Rave reviews for Stafford continue to pour in

A no-look pass?

Rookie QB Matthew Stafford apparently threw one in practice recently, faking out both LB Julian Peterson and the pass's intended recipient, Calvin Johnson, Yahoo! Sports' Michael Silver reports.

Lions officials and players are having increasing difficulty remaining cautious and measured when talking about Stafford and his immediate prospects:
* Peterson - "As rookies go, he’s way ahead of the curve."
* Calvin - "He doesn’t even look like a rookie. He picked up the playbook very quick; he’s a smart kid. He looks very, very comfortable out there."
* Head Coach Jim Schwartz - "There is no debating that everything about him has been very, very impressive."

There is nothing to be gained by anointing Stafford the starter -- Schwartz wants everybody competing -- HARD -- for their spot in the lineup, and there are four preseason games to come on which to additionally measure the players.

But the thing is, Stafford is competing hard. He's playing and acting like he wants to start Game 1. He's showing things that indicate he's not just the Lions' best option at QB, but may be something special even looking from a league-wide view.

Better hone those clipboard-holding skills, C-Pep.

UPDATE: Finding these similar old quotes about Joey Harrington from around the time he was drafted gave me a much-needed dose of perspective.

The bottom line is, Stafford's looking good; he needs to keep it up in preseason game situations and the starting spot could be his through simply earning it.

They're talking about it in The Den!

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