Bold Prediction: Lions' Defense Will Intercept Matthew Stafford Four Times
In this story:
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is enjoying his time playing for his new team.
At 33, the burgeoning relationship with Rams head coach Sean McVay has produced explosive plays on offense and a 5-1 start to the 2021 NFL season.
Stafford is completing 69.5 percent of his passes, and is on pace to throw for over 5,000 yards this season.
Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has experience preparing for Stafford, who has thrown four interceptions in three games against Glenn-coached teams, according to the Detroit Free Press.
"I think the one thing that has changed is there’s way more dropback pass with Stafford than it was with (Jared) Goff. For whatever reason. That’s McVay’s decision, but you see him allowing him to get in shotgun and be able to just go out there and wing it around. But, that’s the one thing to me that kind of stands out," Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said.
Glenn noted that the Lions' defensive backs cannot allow Stafford to use his eyes to trick them in coverage.
“We have to understand how do you make that go against him," Glenn said. “So, how do you, as a safety, cause the majority of times it’s a safety that he’s trying to work on or a linebacker. How do you make that go against him? And understand those little bitty things that you can do to him to make that go against him.”
While in Detroit, Stafford was prone to toss interceptions at the most inopportune times.
This season, in the Rams' sole loss of the season, the Arizona Cardinals got an extra possession after cornerback Byron Murphy's interception.
Stafford was targeting DeSean Jackson deep, but underthrew the speedy wide receiver.
The Rams went on to lose, 37-20, to the division-leading Cardinals.
If safety Tracy Walker's pregame wishes come true, Stafford could be tossing the football to Lions' defensive backs all afternoon.
“Honestly, Stafford’s just getting back there, running the offense the way he wants to run it,” Walker told reporters earlier this week. “He’s throwing the ball at a high, exceptional level, and he’s playing free, he’s having fun. You can definitely see that on film, and I’m definitely looking forward to him going out there and trying to have fun against us.”
If Walker is able to intercept Stafford, his hope is to be able to get his former teammate to sign the football.
“I’m going to make him sign it, just cause," Walker joked.
“He’s a good quarterback,” Glenn said. “He’s a really good quarterback, and he’s doing a really good job for them. And, we have our work cut out for us. Not just him, but the skill positions that they have. They’re all over the place with this team. But, it’s exciting also. I think it’s a good play-caller, I think it’s a talented team. What more can you want really? You get a chance to go into that building and get a chance to win that game.”
For the Lions to have an opportunity for the NFL upset of the year, Stafford will have to revert to the interception-prone quarterback who came up short in big games during his 12-year tenure in Motown.
© Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press
