NFL Player News

New Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said Matthew Stafford, who's thrown at least 16 interceptions each of the past three seasons, is "not broken, that much is clear," reports Yahoo Sports. "There's an awful amount of talent there. His arm is something to behold. We used to sit in the Saints quarterback room and just marvel at his passes — all the depths, the whole field in play. He really can sling it. That's a great thing to have.

"I am not worried about Matthew," Lombardi added. "I am excited to be working with him, and we'll get started soon. I can't wait."

New head coach Jim Caldwell said earlier he planned to work on footwork and technique with Stafford, who tossed 12 interceptions over the final seven games this season.

New Lions coach Jim Caldwell will work on technique with quarterback Matthew Stafford, who tossed 11 interceptions in the final six games. “I’ve watched every throw Matthew made last season, because when I came here and met with him, I wanted to have some familiarity with him," Caldwell told SI.com.

"We didn’t go through film together, but we talked about what I saw, and I listened to him, and it was very beneficial. We have used a set of drills in coaching over the years that I think has added some consistency to all the quarterbacks we’ve coached. The great majority of poor throws -- people look at the arm, and that’s important obviously, but I think footwork is the key.

"I can pull up any game film and show you how our footwork drills help you. In a nutshell, the feet and eyes work together. If I’m throwing in a particular direction, my footwork is pointing in the same direction, directly at the target. We’ll work on it with Matthew, and he will do them flawlessly.”

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson overcame a rough start in Sunday's NFC Championship victory over the 49ers.

WIlson was stripped and lost a fumble on the opening play of the game, which led to a San Francisco field goal. However, he came up big in the fourth quarter, as he threw a touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse, which gave the lead back to Seattle with 13:52 remaining in the game.

Aldon Smith jumped offside on a 4th-and-7, which gave WIlson a free play, and Wilson hooked up with Kearse, who made a leaping catch over Carlos Rogers in the end zone. It was Wilson's only touchdown pass of the night.

Wilson completed 16 of 25 passes for 215 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. He was sacked four times and had five carries for no yards in a 23-17 win. Seattle will travel to MetLife Stadium for a clash against the Broncos in the Super Bowl.

Jets quarterack Geno Smith was removed from a planned flight from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale on Friday after supposedly refusing to remove his headphones, ESPN has reported. He was questioned by airport police at the gate, but was not arrested and no incident report was filed.

A source told ESPN that Smith could not hear a request to unplug all electronic devices. A flight attendant unplugged his headphones, threw them down, told Smith he was a "threat" and asked him to leave the plane. His conversation with police was at his request.

Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie indicated that his team's franchise quarterback is not currently on the roster. He all but dismissed Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin, who both failed to assume control of the position in 2013.

"We've got two young players who played this year (and) from an experience standpoint there wasn't any, so neither of them stepped up and said, 'I'm the frachise quarterback,'" he told ESPN. "So absolutely, we're going to always continue to upgrade and find that guy. Now how we find them, we'll figure that out in the next few months."

The Raiders own the No. 5 pick in the 2014 draft, but top three college quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater, Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles could be off the board by the time they select. That leads to speculation that the Raiders are open to trading up to get their quarterback.

The Seahawks play the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, and quarterback Russell Wilson is in need of a big game in this matchup. Based on his recent level of play, it might not happen against San Francisco's defense.

Wilson has struggled of late, and he could have another tough week against the 49ers defense. From Week 14 through the Divisional round of the playoffs he is averaging just 11.2 Fantasy points, and he hit a new low last week against the Saints with just five points.

Wilson struggled against the 49ers in both meetings this year with 12 Fantasy points in Week 2 and 11 points in Week 14. He was awesome against San Francisco at home in 2012 with a four-touchdown performance, but he's been held under 200 passing yards in four career meetings with an interception in each outing.

The 49ers also come into this game having held Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton to a combined 31 Fantasy points the past two games, and it's hard to trust Wilson right now in any Playoff Challenge league.

Eagles rookie Matt Barkley threw zero touchdowns and committed five turnovers in three games. But coach Chip Kelly remains high on Barkley, who figures to be the No. 2 quarterback if Michael Vick leaves via free agency.

"Matt was awesome," Kelly said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I'm excited to get a full offseason with Matt in here to really get a chance to work with him because I think he's got a skill set that's exciting when you see him, how the ball comes out of his hands, the decisions that he makes, and that's part of this whole deal."

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford threw 11 interceptions and lost two fumbles in the final six games as Detroit collapsed and missed the playoffs, costing coach Jim Schwartz his job. New coach Jim Caldwell will be judged in large part on how Stafford performs the next couple years.

Tony Dungy, the Super Bowl-winning coach turned TV analyst, noted Caldwell was in his first year as quarterbacks coach in Indianapolis when Peyton Manning broke out in 2004 with 49 touchdowns and 10 picks.

"I know what we talked about when we got to Indianapolis is they had a very, very explosive offense and we talked about keeping that explosiveness but not being a high-risk team and taking care of the football and knowing how to manage the end of the game," Dungy told the Lions' website.

"Once Peyton (Manning) really understood what Jim was trying to do, he went from a very explosive player to a guy in 2004 who threw 49 touchdowns and (10 interceptions) and that's what I think you're going to see from Matthew.

"You're going to see him learn that you can be explosive and not be high risk and that there are times when you manage the game and win the game, by not only what you do, but by what you don't do. I just think for a young quarterback, he'll really blossom under Jim."

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was pressured on 43.8 percent of his dropbacks this season, the highest rate in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. In contrast, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was pressured on 34.7 percent of his dropbacks, right about average.

The two square off in Sunday's NFC Championship Game in Seattle.

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is averaging 157.6 passing yards with a 78.0 rating over his last five games, but coach Pete Carroll said the second-year pro is "doing great."

"I think he's doing what we need to do in these games," Carroll said, via ProFootballTalk.com. "We can always do better. We're always looking for more and he is too and all that. But as long as our football team is playing well and we're playing within the formula and we're playing good defense, we're running the football, we're playing on teams, and we're taking care of the ball and getting it, we're going to have a really good chance to win and that's what's most important to us.”

Wilson said he needs to improve but "we're winning a lot of football games and that's the best thing. I think that I can always do better, I've always thought that. So there's a lot of room for improvement and that the exciting about it.”