Even With Improved Play From Backup Quarterbacks Matt Cassel And Jake Ruddock, The Situation Behind Matthew Stafford Is Not A Pretty One.
As it stands right now, the Lions are really struggling at the quarterback position after Matthew Stafford.
At times during the game against the Raiders in the first preseason game, it was borderline unwatchable.
The preseason game against the New York Giants was an improvement over the abysmal performances against the Raiders, but it still didn’t leave many fans hopefull that Matt Cassel or Jake Ruddock could successfully take the helm should Matthew Stafford god down with an injury.
The 23/30 stat-line for Jake Ruddock looks good on paper, and he definitely looked better on film than he did last week, but it wasn’t encouraging enough to believe that the Detroit Lions would be alright without their starting quarterback.
It’s been said by a few different people that head coach Matt Patricia wanted the quarterbacks to avoid checking out of plays and make the best of the plays that they were given. That obviously is not a recipe for successful individual results and is more a tactic for evaluation and growth, but this isn’t just a matter of players being in bad situations. Often times it is a case of the Detroit Lions backup quarterbacks simply being overmatched.
Matt Cassel and Jake Ruddock probably aren’t the answer for the Detroit Lions. It is entirely possible that one of them ends up the Detroit Lions backup quarterback but, if that’s the case, the situation isn’t pretty.
Neither Cassel nor Ruddock look like they are prepared to take the reins if Matthew Stafford goes down with an injury during the season.
If Matthew Stafford suffers an injury, the Detroit Lions are going to be in trouble. This probably doesn’t surprise anybody, and it shouldn’t, but it is something that is obviously concerning to fans.
People have talked about options like Teddy Bridgewater, Paxton Lynch, and Colin Kaepernick.
At this point, that might be an overreaction.
If the Detroit Lions start looking like they are gunning for a Superbowl, it might be more appropriate to start talking about giving up assets for insurance. Until then, it looks like the Lions season is probably over if Stafford goes down. It doesn’t make sense to give up team-building assets to pay for a player that will hopefully never see the field.
More likely, Bob Quinn keeps an eye on waivers and hopes that something serviceable sneaks through. The Lions have plenty of needs, and backup quarterback is not at the top of those.That said, the poor play from the backups has certainly been disheartening and hard to watch.
Thanks for checking out the article everyone. Go Lions! You can follow me on Twitter @Lanny1925 and be sure to join the community on the Detroit Lions subreddit.
