Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford will wear a glove on his passing hand for the second straight game on Sunday against the Panthers, but this time he says not to expect a repeat of his four-interception performance against the Bears.
Instead, Stafford said, he has practiced with his glove on and is now comfortable passing with it.
“It’s the first time I’ve really hurt my throwing hand,” Stafford told MLive.com. “Just trying to find different ways, whatever works for [me] as far as learning how to throw with it and things like that. The last couple of weeks, I’ve figured out how to get around it and throw just fine with it.”
It’s a little hard to take Stafford’s comments at face value for a couple of reasons. The first is that he looked absolutely horrible in Sunday’s loss to the Bears, which was the first time in his life that he had worn a glove on his passing hand. Stafford entered the Bears game with four interceptions all season, and then he proceeded to throw four interceptions in one game at Chicago. He says he’s learned how to throw with it over “the last couple of weeks,” but it sure didn’t look like he had learned how to throw with a glove last week.
The other reason it’s hard to take Stafford’s comments at face value is that he and the Lions have spread some misinformation about his finger injury. During the broadcast of the Lions-Bears game, FOX reported that Stafford had said it was the Chicago weather that led him to wear a glove. It was only after the game that Stafford revealed he had a broken finger, and obviously weather wasn’t his reason for wearing a glove if he’s going to keep wearing a glove indoors at Ford Field.
Based on the way Stafford played against the Bears, it’s hard to see why the Lions wouldn’t sit him out until his broken finger heals. Backup Shaun Hill played reasonably well for the Lions last year, when Stafford missed most of the season with a shoulder injury. If Stafford doesn’t play a lot better in Detroit this week than he played in Chicago last week, it may be time for him to head to the bench.