BY JASON PRACH
Over the last few weeks, fans and national media have brought up the glaring question that has gotten Detroit fans talking and grumbling. Is Matthew Stafford part of the solution? Or his he part of the problem? Those questions, and many others have Detroit fans angry this week after Detroit lost to the Chicago Bears 34-22 at Soldier Field on Sunday. The Lions fall to 3-6 in the 2018 campaign and now have dropped 3 straight and 2 of those were to division opponents. It looked as if the Lions had given up on this season. After the Lions lost to Seattle 28-14 at home, Lions General Manager Bob Quinn decided to trade star wide receiver Golden Tate to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2019 3rd round Draft pick. Tate, in the last year of his contract who signed as a free agent in 2014 from Seattle, had 4 straight years of 90 plus catches 3 of those seasons with 1000 yards receiving and essentially the best Lions free agent signing that had made such an impact for Quarterback Matt Stafford ; the security blanket and Lions really only play maker that could be counted on. Since the trade the Lions have looked dejected and uninspired. Did Bob Quinn quit on this season by trading Golden Tate? Yes the Lions get a 3rd rounder from the Eagles in Aprils’ draft, but was it worth it. The Lions were 0-2 and some questioned the hire of Matt Patricia after losing both winnable games to the Jets at home and the 49ers on the road. The Lions having won 3 of the last 4 games and all looked well with the running game, with Offensive Coordinator Jim Bob Cooter everything looked good after the win at Miami in mid October. The question I have for Lions fans and Bob Quinn. Why do you make this move now during the season? Tate is a well liked guy in the locker room and a team player. Maybe the Lions were looking to trade Tate this off-season but had no trade offers that came up. Either way, the team has been playing the most uninspiring football in the last 3 games and most of the blame has fallen on Matt Stafford and Jim Bob Cooter. Bob Quinn has addressed the offensive line by drafting G/C Frank Ragnow and free agent signing Rick Wagner. However the right side of offensive line has been getting outplayed to say the least. Injuries have hurt with T.J Lang being out as well. However, the Lions have given up 20 sacks in the last 3 games. That is unacceptable either way you look at it.
Is Jim Bob Cooter the answer at Offensive Coordinator?
My answer would be no, and even if Matt Stafford likes him, Quinn and Patricia need to get together and figure out who can run this offense without a total input from Stafford. Patricia could have brought in his own guy to lead this offense and its looking to be more and more of a mistake retaining him. The play calling has been abysmal and very conservative out of the gate early in games. Sure do some receivers need to get open, yes. Do the players need to execute? Of Course its very obvious and with Matt Stafford his play must be better. Such as a 3rd and 5 pass play that Stafford could have literally walked to the 1st down marker and instead fired an incomplete pass into double coverage. As a veteran QB in this league, you have to convert. The Lions have tried and are still trying to build around Stafford, but it is starting to look more and more evident that there is something really wrong. Whether its internal or not, this team has just shown lack of intensity and is getting run of games early and that is a sad case. The bright spot for this team has been running back Kerryon Johnson. A 2nd round pick from Auburn who has played great rushing for 554 yards 5.4 ypc on 103 carries with 2 Td’s and has shown he can be an all purpose back with 30 receptions and 1 TD receiving. Things coming into this season that were addressed, keeping Matt Stafford off his back, and establishing a run game. Injuries have hurt up front and unfortunately teams have taken advantage. At times the run game looks good, but when you’re falling behind early and often with lack of urgency, its just a recipe for disaster that continues to plague this team. Bottom line is Matt Stafford has to be better with his decision making. He has to extend plays, rolling out of the pocket and not forcing balls into coverage. Getting rid of the football and not taking a sack when you have time in the pocket. Yes the offensive line has been manhandled, but the play calling by Cooter has been awful and the communication between Cooter & Stafford looks as if they are clueless.
Should the Lions look into trading Matt Stafford?
I really believe this hurts Lions fans and the team mostly for the present. For the Lions and the team, Stafford has a 48 million cap hit that the Lions would be hit if they decided to release him. So that is not gonna happen. Quinn has some interesting options going into next off-season. He could trade him for a slew of draft picks to a team like Denver or Dallas, but it will hurt the overall team in the present. In the future, if the Lions were to part ways, they could get out from underneath a contract that would still have 2 years remaining of his 135 million deal that Stafford can opt out of in 2020. If the Lions traded Tate, Quinn could entertain the thought of a Stafford trade, but it will come at a cost for teams who are interested. Quinn will have to replace him quickly and I don’t see him trading away his franchise QB without one in mind ready to make an impact. I wouldn’t be against trading Stafford at this point of his career, because if Quinn waits 2 more years his value will not be there. It will be interesting to see what direction Quinn decides to go here, but if he pulls the trigger it could get them out from the contract in the long term, even though it will hurt the Lions present chances. That is the sad part of this whole thing. Lions fans should ask themselves is he still the guy?
