Normally the third preseason game is the “dress rehearsal” for the regular season. However, Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia might not want to test his marquee starting quarterback when the Buffalo Bills travel to Ford Field to meet the Lions on Friday night.
Matthew Stafford has yet to play in the preseason, and through the first two games, the offense sorely misses No. 9 at the controls. Patricia’s game plans have been so bland that to call them vanilla implies too much spice.
So will Stafford play against the Bills?
Patricia sounded like someone who doesn’t really want to put anything to chance when he was asked that question following the team’s loss in Houston on Saturday.
“I’m going to get into things too far in advance,” Patricia said. “We’ll figure that out as we go through the week. We’ll grind it out this week
and try to see where we’re at.”
He praised Stafford’s preparation while also noting that the quarterback needs work with the ever-rotating cast of receivers.
“I think Stafford has done a great job from learning this offense from the
start of the spring all the way through training camp and approaching his work ethic in the way that he practices, the plays that he has on the field, and trying to execute at a high level, and really bring whoever is out on the field along with him,” Patricia stated. “That’s a big part of it too and getting used to different players. It’s new every year, so everybody has to start over and everybody has to get used to the team and to the guys that are out there, that continual coming together with those types of players. Especially with the quarterback and skills guys. That’s a big part of it, and we’re still working through that.”
Patricia and the Lions host the Bills on Friday night, and we may or may not see Stafford and the rest of the projected starters on offense.
