Caldwell Pleased With Stafford's Progress, Says QB Is 'Well On His Way'
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - When the Detroit Lions chose their new coaches after last season, they did so with the goal of further developing quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has spent most of this year playing without the benefit of future Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson. Nevertheless, the Lions have a record of 6-2, and head coach Jim Caldwell has been pleased with Stafford's progress.
"I think he's well on his way," Caldwell told Karsch and Anderson of 97.1 The Ticket. "You look at that particular position, and it's one that it gets all kinds of undue sort of scrutiny, but I think that without question he understands how to win. I think that's probably more important than anything else. It doesn't have to look pretty all the time, even though I think obviously he's had some games where he has performed extremely well, and it's not going to be every week. At that position it's hard, it's very, very difficult to come out and perform absolutely excellent.
"The fact of the matter is he is improving, he's getting better, and I think, like I said, the most important thing is does he understand how to win ball games," Caldwell continued. "He is a guy that loves to be in a pressure cooker. You've seen him at the end of games now where this guy is extraordinary, where often times you find some quarterbacks will run and hide in that situation. They don't like being in that situation. He can function within that realm and does very well. I think he's improving, I think he's getting better, and I think obviously the best of him is yet to come."
Johnson is not the only target Stafford has been missing; tight ends Brandon Pettigrew, Joe Fauria and Eric Ebron have also missed numerous games, as have running backs Reggie Bush, Joique Bell and Theo Riddick. Caldwell has maintained that the team's injuries cannot be used as excuses, and to hear him tell it, the group has embraced that perspective.
"Our team didn't play as if we were lacking two of our, certainly, our bell cows," Caldwell said, referring to Johnson and Bush missing Detroit's most recent game. "Our team went out and played with enthusiasm, played tough and won. I think they do have a good sense of obviously the talent that those guys have and what they can do for us and those kinds of things, but we're not deterred by any shortcoming whatsoever.
"There's no down situations, saying, 'Oh man, we don't have Calvin, we've got a problem here,' or 'We don't have Reggie, we've got an issue here,'" Caldwell added. "That doesn't cross our minds. We focus. We go out and get the job done because you know what? Nobody else cares. The mission is to win."
