Detroit Lions: Make or Break Time Is Beginning for Matthew Stafford

It's been a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde season of performances from the Detroit Lions. 

Just when you start to believe they're ready to turn the corner, they shoot themselves in the foot with a S.O.L. (Same Old Lions) mistake. A red-zone fumble, a tipped pass leading to an interception or a careless penalty negating a big play. All S.O.L. scenarios that have plagued Detroit this season. 

Luckily this team is 3-2 with first place control of the NFC North. Lots of issues, however, stand in their way of maintaining their success in 2014.

As the NFL has become a passing league, a stable playmaking quarterback helps make team issues bearable. When a suspect defense or an inconsistent run game becomes a problem, you count on your franchise quarterback to balance everything out for your team.

A similar story now is being pointed to 26-year-old Matthew Stafford.

The Jekyll and Hyde split personalities have been on display by the Lions' franchise quarterback through his career. We've seen a rookie bring his team back against the Cleveland Browns with a separated shoulder. We've seen him toss 41 touchdowns and lead the Lions to their first playoff bid since 1999. 

There's been plenty of bad as well with reckless interceptions, keying in on Megatron too often and, of course, the season ending injuries in his first two NFL seasons.

Plenty of pressure lies on the cannon of this young quarterback, and the Lions' front office put up a lot of effort to ease Stafford's transition in commanding this franchise. Almost halfway through his sixth season and with a new core around him, the excuses are running out. It's put-up-or-shut-up time for Stafford. 

He's shown bright flashes this season on opening week on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants, and an impressive outing on the road against the New York Jets. But the negatives from Stafford, as well as the offense, is a bigger glare.

A big myth behind Stafford's early career struggle was the lack of control and creativity from former head coach Jim Schwartz and former offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. Bringing in Jim Caldwell as head coach and former Saints quarterback coach Joe Lombardi as the offensive coordinator was designed as the plan to help their quarterback and upgrade the offense. Lombardi wanted to recreate Detroit as the Saints 2.0, but there has been no resemblance thus far.

With all the weapons on the Lions' offense, they only put together one touchdown in each game against the Bills, Packers, and Panthers.

Stafford and the Lions only gained 263 yards of total offense against the Bills this past Sunday, and only 194 came from the passing game. 

The Lions' run game has struggled all season, and so has the offensive line with protection and injuries. Detroit also will also have to do without a banged up Calvin Johnson, Stafford's favorite security blanket, for a few weeks after an ankle injury against Buffalo. 

While a lot of these seem like team issues, they need to be corrected on the arm of their quarterback.

The Lions surrendered a career-high six sacks to Stafford, but more than half of them were due to him holding the ball too long. Far too often Stafford holds the ball in the pocket waiting for receivers to get open instead of throwing the ball away and playing for another down. He also forces passes in dangerous areas or way too late resulting in receivers getting hurt. He threw a low ball to Johnson against Buffalo where the defender aimed low at his legs where Megatron was already hurt. 

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Another popular theory on Stafford is he focuses too often on throwing to Johnson instead of spreading the ball around. Stats lately prove it's not just a fetish for Calvin, Stafford locks in to whoever he falls in love with week by week. Lately, it's been new acquisition Golden Tate.

Against the Jets, Tate caught eight passes and had 11 targets in the game. Every other receiver and tight end in the game combined for only 12 total targets all together. Last Sunday against the Bills, Tate caught seven balls and had nine targets and seems to be Stafford's new favorite option. 

Detroit has spent too much free-agent money and too many draft picks pampering their quarterback for them to not have a consistent top-tier offense. Since re-signing Megatron in 2012 up to this year, the Lions have invested $214.2 million in offensive weapons to help Stafford.

The Lions are ranked 27th in the NFL in points per game and 19th in the league in yards per game. Teams like the Cleveland Browns (who are without their top receiver), St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers don't have the weapons the Lions do but still rank higher in points scored per game.

Stafford is ranked 19th in passer rating, 19th in completion percentage and an even more frightening 30th in fourth-quarter passer rating. Stafford's only thrown six touchdowns to four interceptions this season. 

There are no more veteran leaders like Nate Burleson to help groom Stafford as a leader and take control of the franchise. The excuses have run out and it's time for No. 9 to prove he's the true franchise quarterback of this team. That requires using all your weapons, beating teams above .500 (Stafford is 2-28 against teams above .500), scoring at an efficient rate and competing in a very winnable division. 

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