All anyone wants to hear from new Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell is how he plans to mold Matthew Stafford into a better quarterback.
In an interview with NFL Media's Lindsay Rhodes on Friday's "Around The League Primetime," Caldwell said that Stafford's improvement starts with the quarterback's desire to develop.
"He does wants to get better," Caldwell said. "He does want to do the little things right. We're going to try to get him in some set of drill work and things of that nature that we'll use on a daily basis to give him the opportunity to become really, really consistent.
"More than anything else, I think the maturation process settles in on a guy who is playing maybe the most difficult position in team sports. And once they get into their fourth, fifth, sixth year, you'll really start to see them climb, and I think you'll see his game escalate."
The new coach equated his current situation to when he worked with Peyton Manning after taking over as quarterbacks coach with the Indianapolis Colts.
"Peyton was going into his fifth season, and he was also developing," Caldwell said. "He was starting to gel with the guys he was throwing to ... But that development really taught me something about how quarterbacks develop in this league because it's so difficult."
Before the comparisons get out of hand, aside from the time frame, we shouldn't make too much out of the associations between Stafford and Manning. The Lions' quarterback has yet to display the cerebral nature that has made Manning otherworldly.
The Lions hope Caldwell can push Stafford in that direction.
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