing that I can attribute the loss to the Rams to is bad preparation. I mean we have the personnel this year to beat the Rams and it was a home game. No excuses to fail on this one. The Failure came before the men even walked unto the field. The focus obviousl y was not there by the coaching staff and for SURE i know was not there by the starting QB! I grew up in MI but currently live in Atlanta, GA. On Monday October 26 I took my girlfriend out to a nice restaurant in ATL. About 20 minutes after I walked in, Stafford strolls in with his girlfriend. I could not believe that he was still in Atlanta so late after the bye week. From everything I read the Lions had praticed the previous Thursday and Friday, which Stafford did not attend. He finally showed up for practice on Tuesday morning (the morning after I spotted him in Atlanta) almost five days after all the other players were back in Detroit. I almost gave him a pass for this because he was hurt, but then he is the starting QB for the week and he looks like he is underprepared and a little unsure of the gameplan. I cannot believe that a rookie who is gettting paid the money Stafford is would be so unprofessional as to not be in the film room and practice everytime he can--even if he is injured. He should be going over the playbook and be going through gameplan just like all the other guys even if he is injured. After seeing STafford just lounging around in Atlanta 6 days before the game and then saw the results of the game I was livid at the coaching staff, for not making Stafford come to practices even when he was hurt, and at Matthew, for not being dedicated enough to suck it up and put the time needed into the gameplan. Unbelievable!!!! Totally frustrated and discouraged after a loss that should have been a win and momentum changer!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pride of Detroit or its writers. FanPosts are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable fans.

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The reason we lost....

….to the rams is becasue Wides were dropping passes that Stafford put on the money……Not becasue we wernt prepared……If Staffs passes were being caught like they should have been we would have won

by BennieBladesFan on Nov 7, 2009 9:26 AM EST reply actions

I agree...to a point

with BBF…I don’t at all agree with LionsFFL

Bennie…Matt had some throws that were a bit off target (grated, CJ or Herman Moore would have caught them) but you are absolutly right…most of his passes were at least good if not very good…and should have been caught.

It is sickening how much we rely on Calvin. Really.

http://cmufootball.blogspot.com/

by CapitolLions on Nov 7, 2009 9:56 AM EST up reply actions

Dude

Nobody was here during the weekend. It’s a bye week. Our first practice after the bye week wasn’t until Tuesday, which is when players had to be back.

Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog

by Sean Yuille on Nov 7, 2009 10:05 AM EST reply actions

Really

I mean it’s probably his only chance to come home during the season. Give the kid a break.

by ImPuLsE on Nov 8, 2009 12:29 AM EST up reply actions

AND

His girlfriend is HOT

by ImPuLsE on Nov 8, 2009 12:29 AM EST up reply actions

All of them!

http://cmufootball.blogspot.com/

by CapitolLions on Nov 8, 2009 9:03 AM EST up reply actions

and even if he

was in georgia i dont understand how he could of got there i mean its NOT LIKE HES A MULTI MILLIONAIRE AND COULDNT TAKE A JET 3 HOURS TO SEE THE PERSON HE LOVES.

completely irresponsible!

(dripping in sarcasm)

by IAmGross on Nov 7, 2009 10:36 AM EST reply actions

Yikes!

LOL

http://cmufootball.blogspot.com/

by CapitolLions on Nov 7, 2009 10:41 AM EST up reply actions

I dont know if you guys are true Lions fans...

I can’ t believe some of the statements on here! Was no one mad about the fact that we lost to the toothless rams? Does anyone challenge the fact that our personnel is better than the Rams? And if that is the case then it comes down to preparation and execution- neither of which we did. I do agree that Stafford threw some good balls that should have been caught (like the one bomb down the sideline to Bryant Johnson), but the offense still had multiple chances to redeem itself and just could not get it done. And apparently I expect more out of a rookie QB who has 45 million in the bank then you guys do. I expect him to put in extra hours, not just what is required of him! If you look at the greats one of the things that sets them apart is their fanatical preparation. I guess he just thinks he can skate by because he has a cannon for an arm…

by Lionsffl on Nov 7, 2009 11:27 AM EST reply actions

i gotta agree with you on this one

to me, it doesn’t matter if stafford had a good game or a bad game against the rams. the fact is that he is a rookie starting qb in the league. if he is to have the type of year matt ryan did (or even flacco), then he needs to put in extra work. im not saying he shouldnt go out and have his fun, but i feel that he should have been back in detroit with 6 days left before the game (so should’ve the other players)

The beginning of the end of the misery

by Latif Masud on Nov 7, 2009 11:33 AM EST up reply actions

I understand your reasoning here

But you can’t expect Stafford to work on his day off during the only bye week of the season (especially while being hurt). I don’t think it’s unreasonable for him to visit his girlfriend from his hometown for a day or two before returning to practice according to schedule. I can understand being outraged if he skipped practice to go to Atlanta, but if the rest of the team wasn’t practicing, what harm was done?

by Kalzilla on Nov 7, 2009 11:41 AM EST up reply actions

agreed

by x$pcents IV on Nov 7, 2009 2:40 PM EST up reply actions

i mean..

to clarify, i agree that it doesn’t matter at all that Stafford had dinner with his girlfriend on his night off. WTF, who give a rats?

