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Tag: matthew stafford

  • Mike Ditka Wants Matthew Stafford To Wear His Hat Correctly

    Mike Ditka, former coach for the Bears and Saints, is an old-fashioned coach who believes that the leader of the football team should respect their game on and off of the field.

    This is why Ditka has made his frustration known about the Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford consistently wearing his hat backwards.

    “I think he can make all the throws. He’s a smart kid,” Ditka said, during an interview with the Detroit Free Press. “I wish he’d put the baseball cap on frontwards instead of backwards all the time.”

    Ditka explains that he is not “knocking him”, but he believes he should be a leader, and that his appearance should reflect his leadership.

    “If you’re the leader of the football team, I think you’ve got to stand up and be that leader, assume that role,” Ditka said. “A lot of it is what you do on the field, certainly. But I think a little of it has to do with appearance, too. You know, respect the game, respect your team. That’s all.

    I’m not knocking him. I’m just saying that’s the first thing I would tell him if I inherited him. When you’re going to go do an interview, put it on like it’s supposed to be on, not backwards, sidewards, whatever way they put them on anymore.”

    Luckily for Stafford, Ditka is not his coach. Of course the Lions’ coach could set rules regarding the appearance of his players, but so far, there are none. So, Stafford can, apparently, continue wearing his hat however he wants to.

    Image via Twitter

  • Detroit Lions Are On The Hunt For New Coach, Who Wants The Job?

    The Detroit Lions have been on the search for a new coach ever since their terrible season ended recently. The Lions have a solid team, but simply need someone better in charge that can lead them.

    The position should be a desirable one since most people would argue that the Lions had the best chance of making the playoffs when compared to the other teams that did not make it.

    Working with one of the top quarterbacks, Matthew Stafford, and arguably the best receiver in the league, Calvin Johnson, the Detroit Lions are likely to have a succesful season again next year as long as they can get an experienced coach who can guide them well.

    The Lions fired Jim Schwartz during the series of black Monday firings that also saw several other NFL coaches lose their jobs, forcing teams to go on the hunt for new coaches.

    While the Lions started the season 6-3, they finished with a disappointing record of 7-9, which immediately put Jim Schwartz in the hot seat, and Detroit fans continue to scratch their heads after more disappointment.

    Some teams have already found new coaches with Lovie Smith being hired as the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, someone who the Lions had looked at briefly due to their familiarity with his style when he was at Chicago.

    After that, they were seriously considering Ken Whisenhunt, who is the offensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers, but they lost out on that opportunity when he was hired as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans.

    The next most likely candidate, and the first person to actually interview with the Detroit Lions after Jim Schwartz was fired, is Jim Caldwell. Caldwell is currently the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, another team that was predicted to go to the playoffs after winning the Super Bowl, but did not make it.

    Jim Caldwell has previously been the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, and before that coached under Tony Dungy as an assistant. Dungy was also briefly considered, but was not willing to come out of retirement.

    As a result, he spoke highly of Jim Caldwell and what he thought he could do for the Detroit Lions when saying “I think the Lions were not only impressed with Jim’s interview but they were pleasantly surprised by the number of former Colts players who called on his behalf. Jim made Peyton Manning an even better quarterback — look at the numbers and wins — and I think he can do the same for Matthew Stafford.”

    If Jim Caldwell is hired as the next coach of the Detroit Lions, it could mean good things for Detroit, and for the development of Matthew Stafford. The Lions team is filled with stars, and with a bit of help, they are capable of making a deep run in the playoffs.

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  • Jim Schwartz May Lose His Job After An Awful Season For The Detroit Lions

    Well, the post-season for the Detroit Lions is officially out of the picture after their embarrassing overtime loss to the New York Giants.

    Jim Schwartz has had his ups and downs as a coach, and the Lions have experienced the definition of an up and down season, bringing his future in the city of Detroit into question.

    Whether Jim Schwartz has lost his job as the Lions’ head coach will be determined in the coming weeks, but as a team that was set to win the division with a commanding lead earlier in the season, they have now been knocked out of the playoffs.

