Lions' Bill Ford Jr. wouldn't trade Matthew Stafford for any QB, he tells website

Allen Park — Lions vice chairman Bill Ford Jr. told the team website that he wouldn't trade quarterback Matthew Stafford "for any quarterback in the league," and he also said it was important to get receiver Calvin Johnson signed long-term.

He made those comments in a long, sweeping interview the website is running in three parts.

In Stafford, Ford said the team did as coach Jim Schwartz vowed to do — they finally replaced Bobby Layne.

"Oh absolutely," Ford said. "I think Matthew is terrific. I wouldn't trade Matthew for any quarterback in the league, given his age. The guy is 23 years old, he just had a 5,000-yard season, the players love him, he's a great young man off the field and yeah, I hope Matthew is the face of this franchise for many years to come."

As for keeping Johnson beyond his rookie contract (which expires after the 2012 season), Ford was emphatic.

"We really want Calvin here long-term," he said. "I think it's important for us, important for Matthew (Stafford), it's important for the fans and he's a great guy. He's a great guy on the field, he's a great guy in the locker room and he's a great guy off the field."

Ford was asked if Johnson reminded him of Barry Sanders, in terms of being an elite level player.

"I think even Cris Carter would say that now," he said, laughing. "I've never seen anybody like him."

Ford acknowledged, though, that keeping all the pieces in place within the constraints of the salary cap would be a continuous challenge

"It is a good problem to have and, you're right, we have to make tough choices," Ford said. "You look at the best teams in the league and they don't get sentimental. The one thing about the New England Patriots is they reload on the run. If they feel like somebody they considered untouchable even a year ago is no longer untouchable, they'll make that decision and go."

He said general manager Martin Mayhew and president Tom Lewand understand that.

"That's what the salary cap forces upon you," he said. "The other thing it does is, it forces you to play your draft picks. If you look at Green Bay, they've drafted very well and they play pretty much all of them."

Ford revealed he's a bit of a draft geek, as well.

"I love talking football," he said. "I love talking it with the coaches. I love talking it with Martin. I love talking it with the scouts. Around draft time, I spend a lot of time preparing for the draft as if I were the one actually doing it. Of course I don't. But I just love it. Right now I'm on all the draft websites.

"I have a day job at Ford but when I go home at night, the way I blow off steam is I start getting on draft websites and check out all the mock drafts and all the player ratings like any fan would."

Of course, he knows to keep his mock drafts to himself.

"I learned long ago never to interject my opinion as a fan because that's very dangerous to an organization," he said. "I've seen it done around the NFL and it usually doesn't end well. I do have opinions but I tend to keep them to myself. And if I have an opinion, I will run it by Martin to say, 'Tell me why I'm wrong here,' and often he does."