ALLEN PARK -- Add Rich Gannon to the growing list of Matthew Stafford haters.

The former MVP quarterback said on CBS this week that Stafford's lack of production early in games is a big reason Detroit is 3-5 and sinking fast.

"I'm getting sick and tired of talking about Matthew Stafford," Gannon said. "The guy is overpaid. He's been one of the highest-paid quarterbacks over the last four or five years, and he's a stat king. He picks up a lot of yards and production in garbage time.

"At some point, you are what your record says you are. They haven't been competitive enough in this division. The reason why the Lions are not a better football team - a big reason why - is the lack of production from Stafford in the first quarter to the third quarter. He just doesn't put his team in position to be competitive and win close games."

Matthew Stafford's reaction? It was pretty simple.

"I don't need to answer to Rich Gannon," he said.

Gannon's criticism is a familiar one for Stafford, who has been accused of playing poorly early in games before padding his stats late. But while there might have been some truth to it earlier in his career -- at one point earning him the nickname "Matt Stattford" -- the numbers aren't with Gannon this year.

Stafford's numbers are down across the board, but consistent across most quarters.

His QB rating is 95.4 in the first half of games, and 97.6 in the second half. He's completing 69.0 percent of his passes in the first half, and 67.4 percent in the second half. He's thrown six of his touchdown passes in the first half, and eight in the second.

As a team, the Lions' best offensive quarter (relative to the rest of the league) is actually the first, where they're averaging 6.5 points per game. That's fifth best in the NFL. They're averaging 5.6 points in the second quarter (23rd), 3.2 in the third (25th) and 7.1 in the fourth (13th).

So the Lions aren't exactly burning down the barn early in games, and there's no doubt the third quarter has been a problem. They are turning just 44 percent of their red-zone trips into touchdowns, which is 29th, and coming off a game where Stafford was sacked 10 times -- and some of those sacks were on Stafford.

But saying he is purely a fourth-quarter quarterback isn't supported by the facts either.

"I think its on our list of musts every week, is to start fast, and that's as a team," Stafford said. "I'm a big part of the team, I understand that, and doing what I can do to get us points. Converting third downs, hitting big shots when we get it, just making sure that when we have those opportunities from the opening kickoff, we're ready to go. The more I can hit the throws and make the right checks and all that stuff, the better we're going to be."

Gannon is just the latest former quarterback to criticize Stafford, joining the likes of Boomer Esiason, who said earlier this season that Stafford needed to be a more fiery leader. As the criticism has grown, Stafford's friends and family have rallied to his defense, with his wife telling fans and reporters to "shut the hell up" this week and former teammate Dan Orlovsky issuing a lengthy defense on Twitter.

Why has Stafford become such a lightning rod for criticism -- especially by these old quarterbacks?

"I don't know," Stafford said. "They're free to talk about whatever they want to talk about, however they want to talk about anybody. I don't really pay attention to it. I didn't even know it happened, so maybe that makes them mad? I don't know. I don't really have an answer for ya.

"Doesn't bother me. I'll answer to the guys in my locker room and coaches and all that way before anybody else."