Splint on the Lions’ paw

Detroit Lions’ quarterback Matthew Stafford was defended again by his coach this week following another poor showing in blustery conditions – but many are now wondering whether Jim Schwarz is simply hiding the full extent of his recent finger injury to maximize his re-sale value. This should make for some interesting online bets.


Stafford threw four intercepted passes with a meager 52% completion rate during the Lions’ 37-13 loss against the Bears at Soldier Field on Monday night, and although the weather was far from ideal, the fact that his form has dropped so sharply after he fractured a finger on his throwing hand has led many to wonder whether the damage might be more serious than the Lions’ medical staff are letting on.

Schwarz however, defended his talisman, stating that whilst Stafford was clearly not at full fitness yet, he would certainly get there given more game and recovery time. Moreover he has insisted that Stafford would not be benched for Sunday's game against Carolina at Ford Field.

Conspiracy theorists will always have their say though, and some have suggested that they are simply downplaying the full extent of the damage to his hand to avoid having him labeled as injury prone – knowing what harm that can do to both the confidence of a player, as well as his commercial value.

We will clearly know more after their game on Sunday, but a growing number of people are starting to see Schwarz’s wind argument as simply being full of hot air. The live in-play betting will be fascinating for this game. Given the player’s use of both splints to support the joint as well as gloves to help him grip, there is clearly a fairly major issue – which will inevitably turn into a problem for the Lions as a unit, after the string of strong performances that Stafford put in earlier in the season.