Tag: Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford’s wife Kelly announces upcoming surgery to remove brain tumor

She asks for prayers in coming weeks

Kelly Stafford, wife of Lions quarterback Matthew, announced today on Instagram that she has a brain tumor — acoustic neuroma or vestibular schwannoma.

She asked for prayers.

From her post: “We believe we found the best doctor to do it. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t completely terrified of brain surgery. I am. I am terrified of them opening my head, I’m terrified of losing my hearing, I’m terrified of losing facial function, I’m terrified of far worse things that could happen and I’m terrified that I won’t take the time I need to recover because the guilt I might feel of being absent from my kids for too long.. I am telling y’all this to ask for prayers and support.

“Things to pray for: -calmness in these next 2 weeks as I know anxiety will run high in myself & my whole family leading up to the day of surgery. -that God be in the room with the surgeons & give them all the guidance, steadiness, & confidence they need. -my safety during and after surgery. -please pray for matthew as I know his nerves will be high during this surgery. I couldn’t imagine being out in that waiting room.”

She had several episodes of vertigo beginning in January. Eventually an MRI showed the tumor. She included the scan on her Instagram post. She said the photo above was taken on the day she found out. She said she wanted the photo so when it was all over they could look back at it and remember.

Kelly and Matthew are parents of 2-year-old twin girls, Chandler and Sawyer, and their baby sister Hunter.

Lions GM Bob Quinn: QB Matthew Stafford is not going anywhere

‘He will be our quarterback here’

ALLEN PARK — If there was any doubt about the future of Matthew Stafford in Detroit, Lions general manager Bob Quinn set the record straight in his season-ending press conference on Friday.

The Lions quarterback, who just finished his 10th season, is going nowhere.

“Matthew Stafford is our quarterback. He will be our quarterback here,’’ Quinn said. “Listen, this guy is a really talented player. Myself, the coaches need to put him in better situations to allow him to use his skill set. Matt’s extremely tough, he’s extremely diligent in his work ethic. He sets a great example for all of our players, and really all of our staff, of how to go about his job.’’

Stafford’s back injury late in the season was on the daily injury report. But apparently that is not all he was fighting through.

“He had the back thing, and he went through numerous things where he wanted to play through it and our doctors said he could play through it, and he showed a lot of toughness,’’ Quinn said. “That’s a credit to him. That’s one thing I’ll never, ever question. This guy loves football, he’s competitive, he’s talented. We need to do a better job of putting better players around him and scheming up things better to use his talent.”

The Lions finished 6-10 in coach Matt Patricia’s first season. The defense outperformed the offense for most of the season, but that was not all on Stafford. Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter’s contract was not renewed.

It was the first season since 2010 when he only played in three games,  that Stafford didn’t have at least 4,000 passing yards.

Quinn does not blame Stafford for the offense’s midseason struggles.

“It was a combination of we had some injuries, we had some things that were happening during the games defensively that kind of affected the offense. We kind of put them in some bad situations. Special teams, field position. It’s not just Matthew Stafford. That’s not what this is,’’ Quinn said. “We have 53 players on the field, on the team every week. We have 46 that dress. So, just because he’s the quarterback and he touches that ball every play on offense doesn’t mean he gets all the blame. The blame can be passed around. It starts with me, it starts with the coaches, and it starts with everybody on the team. It’s not his fault.”

Quinn said Stafford holds himself accountable at a “very high level.”

“I think Matthew’s kind of a reserved guy with you guys. I think in the locker room, in the meeting rooms, on the practice field, this guy holds himself at a very, very high standard, and that resonates with his teammates, that resonates with the staff,’’ Quinn said. “We didn’t win enough games, Matthew didn’t have as great stats as he normally does, and we’re going to improve that in the offseason.”

A possible trade of Stafford has been recent fodder for Detroit sports talk radio. In 10 years Stafford has yet to win a playoff game, but that is not all on him as Quinn made clear. Stafford is on his third head coach and will soon be working with his fourth offensive coordinator. Since Reggie Bush was not brought back after the 2014 season, the Lions haven’t had much of a running game until this past season when Kerryon Johnson made his mark.

“I understand the outside perception. What I know on the inside is, working with this quarterback every day, seeing his car in the parking lot, early in the morning, late at night. I know what he does when he goes home, he puts the girls to bed and he works,’’ Quinn said. “I see that every day. I see what he does to get his body ready to play football. I see what he does on the practice field.’’

The GM noted how Stafford works extra before and after practice, notably with Bruce Ellington who was signed after Golden Tate was traded. But also with younger receivers like Andy Jones and even Justin Stockton who was on the practice squad.

“I understand what you’re saying, I really do,’’ Quinn said. “But when you live in this building, and you live with this guy, there’s things that go very unnoticed with him that are very, very valuable.”

Five main reasons Detroit Lions shut out Green Bay Packers to end the season

First shutout for Lions since 1996

All week the Detroit Lions players and coaches said that Sunday’s season-ending game at Green Bay was important. Then they went out and played like they meant it.

The Lions shut out the Packers, 31-0, at Lambeau Field on Sunday. It was Detroit’s first shutout since 1996. The Lions had not shut out the Packers since 1973 and it was the first time they had shut them out at Lambeau since 1970. It was also the Lions’ second sweep of the Packers in the last two seasons.

Detroit finishes 6-10 in the first year under coach Matt Patricia who deserves credit for getting the team ready to go in a somewhat meaningless game.

Five of the main reasons the Lions won:

1. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn’t look like himself from the get-go and then left in the first quarter with a concussion. DeShone Kizer, who hadn’t played since the regular season opener, stepped in but wasn’t able to put points on the board. He was 16 of 35 for 132 yards, and one interception.  It’s possible the Lions could have beaten a healthy Rodgers, but it was easier without him. Give the Lions defense credit for holding the Packers offense to zero points and just 175 total yards.

2. Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, perhaps in his final game with the Lions, went to the trick-play chapter of his playbook and dialed up a fake field goal. Kicker Matt Prater made it work when tight end Levine Toilolo got open in the end zone and caught Prater’s pass for a touchdown. It gave the Lions a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Cooter also had the offense playing at a quicker tempo in the first half.

3. Matthew Stafford, who was wearing a left knee brace and has been fighting through a back injury, had his best game in weeks despite not having any of his top targets available. Stafford was 20 of 32 for 266 yards, 2 touchdowns and a 109.6 rating. Kenny Golladay (chest) was inactive. No problem — Brandon Powell (six catches, 103 yards) and Andy Jones (six for 50 yards) stepped up. But it was veteran T.J. Jones (three catches, 40 yards) who caught a pair of touchdown passes. The Lions’ offense had not scored more than 22 points since the 32-21 win at Miami on Oct. 21.

4. The Lions stuck with the run game. LeGarrette Blount (11 carries, 15 yards) struggled, but Zach Zenner had a career day with 21 carries for 93 yards and a rushing touchdown. He also caught one pass for 30 yards. Zenner had two touchdown runs negated due to holding penalties. Zenner has stepped up big in recent weeks with the absence of rookie Kerryon Johnson. Wouldn’t be surprising to see Zenner return next year. He’s a solid backup and plays well on special teams.

5. The Lions defense never quit despite the double-digit lead through most of the game. Jarrad Davis, Tavon Wilson and Kerry Hyder each had a sack. Quandre Diggs came down with his third interception of the season late in the fourth quarter.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

BONUS: Fox 2’s Jennifer Hammond tweeted that after the game she asked Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford if she was happy with the direction the team is headed under Patricia. “Yes I am,” Ford said.