AP

A common refrain from those who watch the Lions is that if they’re going to improve in 2015, Matthew Stafford needs to improve. Coach Jim Caldwell doesn’t see it that way.

“Someone said something about, ‘Hey, well Coach, you really need your quarterback to take off,'” Caldwell said, via the Detroit Free Press. “And I looked at him and I said, ‘No, we don’t really need him to really take off.’ He’s been doing well. He’s improving steadily. Things in this league don’t happen that way. No one makes a meteoric jump. It’s gradual, it’s too competitive. There are too many good players. And it’s a tough league, and I do think he’s making really good progress.”

If Stafford is improving steadily, it sure isn’t showing up in his statistics. Stafford has been a full-time starter for the last four seasons, after injuries limited him to just 13 games in his first two seasons. During those four seasons, Stafford’s passing yardage has gone from 5,038 to 4,967 to 4,650 to 4,257. Does that sound like he’s improving steadily? His completion percentage has gone from 63.5 to 59.8 to 58.5 to 60.3. Does that sound like he’s improving steadily? His yards per pass has gone from 7.6 to 6.8 to 7.3 to 7.1. Does that sound like he’s improving steadily? His touchdowns have gone from 41 to 20 to 29 to 22. Does that sound like he’s improving steadily? His sacks have gone from 36 to 29 to 23 to 45. Does that sound like he’s improving steadily? His interceptions have gone from 16 to 17 to 19 to 12. Does that sound like he’s improving steadily? His fumbles have gone from 5 to 6 to 12 to 8. Does that sound like he’s improving steadily? His passer rating has gone from 97.2 to 79.8 to 84.2 to 85.7. Does that sound like he’s improving steadily?

Overall, Stafford’s stats have been all over the map, up and down, and after a breakout season in 2011 he has yet to play as well since. And that’s despite the fact that no team has devoted more resources to giving its quarterback weapons than the Lions: Detroit is spending more than $28 million on the wide receiver position this season, by far the most in the NFL, and the Lions are also in the Top 10 in spending on tight ends.

Throw in the fact that Stafford’s own cap hit of $17.7 million is the sixth-highest of any quarterback in the NFL this year, and it’s hard not to come to the conclusion that the Lions need Stafford to do more than just “improve steadily.”