Matt Patricia Shares 'Cool Moments' with Matthew Stafford

Matt Patricia expressed that he finds it enjoyable to share notes with Matthew Stafford

© Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

During Wednesday's media session, Lions head man Matt Patricia expressed how great quarterback Matthew Stafford is to coach on a daily basis.

"He’s just been really focused, really locked in, really just great every single day to coach," Patricia said. "You love to coach those guys. You love to coach guys that love the game (and) want to compete. He’s really smart."

At different points throughout the week, Stafford and Patricia share notes on Detroit's opponent.

“There are different days through the course of the week, depending on what we’re doing," Patricia said. "Maybe (an) early-down conversation, maybe a third-down conversation tomorrow (and) red-(zone) area on Friday. Something like that.”

Those conversations have left Patricia walking away with an understanding of just how hard Stafford is working to help the team win.

"Just give him all the credit in the world for the work that he does to go out and prepare to be productive on Sundays and (for) the leadership that he provides and the way that he studies for opponents," Patricia commented. "We come in, we get together, we talk scheme, we talk personnel. We talk all that stuff, and he’s on it."

Patricia also explained one of the "cooler moments" he had with Stafford a couple of weeks ago.

"Honestly, probably one of the cooler moments for me is we were having a conversation maybe a couple of weeks ago and we were talking about some DBs and some different things that they were going to see," Patricia said. "And he was showing me his notes, and he had the same thing written down. Kind of just reconfirming some of that stuff, and that’s fun. That’s what I really enjoy. That’s why he’s as productive as he is on the field because he puts in the work." 

NOTE

Due to the struggles of the running game, the Lions may be forced again this Sunday to rely on Stafford's arm.

Is there a "pitch count" that the coaching staff has for Stafford?

“I would say nothing along those lines from numbers or hard lines or anything like that," Patricia expressed. "I think we’re trying to do whatever we can each week to win. It’s certainly going to be different week in, week out based upon our strengths and based upon what we think ... where we have an advantage maybe over our opponent."