Could Matthew Stafford’s success be devastating for the Lions?

It’s not about Matthew, it’s about the Lions success

Now for the final examination of this concept that Detroit would be devastated by Matthew Stafford’s success in Los Angeles, let me state that Pat McAfee himself said he didn’t mean that as a knock against Dan Campbell and the current regime.

McAfee is a big Motor City Dan Campbell fan, or MCDC as he likes to say, and wishes he and the Lions all the luck in the world. The real question is the layers with which Stafford’s success could devastate Detroit?

From a national media standpoint, Matthew winning titles in Los Angeles would lead them to all wonder aloud how the Lions couldn’t win with Matthew. Meanwhile, how would Stafford’s west coast success affect the Lions’ fan base?

Let’s start with the national media. They have been disrespecting the Lions for decades. This wouldn’t be anything more than another reason for them to continue to look down on this franchise that hasn’t been anything more than perennial losers since they last won it all back in 1957.

For the Lions fans base? Many will be happy to cheer on Matthew’s success with the Rams. Some will think of it as a karmic payback to the Ford family for how poorly this franchise has been run for so long. Regardless, I don’t think it will affect the loyalty of most of the Motor City fan base to the Honolulu Blue and Silver because it’s not about Matthew, it’s about the Lions’ success.

The real key that will probably be lost to the national press, is what Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell do with the Lions.

This franchise was in need of a rebuild. Matthew did this team the best favor he could by allowing them the opportunity to do so. So while the Lions’ results from this upcoming season may pall in comparison to the Rams season, the whole point will be the long-run.

Sure it would be easy to stare longingly at Matthew if he and the Rams won the next two Super Bowls, but what if it was the Detroit Lions who knocked the Rams out of the postseason on a run of their own in three seasons?

The point is this; Holmes and Campbell are trying to build a sustainable winning team here in Detroit. That is something that is very hard to do in today’s NFL, but it is possible. If we can see tangible growth from these Lions under this regime, there will be a reason to have hope.

I suspect Matthew Stafford will finally find team success in Los Angeles. Will it merit any championships? I think there is a good chance it might, but while we wish him luck with the Rams, our focus is on what’s being built in Detroit.

Because if the Lions have built a good foundation and start winning in the next couple of years, then Matthew’s departure will be nothing more than part of the process Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell will have gone through to build a winner. And there is nothing devastating about the thought of that for long-suffering Lions fans.