"Before there was Cam Newton, there was Matthew Stafford.

In 2009, Stafford was the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, a Georgia quarterback ordained by the Detroit Lions as the player around whom a franchise would be remodeled. He joined a team that had gone winless the previous season and, now in his third season, Stafford and the Lions are 6-3 in the midst of what feels like a renaissance for one of the league's venerable franchises.

For Stafford, who was named the Lions' starting quarterback before the regular-season opener in 2009, there's been a stop-and-start quality due to injuries, the latest of which is a broken finger on his throwing hand suffered two weeks ago. Preparing to face the Panthers on Sunday at Ford Field in Detroit, Stafford can relate to what Newton is going through in his first NFL season, including the frustration of a 30-3 loss like Carolina absorbed last Sunday.

"As a rookie, every week is a learning process," Stafford said. "You're seeing a team for the first time every time you're playing a team. You're seeing a new D-coordinator, seeing new schemes, new players for the first time so it's difficult. It's something you have to play through.

"He's doing a heckuva job. He's having a fantastic year. He's running around, throwing the ball. He's fun to watch and he'll be just fine.""