This offseason a silly made-up controversy arose over whether new Lions coach Matt Patricia was in danger of losing his players by making them run at practice. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford says that’s nonsense.
Stafford said on NFL Network that the players have no issue at all with Patricia’s strenuous practices.
“Oh, no, we understand it. It’s part of the game. It’s part of what he preaches. It’s part of what’s going to make us win games come September, October, November. We want to be in as good of shape as we can possibly be so we can go out there and play as long as we can play, at a high level,” Stafford said.
Stafford said he and his teammates are growing to appreciate the way Patricia pushes them.
“He’s intense. He’s an intense guy. He’s pushing us to be the best that we can be and that’s what you want,” Stafford said.
So if Patricia makes the Lions run a few extra gassers at the end of a hot summer practice, Stafford thinks that’s just fine.
