He wore a baseball cap and an oversized white shirt large enough to cover the sling on his throwing arm. Only his silver pants remained from active duty. Matthew Stafford, half a game into the new season, was once again on the sidelines, watching. And the air comes out of the balloon. Whatever optimism was in this opener, it’s gone now. Whatever excitement the Lions drummed up this summer with talk of new offensive talent and a firm, improved attitude — it gushed away in a single menacing hit on their young quarterback. Everyone knew Julius Peppers had to be stopped. Everyone knew the most important thing was to keep the five-time Pro Bowl monster away from Stafford. If there was one set of marching orders for the Lions offensive line this afternoon, it was to stop Peppers, the Bears’ massive defensive end, from damaging the franchise QB. But less than a minute before halftime, on a likely meaningless drive, Jeff Backus, the left tackle, could not stop Peppers — “He made a great move,” Backus would glumly admit — and all 6-feet-7, 283 pounds came flying into an unsuspecting Stafford, who was poised to pass. The kid went down like a crushed bug, he landed on his right arm, the ball came loose, Chicago recovered, and moments later, Stafford was walking off, holding his shoulder. Read more: Mitch Albom: Forget late TD call, Lions lost Matthew Stafford in loss to Bears | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/201009...ions-lost-QB-Stafford-vs.-Bears#ixzz0zNS4NqAp
