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| Carlos Osorio/Associated Press |
| Quarterback Matthew Stafford was the first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. |
As part of NFL Network's 32 teams in 32 days series, airing daily on Total Access, NFL.com takes a look at a key question facing each team. Former NFL GM Charley Casserly of CBS Sports and NFL Network's Paul Burmeister discuss Lions rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford. Should the rebuilding Lions push the first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft to compete for a starting spot, or focus on his development for the future?
Read their take and then enter the discussion below.
Casserly: Sitting Stafford is ideal Every player is different. My feeling is that if a guy can sit, learn and observe for a year, that's an ideal situation.Before we had free agency, you developed a lot of quarterbacks that way. It's not as easy to do that anymore. There are some things that factor into this question. One, if you do play Stafford, make sure he knows enough of the offense so he can function. So he's not so limited in what he's doing that the defense has the advantage. They'll already give him problems because he's a rookie QB. The other factor is, how good is your team around him? We know they improved the team during the offseason. They got better. Hopefully good enough to give him a chance. A lot of this will depend on factors you can't control. How quick does Stafford pick up the offense and have enough to execute so you can threaten the defense? The other thing is, if Daunte Culpepper can play well, that takes the pressure off of this situation. If Culpepper's not playing well, and if Stafford is your best QB, at some point you'll have to play him, unfortunately. Culpepper is a big factor in the Lions' decision, and whether they have the luxury to sit Stafford and develop his game. | Burmeister: Measure his skills Stafford should be allowed to compete for the starting spot. But my strongest feeling related to Stafford's situation is this: The coaches should be open to starting him or sitting him. They shouldn't be married to either idea at this point of the game.There's no question that Stafford has the physical tools to play and play very well. What needs to be measured carefully in the next three months are his mental and emotional skills. The two skill sets are quite different, yet equally important. The mental side is pretty obvious. How quickly can he not only learn the offense, but gain what I like to call an "intimate knowledge" of it? Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan are probably the two best examples of first-round picks who came in and played pretty well their rookie seasons. Their ability to grasp the terminology and concepts of the offense and then transfer that knowledge to the field was a much bigger asset than their ability to throw a dig or a post-corner. They had brains and guts, and loads of both. The emotional side is a little more difficult to evaluate, but also of huge relevance. To me, the issue is best boiled down to this question: Does the kid have the type of makeup that will allow him to take the physical and mental beating that the 2009 season is sure to provide, and come out the other side a better quarterback? In other words, is he wired to benefit from the unique -- and likely very difficult -- experience this would be? It's a difficult thing to quantify, but if I'm Jim Schwartz or Scott Linehan, that's what I'm trying to gauge every single day. If the kid has that, he should also have the starting job. |
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