Is Matthew Stafford really in the same category as Aaron Rodgers?

The Detroit Lions’ Matthew Stafford was recently compared favorably to Aaron Rodgers. Is that fair?

The Detroit Lions are just playing out the string. With or without Matthew Stafford their playoffs hopes were dashed to pieces last week by the Green Bay Packers.

As Lions principle owner Sheila Ford Hamp and president Rod Wood conduct their lengthy and thorough interview process to find the teams’ next general manager and head coach, the losses piling up at this point only help by keeping the new regime’s draft choice from dropping more.

In truth, even if the Lions had found a way to beat the Packers last Sunday, there is nothing to be gained from Detroit clawing their way into the postseason. If we’re absolutely honest with ourselves, this defense is clearly incapable of allowing anything short of another Honolulu Blue and Silver playoff beat down.

Former general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia deconstructed what had been a legitimate playoff contender and now, almost three years after their alliance, both were shown the door for taking the Lions high-rise hopes and turning it into a basement hovel.

So once again the annual question is left to be asked; where do the Lions go from here? What will make the next regime different from the previous one?

Make no mistake about it, this is a complete rebuild that will be in the hands of Detroit’s new general manager and head coach. For those who believe that a little re-tooling is all that is needed, then you need to wake up and smell the defense.

One can certainly make a case that the offense is pretty good and could be better with some key additions. However, the defense needs to be completely torn apart and rebuilt from the ground up.

With a new regime that should have a completely different, non-Patriot, vision of where the Lions need to go, they need the ability to build this team as they see fit. Not forced to make a filet mignon out of the table scraps that Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia left behind.