CATCH THE DAMN BALL!!!!!

by x$pcents IV on Nov 7, 2009 2:44 PM EST up reply actions

Does anyone challenge the fact that our personnel is better than the Rams?

They had their best player (Steven Jackson). We didn’t have our best player (Calvin Johnson). So, talent-wise, I would challenge that idea. We’re both thin teams at this point in a rebuilding season (evidence: both teams only have one win so far!).

The Lions probably have a little bit more raw talent and upside on their roster, but a lot of our “upside” guys are rookies.

Yes, I was upset that we lost to the Rams, but it’s not like both teams weren’t extremely beatable.

As for Stafford getting a few days off during the bye week during the grind of an NFL season, I don’t have a problem with it. In fact, having time here & there to relieve stress & unwind would probably help a lot of these guys, given how much concentration it takes to stay sharp during the season.

by n4ry4 on Nov 7, 2009 11:59 AM EST up reply actions

rookies in the league have been at it for nearly 18mo's by the end of their first season

after their final college year is done…if their good thats January…they are preparing & working out for the draft, having scouts out, very little rest. after the draft is done, they are in rookie camps, ota’s & preseason. then they start the 16game skid. throw into this media time & endorsements…i am perfectly ok with staff taking “a date” night. did anyone see him the week prior? maybe he had extra personal film time…who knows. yes i want him putting in extra time…he has been at the facility first rehabbing his knee & the last one to leave … often the last to leave the film room too. at least he wasn’t at a club shoving some bouncer.

by londonlion on Nov 7, 2009 12:04 PM EST up reply actions

sorry, +1 n4ry4

by londonlion on Nov 7, 2009 12:05 PM EST up reply actions

Hee! Hee!! Hee!!!

Normally, this type of talk gets me in trouble. Posters on here question my lineage, whether I was dropped on my head as a child, my relations with lesser species…that sort of thing.
It is nice to know someone else will be taking the heat, if only briefly…

by rbanner on Nov 7, 2009 9:00 PM EST up reply actions

I would love to believe this story, (not callin ya a liar)

But if I was in the same building as the starting rookie QB of the Lions, you better believe I’d have a picture. Oh and I wouldn’t have waited 2 weeks to tell you guys. Just Sayin’

by j16941 on Nov 7, 2009 2:57 PM EST reply actions

I actually did

I have 2 pics on him. I was at the bar with my girl and he was sitting at a booth about 10 feet away from us. The only thing I had on me was an iphone so I snapped some bad quality shots of him.

by Lionsffl on Nov 8, 2009 2:33 AM EST up reply actions

2 pics of him

by Lionsffl on Nov 8, 2009 2:33 AM EST up reply actions

so post em'....

by j16941 on Nov 8, 2009 3:14 AM EST up reply actions

lol

http://cmufootball.blogspot.com/

by CapitolLions on Nov 8, 2009 9:04 AM EST up reply actions

Let's get to the important stuff........

What did they have to eat?

What? He can’t block a dead gopher? Humph, details.

by GRLion on Nov 8, 2009 2:15 PM EST up reply actions

How dare he goes and gets laid on his week off!

by JazzyBBP on Nov 7, 2009 3:15 PM EST reply actions

lol

and make use of his stardom!

by londonlion on Nov 7, 2009 3:24 PM EST up reply actions

Got no problem with it

As long as he is not blowing off scheduled practices and sessions, I don’t care what he is doing with his time off.

2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).
Zack Follett: he will hurt your mind.

by Hyperion Ecta on Nov 7, 2009 6:12 PM EST reply actions

by j16941 on Nov 8, 2009 2:36 PM EST up reply actions

Your $100 bill?

:o)

by KDawg on Nov 8, 2009 2:38 PM EST up reply actions

NO!

His silly…. Gotta Get Sumthin Out Of This….

Or just make him buy me a shot or something, but shit I would have got a better story than this whiny crap, If I was dinning is the same place as Stafford…. we would’ve partied all night!

And Jim Schwartz would have been callin’ me the next day with the disciplinary phone call!

by j16941 on Nov 8, 2009 2:45 PM EST up reply actions