Three reasons why Matthew Stafford will have a breakout season:

1. I don’t believe that’s he’s injury-prone or a china doll. His shoulder injuries have been flukes. Folowing his shoulder surgery in January, he had 10 weeks of intense rehab at the Andrews Institute in Pensacola, Fla. He said they worked a lot on strengthening his back which will in turn keep his shoulders more stable. His physique has changed, you’ll see it.

2. Last year he threw four touchdowns in a win over the Redskins when he was able to complete it start to finish. In the opener at Chicago when he couldn’t return after halftime and against the Jets when he was forced out in the fourth quarter, the Lions were ahead on the scoreboard when he left the field. He threw six touchdowns in not quite five halves of football. Do the math and you’ll see he could have been on track to throw 38 touchdowns if he had played 16 complete games. Against those six touchdowns he had just one interception. He also had a rushing touchdown.

3. Even though he hasn’t played all that much, he seems to have more confidence. When he wasn’t playing, he was watching and soaking everything in. This is his team.

(Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche. Will offer daily lists of threes through July 22. Tell your friends. Let me know if you agree or not.)