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Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi strongly defended quarterback Matthew Stafford's intelligence and commitment to learning Lombardi's offense.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

ALLEN PARK -- Joe Lombardi is no longer obligated to protect or defend Matthew Stafford, but the former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator strongly refuted criticisms of the quarterback attributed to him by the NFL Network last week.

In comments made during two separate interview segments, reporter Ian Rapoport claimed Stafford never bought into Lombardi's offensive scheme. Rapoport also stated Lombardi had grown frustrated with Stafford's inability to handle what was being asked of him, indicating new coordinator Jim Bob Cooter had to simplify the offense once he took over.

The report drew sharp criticism from Stafford's wife, seemingly directed at Lombardi, but the dismissed coach said Rapoport's claims couldn't be further from the truth.

"No truth to that," Lombardi told MLive.com on Thursday. "Listen, Matt is super smart. We didn't really hold anything back, at all. We asked a lot of him and if there's anything I can say about Matt, he's a lot smarter than you might think. He kind of presents himself in that casual way, but he's a serious football guy.

"That was a big fear leaving a guy like Drew Brees was getting a guy who couldn't handle some of things that you ask a quarterback to do," Lombardi said. "(Stafford) could handle it."

Lombardi acknowledged that Brees, a sure-fire Hall of Famer, had other intangibles Stafford couldn't necessarily replicate. But in terms of intelligence to handle the offense, there was no difference between the two players.

"I'm not claiming that Matthew Stafford is the same guy," Lombardi said. "He's just as smart, but Drew could just sense things, even things that none of us on the coaching staff could sense. I'm not saying Matt had all of that, but as far as learning the offense, learning what we wanted him to do, learning how to identify defenses, learning where to send the offensive line -- it was an involved process -- he was excellent at it."

Lombardi also didn't dismiss the possibility the Lions were simplifying Stafford's responsibilities in the scheme, but not because he couldn't handle it.

"If they are simplifying things, this is why -- not every quarterback likes to do all that," Lombardi said. "Mark Brunell, in New Orleans, had no problem doing it, he just didn't really like to do it. He would rather play a little faster, not solve every problem pre-snap. I don't know whether Matt enjoyed it or not, but he could do it without any problem."

Cooter didn't acknowledge whether pre-snap responsibilities have been slashed for Stafford, but added more praise for the quarterback's intelligence.

"He handles everything that we ask him to handle extremely well," Cooter said. "I have no issue with that at all. I think his IQ is higher than a lot of us in here, including myself. So he's a really smart guy and he's doing exactly what we ask on a lot of the things."

The Lions have had some issues this season picking up blitzes, which would suggest struggles reading the defense prior to the snap. Stafford has accepted some culpability with those problems, but Lombardi explained why the breakdowns didn't always fall on the quarterback.

According to the former coordinator, there were multiple occasions where one of the blockers didn't hear Stafford making the correct protection call. There were other times where the protection the quarterback had been coached to call still didn't account for every rusher. And occasionally, the offense was simply caught off guard by a good defensive adjustment.

In a season and a half under Lombardi, Stafford's completion percentage went up, but his yardage and touchdown totals dipped. So did his interceptions, at least the first season, before a bad stretch to start this year.

Lombardi said he made every effort to put Stafford into a position to succeed and utilize his skill set, but the best-made plans sometimes go awry.

"Matt can throw the ball all over the field and we certainly had those plays in place and maybe didn't them enough or weren't in situations where we felt comfortable calling them or we're trying to make sure we're sustaining drives," Lombardi said. "I get the criticism and wish we would have gotten to take some more of those shots, but I felt the plan we were trying to get to was a good one for Matthew.

"We didn't execute it well, and in some cases, didn't fully deploy it because of some of the situations we found ourselves in," Lombardi continued. "I felt a strong run game, a good play-action passing game would have given him some protection and allowed those receivers to get down field. I thought plan would be successful. Obviously, for whatever reason, whether it was a poor plan or not executed, it certainly didn't work out the way we were hoping it would."

One thing Lombardi made clear, the plan wasn't poorly executed because Stafford didn't buy in or give his best effort.

"I feel like Matt did everything he could to do things the way we wanted him to do it," Lombardi said. "I thought he was all in on everything we were trying to do. I never felt any hesitancy or objection from him at all. I thought he was great."

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