Lions: Teammates Come to Matthew Stafford’s Defense
By Zac Snyder
While today’s Detroit Lions news centered on the firing of general manager Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand, the fallout cast a much bigger shadow. It is clear everyone who remains will be under close scrutiny for the rest of the season, from front office personnel on down to the players.
That certainly includes high-profile players like starting quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Soon after the news of the departure of Mayhew and Lewand was announced, speculation started swirling about what it would mean for Stafford with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reporting that Stafford’s future with the Lions is in doubt.
The future beyond 2015 for #Lions QB Matthew Stafford is very much in doubt, as I understand it.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 5, 2015
Punter Sam Martin took to twitter to voice his support of Stafford, indicating that no one in the locker room questions whether Stafford is the guy to lead their team.
Appearing on 105.1 FM in Detroit this afternoon with Matt Dery and Drew Sharp, Rapoport said that Stafford was unable to take on as much information as former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi would have liked.
That’s a dot that can probably be connected to the most vociferous response to the Stafford chatter today came from his backup, Dan Orlovsky.
@RapSheet not going to sit back and let what's being said be said. Staff is highly highly intelligent, and has an even better football mind.
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 5, 2015
@RapSheet just because an offense is tweaked or altered doesn't mean it's "dumbed-down". Great coaches adapt what they do to who they have
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 5, 2015
@RapSheet when staff was breaking records, over multiple years. no one questioned his intelligence. Let's not start now bc of 1-7.
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 5, 2015
@RapSheet and last time I checked dudes who aren't smart don't win Pro-Bowl MVP's.
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 5, 2015
Orlovsky was on fire there for a while but lost me when he brought up the Pro Bowl MVP. It took several quarterbacks pulling out of the even for Stafford to even be named a Pro Bowler and the lack of real defense being played is a pretty nice set up for a slinger like Stafford. And really, Orlovsky didn’t even need to go there. He’s in the locker room and the meetings with Stafford so his opinion should carry weight without the need to point to stats or honors, especially an honor like a Pro Bowl MVP.