Comparing Matt Stafford to greatness

It was an honor to watch Drew Brees set the single-season passing record tonight. He is an amazing talent who has had an exceptional career.

But, along with Matt Stafford's stellar season, it makes me wonder where Stafford compares at this point of his career compared to the greats, like Brees.

Like usual when I get into one of these moods, I've decided to waste my time with countless research to try and prove a point. I want to compare Stafford's first 28 career games with Brees, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino and Tom Brady. Again, this is ONLY comparing the first 28 games of their careers. We will see how this goes ... and if my point is proven -- that Stafford compares favorably to some of the top quarterbacks to ever play the game.

(Writers' note -- playoff games are determined by how many each player had at the time of their 28th career game)

Matt Stafford -- 643 of 1,077 (59.7%) 7,320 yards 55 TD 35 INT (0 playoff games)

Drew Brees -- 540 of 909 (59.4%) 5,613 yards 29 TD 31 INT (0 playoff games)

Brett Favre -- 514 of 822 (62.5%) 5,346 yards 31 TD 30 INT (0 playoff games)

Peyton Manning -- 574 of 971 (59.1%) 8,951 yards 48 TD 42 INT (0 playoff games)

Dan Marino -- 548 of 884 (61.9%) 7,453 yards 68 TD 25 INT (4 playoff games -- 1 Super Bowl appearance)

Tom Brady -- 565 of 880 (64.2%) 5,942 yards 42 TD 23 INT (3 playoff games -- 1 Super Bowl victory)

It's clear that out of these six names, Marino is in a league of his own in every statistical category (other than yards). The touchdown to interception ratio is unbelievable, along with his playoff success. Right behind him -- and actually more successful in the playoffs -- is Tom Brady.

But, can you argue that Stafford has been just as good as any of these other quarterbacks? Of course. Don't forget that Stafford joined a Lions team that was coming off the worst season in NFL history and had to overhaul the entire roster (only 10 current players were on the 2008 team).

Is Stafford going to have the career that Favre, Brees, Manning, Marino or Brady have had? We won't know for probably quite some time. But, at this point of Stafford's career, he has shown that he may become one of the best to ever play the quarterback position.

Oh, and for those still doubting, these numbers should end any question whether the Lions got the first pick in the 2009 draft right.

Tom "Killer" Kowalski -- More than just a reporter

On Sunday, Tom Kowalski wrote an article in which he referred to the Matt Stafford to Nate Burleson touchdown pass as Brett Favre-esque.

During my show, The Redzone, on Monday, I referenced the article and talked about Kowalski's knowledge of the game and ability to deliver that knowledge in a way that we, the fans, could understand.

It was shocking to me just a couple of hours later when I logged onto my social media networks and saw the news that Kowalski died at the age of 51.

I didn't know "Killer," nor did I ever have a chance to talk to him other than a couple of tweets back-and-forth. But, because he made himself so available to the fans through MLive, Twitter, Facebook and the radio show he co-hosted, it felt like we all "knew" him.

He made us mad, he made us laugh and at times, he left most of us in shock by his predictions -- including the now-famous one in which he said the Lions would win 20 games over a two-year span -- but we couldn't stop reading, watching, or listening when he spoke.

Why? Because he related to all of us. Killer was a beer and brat kind-of-guy that loved football and more importantly, knew football.

Those of us who live in metro-Detroit have been so blessed when it comes to sports media personalities. Ernie Harwell, Ken Kal, Mario Impemba, Dan Dickerson, Dan Miller, Jamie Samuelsen, Mitch Albom -- and that's only naming a very small handful of them -- are all people that I've looked up to in my pursuit of becoming a journalist.

Tom "Killer" Kowalski tops all of them when it comes to the influence a media personality has on a community. He would tell us to dream of large women before bed, he would get pissed when the first person to comment on his article would reference the word, "frist" in the opening sentence, but most of all, he worked his ass off EVERY DAY to bring us as much possible knowledge as he could.

It's not that the other names I mentioned don't do that -- but they're not Killer. Nobody ever will be.

Tom, thank you for your years of service and for being a friend to all of us. I shed a few tears on Monday in remembrance of you and am sure that thousands, possibly millions, of others did as well. I know you'll enjoy the upcoming football season with a Bud Light in hand and from the greatest seats of them all. We miss you Tom, and always will!

Lions injuries continue, but are not end of the world

The news that Jeff Backus and Gosder Cherilus, the starting offensive tackles, were both battling injuries was enough for Lions fans to question if a curse really hung over the franchise. Then, third-round pick Titus Young was out with a hamstring injury, followed by first-round pick Nick Fairley having surgery for a broken foot and the curse was all but confirmed.

But, being Lions fans, we should all know that it can always get worse, and it did. Earlier today, it was announced that second-round pick Mikel LeShoure suffered a torn Achilles' tendon and would miss the entire season.

That's right, the top two picks of this season's draft are both out, one for the entire year, and the third pick is practicing on a very limited basis. Although I am not a believer in a "curse" or anything of the sort, it is extremely disheartening to see so many injuries, especially to young players expected to have specific contributing roles for this team.

But, this is the 2011 Detroit Lions, not the 2008 Detroit Lions who went 0-16. Neither Fairley or LeShoure are, or were, expected to start this season. While they were both counted on to contribute, that is a big difference from years past when rookies were expected to come in and be starters.

Another encouraging sign is that Fairley, although expected to miss most of training camp according to the Lions, should be ready to go early on during the season. His presence throughout camp and the pre-season would have gone a long way in his development, but the key to drafting him is having a player of his caliber as the season wears on and fellow defensive lineman begin to get banged up and wear down. If he is back at the end of August, which is expected, then there is no reason to not have confidence he won't contribute to the defense as expected.

What LeShoure would have brought to the Lions offense probably can't be matched by any free agent, or trade option available to them. But, LeShoure was going to be counted on in certain situations, such as third down and late in the game when the Lions were trying to kill the clock. He was not going to start, as that role belongs to Jahvid Best, who the Lions traded back into the first-round last year to draft.

One name to keep an eye on is Jerome Harrison, formerly of the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. The Michigan native is still available in free agency and would be a great pickup for the Lions.

Last season, Harrison carried the ball 70 times for 331 yards, an average of 4.6 yards per carry. With decent blocking, Harrison can provide the tough, inside yards that the Lions will need at time this season.

The point is, while the injuries do hurt the Lions, they are not the end to this year's team and do not kill any chance at this year's playoffs.

Last year, the Packers lost starting running back, Ryan Grant, in the first game of their season. Although they had to go through the rest of the season with a running back by committee approach, they were still able to do the two most important things, block and play defense, and were able to reach and win the Super Bowl.

I'm not saying that the Lions will reach the Super Bowl this season, but these injuries can be overcome.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Mears/Detroit Free Press