Detroit fans made it clear they didn't want Matthew Stafford before the draft. They acted with some disinterest toward him early in the season until the Lions ended their losing streak. But once it appeared he has shown them enough to buy him some time to develop, they now have turned on him again.

Stafford was booed lustily during and after the Lions' home loss to the Rams, which ended St. Louis' 17-game losing streak. Lions fans were relishing the fact that some other team had lost that many games in a row. They wanted someone else to stay on the bottom for a while, as long as they have suffered.

But booing the kid serves no purpose. And in case you're wondering, they were booing him — not just the team. It was clear from what the players heard from the bench that most of the vitriol was aimed at Stafford.

It isn't all his fault. And it's a good thing the Lions have Dominic Raiola as Stafford's watchdog. He'll do the popping off for his young QB. Stafford, really, has composed himself quite well — through the pre-draft stuff, the early struggles in the offseason and now with this latest loss.

Yeah, he needs to be more accurate. Sure, he has to find other targets he trusts when Calvin Johnson is bracketed or, like Sunday, when he's not on the field.

But there's a lot to like about Stafford.

First, his toughness. We know that if he's not mentally cracking — there has been no evidence of that so far — and he is only 21 years old, then I think we are dealing with a pretty steely young man here. Second, the physical tools are there. He can move around in the pocket well and make all the throws; he just needs to be more precise and gain a better command of the system. And third, Stafford just isn't scared of success — or failure. Jim Schwartz has said it. The fact that his quarterback has taken most of the challenges he has faced head on, fighting through a pretty bad knee injury, shows that he wants to be good.

Eventually he will be. Lions fans will look pretty silly one day when they figure this out.