You know why your comment was a cheap shot? Cuz we weren’t talking about Stafford, we were talking about Cook, you’re the one who started in on Stafford for no reason.
So, you’re always down on the sidelines, are ya? Know everything that was said before, during, and after the games? You never saw him taking the blame when he played poorly? You’ve never heard him holding himself accountable? Maybe you just forgot, cuz the rest of us have seen it.
Maybe you know more than his coaches and teammates, yeah that’s it. What do they know, right? Read this, it’s from 2016 but I don’t think Stafford is any less of a leader now than he was then. Maybe it’ll change your mind, but I doubt it:
There was a bit more fire to Stafford on that drive, as he was clearly yelling “Look at me” as the television camera focused on Stafford after Eric Ebron’s catch on the final drive. He was then caught on camera pointing to Jones and yelling “Get out. Get out” after Jones stayed in-bounds on his catch with 12 seconds left. It might have shown another level of growth in the leadership of a quarterback taking command and control of an offense. That’s exactly what the Lions need this season.
Stafford explained why he might have been viewed as more demonstrative during the final few seconds.
“We had one timeout left and I wanted to try and save that, you know. Just give us the full gamut of maybe we’re gonna run the ball the next play and it didn’t happen,” Stafford said. "It didn’t end up costing us. It’s not a huge thing but something where situationally we can be a little bit better.
“I’m on those guys as much as I can to try and do everything right. I don’t do everything right myself, but that kind of striving for perfection is going to get us to where we want to be.”
None of the Lions who were on the field during Detroit’s final drive seemed to think Stafford was any more animated than normal, though. They all said it was extremely loud in Lucas Oil Stadium. So when the television showed Stafford yelling and screaming, they said it might have been to be as communicative as possible as he tried to lead the Lions to a win.
“It’s like that. You can’t see me, but I’m screaming at my tackle who is like barely even not much farther than you are from me and I’m screaming at him because I can barely hear him, you know,” said right guard Larry Warford, standing a couple feet from a reporter. "And he’s talking to the receiver 10 yards out or whatever, telling them what to do, you can only imagine how difficult it is.
“So we want to over-communicate in those situations, and that’s what he did. He’s doing the right thing.”
That includes Stafford hurrying his team up in the final 37 seconds and imploring them to get out of bounds to stop the clock. So if he appeared more animated than he normally is, it’s because Detroit was in a bit of a time crunch.
None of his teammates have questioned whether or not he has emerged as a leader in Calvin Johnson’s retirement. They said Stafford’s been that all along.
“Staff’s always been our leader,” Ebron said.
Stafford has led these types of drives before, having put together 21 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime during his eight-year career. He’s always had that level of confidence, and his yelling was at least somewhat similar to what led to his fake spike during Detroit’s 2013 win over Dallas on the game’s final play.
Lions coach Jim Caldwell insists Stafford always had this kind of fire. He just might not show it all the time.
“You haven’t watched him closely, he’s always been that way,” Caldwell said. "He may not do it in a demonstrative way where you can visually see it.
“The things that you guys like to see and those kinds of things, where it’s quite evident, but he’s always been that way. He’s always been a great leader.”