    In an almost impossible scenario, the Lions went from 6-3 to 7-8, making fans of the Detroit Lions wonder what could have possibly happened in the second half of the season. Then again, most Lions fans have become used to failure, after experiencing all their defeats of the past.

    Speaking on his possible departure, and the future of the Detroit Lions, Jim Scwartz said “Speculation is not my business.My business is coaching the team and trying to keep it focused. That’s job enough without worrying about all the other stuff.”

    They lost an ugly game to the Eagles in Philadelphia, during a major snowstorm, in a game that also saw running back LeSean McCoy set the rushing record for most yards in a game as a player for the Eagles, which escalated their downward spiral.

    The Lions were able to hit the final nail on the coffin when Jim Schwartz’s team was unable to defeat the Giants, a team that had struggled all season long, and had no reason to win the game, other than to embarrass the Lions even further.

    With the Bears and Packers playing without their starting quarterbacks and struggling for most of the season, it gave the Lions the opportunity to take control of a struggling NFC North division, but the Lions simply continued to beat themselves on every occasion they got.

    Matthew Stafford has thrown interceptions at all the wrong times throughout the season, including two last night, and one that helped the Giants get back in the game. After the game was sent to overtime, the Lions managed to lose on a long field goal for the second week in a row.

    With a record of 7-8, Jim Schwartz and the Detroit Lions have no chance of making the playoffs, even during a year with all sorts of possible playoff scenarios, and only two teams that have clinched a spot after week 16.

    With an unknown future going into the post-season, Jim Schwartz and the Lions have some serious decisions to make during the off-season. Should the Lions fire Jim Schwartz? Who should replace him?

    Earlier in the year, the Lions were considered one of the most dangerous teams in the NFL, and now they will not be in the playoffs.

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  • Detroit Lions Lose Again, Possibly Out Of The Playoffs

    As any fan of the NFL knows, the Detroit Lions have struggled a lot as a team. They seem to have finally rebounded, and are continuing to improve with the help of their star players, but it does not seem to be enough to help them.

    The Lions were in charge of the NFC North earlier in this season, and if there was ever a year for them to win the division it would be this year.

    The rest of the division has been disappointing all year, and while the Vikings have been out of the mix for much of the season, the Bears have been without Jay Cutler, and the Packers have been without Aaron Rodgers.

    The Detroit Lions will often have control of a game, and then seem to find a way to turn the ball over multiple times, and let their opponents back in the game.

    The team that embarrassed the Lions most recently was the Baltimore Ravens, who defeated them last night on the big stage during a huge game of Monday Night Football for both teams.

    Last week, they fell victim to the Eagles, who somehow found a way to score 34 points and win even during a huge snowstorm.

    Matthew Stafford, who threw two interceptions on 3rd and short, and a total of 3 in the game, admitted the obvious when saying “I didn’t play my best game by any means.”

    Both teams needed the win in order to remain active in the hunt for the playoffs, although the Lions have been slipping in the rankings more than anyone recently.

    The Lions had a record of 6-3 going into games against the Bucaneers and Steelers, which were two of the worst teams at the time, and lost both games. They have also lost four of their last five games since having the 5-3 record, and are now 7-7, with their hopes of making the playoffs falling apart, and no longer have the opportunity to control their own destiny.

    The Detroit Lions are led by two of the top players in the league in Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson, but for whatever reason, they simply are not able to win on the big stage, and when the pressure is mounting. T

    They had a chance to prove themselves last night against the Ravens, and while their defense came up big, not allowing any touchdowns, the Ravens capitalized with their kicker, using six field goals to win the game 18-15.

    In their last two remaining games of the season, the Lions play the Giants and the Vikings. These should be easy games to win if they play like they did against some teams, but while they no longer control their own destiny, they need the Bears and Packers to lose as well.

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  • LeSean McCoy Plows His Way Through Snowy Philly, Sets Rushing Record

    LeSean McCoy was by the far the most impressive performer in yesterday’s game between the Eagles and the Lions. In a game that started in a complete snowstorm, it was hard for either team to see what was going on for much of the first half, not to mention score.

    The Lions led the game with a score of 8-0 at halftime, which seemed as if it may have been enough with the way the first half played out.

