A dejected Matthew Stafford after the game.
Detroit Lions' fans have a right to be really really frustrated after watching their team get humiliated at home against the New York Jets.
But Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom writes that fans went way too far Monday night by booing quarterback Matthew Stafford:
Now, there will be time to address the Lions' weaknesses. Lord knows, we may have all season. But before that, something needs to be said about those fans booing Stafford louder and louder as the game went on.
Really?
Yeah, he threw picks. Yeah, it was a lousy game. But this guy is the best quarterback to play in this town maybe ever, and he has slogged through 10 seasons here like an iron man, and he gets up through every hard hit and pushes himself back out there when most humans would say, “Are you kidding? I have to go back to THAT?”
Twice on Monday night Stafford took nasty blows, first a spike to his knee by his own lineman, Taylor Decker, that left the quarterback writhing on the ground, and second, a sandwich hit to the back and gut that left him down and short of breath for a few scary minutes. Both times he willed himself back into the game, despite knowing, deep down, that the night was lost...
There’s not an ounce of diva in this guy, and he’s way more talented than the majority of quarterbacks in his league. If he’s burdened with a line that can’t protect him, or receivers that can’t hang onto his passes, or even a night when he’s not seeing things well, that’s his burden, but it’s not yours. The boos are misdirected, disrespectful, and flat-out stupid.
