Author: Paula Pasche

ALLEN PARK — With a three-game losing streak, it’s not surprising that Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has come under intense scrutiny.

It wasn’t just the three straight losses, it was the way the Lions lost. It seemed like they weren’t in the game from kickoff and it wasn’t close. They lost those three by a combined score of 86-45.

In those three games — the last two played without top wide receiver Golden Tate — Stafford threw four touchdowns and three interceptions while he was sacked a total of 19 times.

It’s not just Stafford who has been roasted, it’s the whole team.

Coach Matt Patricia, who usually stops short of praising or ripping individual players,  supported Stafford in his Wednesday press conference.

“Matt Stafford, we’re blessed to have him as our quarterback, we’re lucky to have him as our quarterback. This is a guy that’s extremely tough, he’s extremely competitive, a guy that works harder than anybody in the building every single day to get better,’’ Patricia said. “For him as a quarterback, for his due diligence, the work he does every single week, that’s not an easy position to play in the NFL. When you have the defenses that we’ve seen the last couple weeks coming at you from those different directions, playing in stadiums that are not easy to play in, under conditions that are not easy to play under, I would say it’s part of the game, his toughness that he portrays through all those situations, his ability to come back and go right back at it with that tenacious attitude and effort. I’ll take that every single day.

“He’s a great quarterback, he works extremely hard, he’s our leader on offense, we’re going to keep pushing and he’s going to keep leading which is great for us,’’ the coach added.

Of course Patricia would not explain exactly what has happened to the offense in the three losses.

“There’s definitely been some things that we’ve identified that are issues, it’s not really just one thing. It’s been a multitude of different things through the course of these past couple games that have been an issue. I’m going to be real honest I’m not going to give you specific details because there are other people that listen to this stuff,’’ Patricia said. “They’re watching the tape let them figure it out for themselves. But hopefully if there’s anything out there that they’re taking a look at we’ll get it corrected before we see it again which will happen.’’

No one on the Lions’ coaching staff doubts the toughness of Stafford who has started 121 consecutive games. That includes offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter.

“Stafford’s a really tough guy. Obviously offensively, I have to do a better job and we have to do a better job of protecting our quarterback through play-calling, scheme, execution, all those things,’’ Cooter said on Tuesday. “At the end of the day, we have to get that number down and do a better job with that. Stafford hangs in there, Stafford’s a tough guy. He’ll take a hit when needed. We just need to do a better job of protecting him. It starts with me, I have to improve the way we’re going about doing that and fix some of those errors.”

But, like Patricia, Cooter wouldn’t get into specifics about Stafford’s performance.

“I’m really not huge on getting into player evaluations through the media and all that stuff. We talk through all that stuff in-house here, that’s sort of Detroit Lions information,’’ Cooter said. “We’re talking through everything, evaluating every snap during the game, during practice, what we’re doing well, what we can do better. Same thing with, ‘This play’s good, that play’s not that great,’ during a practice week. We’re discussing a lot of things and that’s some in-house business I’m not looking to share with the media.”

Stafford also got a nod of support from ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky, who was Stafford’s backup from 2014 to 2016.

Orlovsky shared his thoughts on Twitter: “Just rewatched & studied Bears game for the Lions: This is 100% unbiased & keeping it real 1) I know Offensive ball and QB play really well, & this offense, in and out 2) Matthew played very good. 1 miss-read 1 miss throw. FAR FROM THE PROBLEM 3) They’re struggling to win vs Man.”

Stafford and the Lions play the Carolina Panthers (6-3) on Sunday at Ford Field.

The Lions’ offense has a long way to go and it will be tough against the Panthers’ defense which has 21 sacks so far including three by Julius Peppers.

Stopping running back Christian McCaffrey, who has scored seven touchdowns in the past three games, and Cam Newton who has thrown at least two touchdown passes in eight consecutive games, is a tall order for the Lions defense which has under-performed for the past three weeks.

EXTRA: Patricia canceled practice and instead had a walk-through on Wednesday. He said he’s changing things up due to the schedule of three games in 12 days, ending on Thanksgiving. The media is not allowed to view walk-throughs while practice is open for a short period due to NFL rules.

ALLEN PARK — Breaking it down, coach Matt Patricia is leaning on hard work, fundamentals and a grind-it-out approach to making improvements after a 3-6 start by the Lions.

They have lost three straight by double digits — including Sunday’s 34-22 loss at the Bears — and now play two games in the next 10 days.

First up are the Carolina Panthers (6-3) who played on Thursday so have had 11 days to prepare for the Lions. Then they face the Bears (6-3) again on Thanksgiving.

Patricia, in his first year as a head coach, has the coach-speak down. It’s the winning that has eluded him.

Five thoughts from his Monday press conference:

1. The coach downplayed any notion that the Lions are not prepared for the opposition each week. “We’re preparing hard every week. I don’t think we’ve walked into any game this year where we haven’t had any idea about our opponent,’’ Patricia said. Maybe so, but from all appearances the Lions are getting out-coached weekly. No doubt they spend hours watching film and work hard at practice. Taking it from the practice field to Sunday? That is often the untold story.

2. He also said they are sticking together — no divisiveness or finger-pointing in the locker room after a 3-6 start to the season. “I think overall the general mood is going to be disappointment for us, I know it’s disappointment from the fans. We’re all trying to get better and we’re all trying to work hard and make sure that doesn’t happen,’’ Patricia said. “We come in every single day and every single week, it’s not easy in the NFL we know that. Part of our job is to go out there and make sure we get better every single day and that’s what we’re trying to do.’’ It’s just something that has not been accomplished yet.

3. Patricia leans big on improving fundamentals on the Mondays after losses. It was no different on Monday. “Definitely some things on tape that we’ve got to get fixed like I mentioned (Sunday). A lot of it has to do with definitely some fundamental issues we’d like to get better,’’ Patricia said. “I think there was some things on tape that could get better from a fundamental standpoint that we worked on last week so that was good. Maybe just a little more consistency in all those areas would be better. We’ve got to keep the emphasis on the coaching part of that make sure that happens during the course and the course of the week.’’

4. Last week, Patricia fired special teams coordinator Joe Marciano after the loss at the Vikings. This was his reply on Monday when asked if there will be more changes: “It was what it was, we’re just pushing forward this week, we’re just on schedule , grinding away. We’re not doing anything right now.’’

5. Ziggy Ansah played in his second consecutive game, after missing six with a shoulder injury. The defensive end did not start and was on the field for just 15 snaps (26 percent of the defense) on Sunday. The previous week it was a dozen snaps (24 percent). “We’re trying to put him in positions where he can make some plays, put him in a situation where he can perform at a high level, but there’s some other players out there on the field we’re using in some different situations – we’re kind of rolling all those guys,’’ Patricia said. “He certainly has a role right now that he’s trying to work through to get better and hopefully get a little bit more as we go through the course of the rest of the season.’’ He didn’t guarantee more work for Ansah, instead saying it’s a work in progress.’’ Ansah had a sack in each of his two previous games this season. But on Sunday, he broke his strong of four straight games with at least a sack.

EXTRA: Sam Martin is OK and said he will play on Sunday against the Panthers. The punter was taken by ambulance to a Chicago hospital as a precaution after the game, but flew back to Detroit with the team. He would not give any specifics.