ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert

When Detroit drafted quarterback Matthew Stafford with the No. 1 overall pick this spring, we heard about his arm strength, maturity and stress-free personality. But Lions coach Jim Schwartz also described Stafford’s ability to recall moments of his football career in great detail, believing it was a sign of a strong football IQ.

I got a taste of that attribute Wednesday during a conference call. I asked Stafford what he learned from reviewing the film of his three interceptions last weekend against New Orleans. Stafford responded with a pick-by-pick rundown, which I’ll relay to you below:

Interception No. 1

• Situation: First-and-15 from the Saints’ 20-yard line. About 30 seconds remaining in the first half.
• What happened: Stafford threw behind receiver Calvin Johnson over the middle. Saints safety Darren Sharper intercepted the pass and returned it 51 yards.
• Stafford: “I missed him. I just threw it behind Calvin. So that one is just making sure we get more reps together. And we will. I’ve only been working with the first team full-time for a week, [maybe] a week and a half now. That chemistry will build throughout the year, obviously.”

Interception No. 2

• Situation: Third-and-10 from the Lions’ 35. About 1:50 remaining in the third quarter.
• What happened: Stafford pump-faked down the left sideline, pulled the ball down and threw toward tailback Kevin Smith. The ball sailed and was intercepted by linebacker Scott Shanle.
• Stafford: “I was really trying to pull the ball back in and throw it to a checkdown and just couldn’t hold on to the ball as I was trying to decelerate. But just trusting myself on that one. I had a shot [at the deep pass down the left sideline] and just didn’t trust it.”

Interception No. 3

• Situation: First-and-10 from the Saints’ 36. About 5 minutes remaining in the game.
• What happened: Stafford forced a pass deep down the right sideline toward Calvin Johnson. Sharper reached over and intercepted it at the 13-yard line.
• Stafford: “The third one, I’m taking a chance. [Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan] and I looked at it. It’s kind of different than the other two. That one, you’re trying to make a play to get back in the game. And you’re willing to make that throw.”

Going back to the preseason, Stafford has now thrown seven interceptions in 92 professional passes. In a 500-pass season, that projects to 38 interceptions. Those figures have prompted renewed questions about Stafford’s accuracy, something that hounded him during the draft process, but Schwartz was adamant that it won’t be a problem.

“He has been extremely accurate,” Schwartz said. “All through training camp, all through most of the preseason. You know there have been a couple of bumps in the road. The Cleveland pre-season game he had a couple that got away from him. And then last Sunday there were about three passes that I’m sure he wishes he had back. Accuracy isn’t an issue for him, he has had a couple here or there but over the long term we will find the Matty is a very, very accurate passer.”

I’m sure you recall this brouhaha from our pre-draft coverage, but I think it’s only fair to give Stafford an extended period of time before making any determinations about his accuracy. Based on his explanations above, at least, there were other factors at play Sunday.