    The Lions went up 14-0, and seemed to take control of the game, however, LeSean McCoy had other plans for how the game would play out. The game ended with a final score of 34-20 in favor of the Eagles.

    LeSean McCoy put his best performance, and more than most players, when he rushed for 217 yards and lifted the Eagles to victory. Despite the snowy conditions, he was the one who was able to outshine everyone else and somehow find a way for the Eagles to win in the Philadelphia snowstorm.

    McCoy broke the record for most rushing yards in a game that was previously held by Hall Of Famer Steven Van Buren in 1949, which was 205 yards. The Eagles rushed for 299 yards in total, while the Lions came into the game allowing the third-fewest yards rushing per game in the league.

    To get an idea of just how hard it would be to run in the snowy conditions, check this out.

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    He also became only the third member of the Eagles to rush for 200 yards in a single game in the the team’s history, with the other being Duce Staley in 2000. He is on pace for over 1,600 rushing yards, and would likely be in the hunt for MVP if it were not for all-star quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson.

    In contrast to McCoy’s record-setting performance, the Lions were hardly able to run at all, and it was revealed later in the day that the reason fans were not able to see Reggie Bush on the field throughout the game was because he injured himself before the game started when slipping on the snow.

    While completing his incredible performance through the snow, McCoy admitted how difficult it was to run when saying “It was tough, to be honest. But the guys were giving me so much room. I actually like to run in between the tackles.” It was certainly an impressive performance for the running back, and gave the Eagles their 8th win of the season.

    The game was very important for both the Lions and the Eagles, and with LeSean McCoy’s performance leading the Eagles to victory, it is an important statement for the team going into week 15.

    In his outstanding performance as a runner, McCoy had more yards than Matthew Stafford, Nick Foles or Calvin Johnson, who was held to only 49 receiving yards. Fortunately, Johnson only needed 40 yards to break the all-time record for receiving yards as a Detroit Lion.

    Imagesvia Facebook and SB Nation

  • Matthew Stafford: Lions QB Gives Generous Gift

    Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is receiving quite a bit of praise this week over a surprise gift he gave to a little boy over the weekend.

    Stafford attended a Mott Children’s Hospital fundraiser this weekend with his girlfriend Kelly, where they heard the story of a family with a very sick little girl named Faith. Faith’s older brother, Will, is a huge Lions fan and was happy just to meet Stafford, but then the young athlete did one better: he placed a $15,000 bid on his own Monday Night Football package and then gave it to Will and his family.

    Often, the siblings of sick children get overlooked even though they are dealing with the illness just as the rest of the family is, and Will is a shining example of a good big brother. His mother, who writes the blog MyFaith’sJourney, wrote that he is incredibly selfless and kind, and never complains about the enormous changes the family has faced since his sister became sick and his parents divorced.

    “We used to have a really nice car, a new Expedition,” she writes. “Now I drive a car that is ten years older than he is, and it has no TV…and it looks like a car a grandma would be driving….one day his friend asked why his mom was driving that old ugly car. Will replied, ‘Because I loved it, so she traded our other car for it.’ When he got in the car he apologized on behalf of his friend, and said, ‘I am just thankful we have a car’.

    While at the auction, which benefitted the hospital Faith attends, Will spoke to Stafford for over an hour, and the quarterback engaged him with ease, asking him to point out which item on the auction block he’d choose if he could have one thing. Will pointed to a prize package that included tickets to see the Lions play the Bears during Monday Night Football. After bidding on the package feverishly, driving the price up, Stafford happily forked over his fifteen grand and handed the prize to Will, who could barely contain tears of joy.

    Will’s mother is separated from him most of the time, staying with Faith at the hospital, and is forced to communicate with him mostly over the phone. She says it hurts her heart to be away from him, to hear the sadness in his voice at the end of the day. But that night was different.

    “When we got off the phone, I didn’t need to hide in the bathroom, I didn’t even want to cry,” she writes. “I went to sleep thinking about how happy my son was…it’s been a while since I’ve been able to do that. So as football season comes along, and you see #9 from the Detroit Lions take the field remember, your looking at a superstar athlete…from the inside out.”