DETROIT — Everybody's in a rush. Everybody's seeking the next shortcut.

That shouldn't surprise, considering the hottest form of immediate communication today is something called Twitter, something that really isn't any different than texting on your cell phone. But it's new. It's hot. It's the latest submission to instant gratification.

Matthew Stafford has become the Twitter quarterback.

$41.7M. Play Game 3 or Bust.

It's important that coach Jim Schwartz apply the necessary context in an argument that won't subside until Stafford finally takes a snap in a game. His growth demands patience. Schwartz, not the Fords' accountant, must make the final say on Stafford's readiness, not the Fords' accountant. That's the only way this has a chance of working. Schwartz must do what many of his predecessors either couldn't or wouldn't — tell ownership "No!" when they it inevitably demands that Stafford play.

Stafford took a first step Friday, participating in the first day of the Lions' rookie minicamp. The nerves were apparent. Some early passes sailed over intended receivers' heads.

2 many missed throws. Kitna did that. Too late to stop payment on check?

"He was overanxious," Schwartz later said of his prodigy. "When you go through a first practice as a rookie, you're so anxious to get going. You're out of control. Then later in practice, you start settling down a little bit, and I think we saw that with Matthew."

Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood offered Stafford some unsolicited advice — don't read the papers, don't listen to the radio.

But there's only so much available insulation from public scrutiny for a high-profile figure in a sports-crazed city. There was were probably three times as many media at Allen Park on Friday than during a normal opening of rookie minicamp. And it was for one reason.

It's as though Stafford's lone value is how quickly the Lions can get him into the starting lineup. If you're paying him just under $42 million in upfront guaranteed money, some reason, you can't sit him for too long without risking throwing away some of the outrageous money awarded him for merely signing his name. This is the mistake made with rookie quarterbacks.

The problem isn't where they're drafted, but rather how they're developed.

The mind-numbing dimensions of Stafford's guaranteed money are predicated on the Lions' hopes, maybe even prayers that Stafford evolves into a playmaking presence in his third year. The $41.7-million signing prize is a long-term investment, requiring patience.

There are no immediate dividends. It's more important that Stafford is already studying the linguistics of offensive coordinator Scott Linehan's playbook and that he's already in the film room.

The Lions could've drawn a line in the FieldTurf, adamantly placing strict boundaries on the up-front financial commitment and forcing a confrontation with Stafford. It would've resulted in an acrimonious holdout, and once the bluster dissipated with a deal finally agreed upon, Stafford probably would get closer to $39 million as a compromise.

But the Lions would have lost the most valuable education time for a rookie quarterback — those immediate weeks after his selection.

It's short-sighted fretting about any savings from a long, drawn-out process if the missed training camp time caused the same, potentially irrevocable damage inflicted upon Oakland's JaMarcus Russell, the last quarterback selected first overall in 2007. Russell might be doomed with the Raiders. The ultimate blame falls on the organization for not doing whatever necessary to get a done as quickly as possible.

There's no need for speed now that the contract's done and Stafford's getting comfortable with his surroundings and responsibilities.

The Twitter message now is short and simple:

Patience.

The message communicated now should be patience.