Matty's Rookie of the Week

The 2009-2010 season has begun and my weekly rookie of the week is back. We had a lot of great performances this week, from quarterbacks and wide receivers especially. So, without further delay here is All Day Football's first Rookie of the Week of the season.

Matty's Rookie of the Week

Matthew Stafford
6'3" 232 lbs.
Georgia
1st round pick, 1st overall
21/36 for 241 yards and 1 TD, 2 rushes for 23 yards

Matthew Stafford hasn't yet lived up to his billing as the 1st overall selection but he is well on his way to getting there leading the Lions to their first victory since 2007. He showed poise in the pocket, he showed mobility and escapability and showed the power and touch that his throwing arm possesses as he threw some very pretty passes to Calvin "Megatron" Johnson and Bryant "Wishes He Has Optimus" Johnson.

Runner Ups:

Offense

LeSean McCoy
5'10" 198 lbs.
Pittsburgh
2nd round pick, 53rd overall
20 rushes for 84 yards and 1 TD, 1 rec., 9 yards

Defense

Victor Butler
6'2" 246 lbs.
Oregon State
4th round pick, 110th overall
3 tackles, 2 sacks, FF

Be sure to check back next week for the Week 4 ROTW!

NEWS: Lions Close to Deal with Stafford

According to the Oakland Press, the Detroit Lions are close to terms with Georgia Quarterback Matt Stafford. According to Draft Bible, the Stafford deal is worth about $40 million in guaranteed money and will be very similar to the Matt Ryan deal but could be worth up to $80 million over the length of the contract.


"Lions president Tom Lewand met with owner William Clay Ford for final approval earlier today, and the two sides could finalize a contract as soon as today. One source said a “catastrophe” would have to happen for the Lions not to draft Stafford at this point.

Phone calls to Lewand, general manager Martin Mayhew and senior vice president of communications Bill Keenist were not immediately returned. Neither Stafford nor his agent Tom Condon returned phone calls, either."

Thus begins the rebuilding of the Detroit Lions.

-Matty

Matt Stafford + Lions = Destiny?

Per NFL.com

In his first mock draft, NFL.com’s Steve Wyche has the Detroit Lions taking Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Makes sense to Stafford, according to the Detroit Free Press.

“I don’t know if it’s destiny, but I’d love to have the opportunity to be a Lion, for sure,” Stafford said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for me. It could work out in the end, for sure.”

The destiny part has to do with Bobby Layne, the Lions quarterback who when traded to Pittsburgh in 1958 — the year after leading Detroit to its last championship — supposedly put a curse on his old team, saying the Lions wouldn’t win for 50 years. The newspaper points out that Detroit has only one playoff win and one Pro Bowl quarterback since Layne was traded.

The interesting part, NFL.com’s Gil Brandt points out, is that Stafford (a neighbor of Brandt’s in the greater Dallas area) went to the same high school as Layne, football-powerhouse Highland Park High. So did Doak Walker, who followed in Layne’s cleats at Highland Park in 1944.

Brandt also notes that three top prospects, who could all go in the top five picks, went to high schools within seven miles of each other in the Dallas area — Stafford, Texas Tech wideout Michael Crabtree and Baylor tackle Jason Smith. “I don’t think that’s ever happened before,” Brandt said.

Like Layne, Walker enjoyed a Hall of Fame career with the Lions. Question is, will Stafford be next?