Former Lion Matthew Stafford shares his thoughts on the 2023 Lions
It was just a few weeks ago when Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford made his return to Detroit after the Lions traded him following the 2020 season. His return was a big story and for good reason. This was the Lions first playoff game at home at Ford Field and they had to beat […]
It was just a few weeks ago when Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford made his return to Detroit after the Lions traded him following the 2020 season. His return was a big story and for good reason. This was the Lions first playoff game at home at Ford Field and they had to beat their past to move on. The response that Stafford got in Detroit was a hearty amount of boos and he seemed to understand that.
Click on Detroit caught up with Stafford this week and asked him about his thoughts on the Lions and if he was surprised that the Lions turned out to be one of the best teams in the NFL in 2023.
"No. I thought they were built for it. I mean you never know what it's, you know, how far they're gonna go and all that, but the fact that they're a good team, that didn't surprise me at all." Stafford said. "I mean that their offensive line is really talented and when they got both the backs going there. Jared played at a really good clip that I mean, it takes some emergence, right like it takes that rookie class that they had was really, really good. I mean, I put it up against I mean, ours was great as well. You know, I mean, two of the teams that had success had a bunch of rookies that were playing at a high clip and those guys showed up for their for their team, for sure."
Stafford and the Rams may have gotten one of the best performances of Jared Goff's career in the playoffs when he completed 81.5% of his passes against the Rams and led the team to their first playoff win in over 30 years. Stafford is right, that's a pretty good clip.
Stafford was also asked for his thoughts on Lions head coach Dan Campbell and he talked about how the two had met briefly before the Lions traded Stafford and that he came away from that meeting feeling that the Lions were in good hands.
"He's an engaging guy to talk to. I think he does a great job with the media and then obviously does a great job in his locker room. He cares a lot. I think one of the biggest things that head coaches that have success in the league are is authentic. You can be authentic and be Dan Campbell or you can be authentic and be Andy Reid and they're just polar opposites right, but it also it plays in the locker room because you can't sit there and you know, fake it. There's too many eyes on you and guys will call you out and it won't work and those guys are two of the most like authentic guys as it gets and it works for their teams."
Pretty high praise to compare Dan Campbell to Andy Reid who is just coming off back to back Super Bowl wins. Maybe someday we'll be able to say the same about Campbell. As for Stafford, it was nice to hear these things from a guy that doesn't play here anymore and even though he got booed by Detroit, I think there's still of ton of respect here for him.
Julian Okwara signs with Eagles after Lions let him walk
Free agency has not started, but the Detroit Lions have lost their first free agent of the year. Former third-round pick Julian Okwara will not return to the Lions. He has signed a futures/reserves deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. Okwara was picked by former Lions GM Bob Quinn in his final draft as the Lions […]
