Lions center Dominic Raiola wants the team's fans to give Matthew Stafford more patience than Joey Harrington received. "He's the guy here," Raiola told the Detroit Free-Press. "I was very disappointed when I came to the sideline and fans were telling him, 'Throw it to me' and 'I'm open' -- this, that and the other. I popped off and said something to the fans." Raiola was fined $7,500 last season for flipping off hecklers at Ford Field, but did not specify his word choice this time around. "You want to pick on him, all right," Raiola added. "He's not going to say nothing. I'm going to say something. "I understand the frustration. Trust me. I do. I do understand that. I've been here. I've been here 8 1/2 years. I love these fans. I love these people. I re-signed. I love it here. But I'm just saying I'm sorry if I was offensive to anybody, but I'm just being a loyal teammate to one of my guys." He went on to reference what Harrington went through. "Back him up," Raiola said. "It's his first year here. You want to run him out of town already? You know what I'm saying? That just hit home with me because I've been through it with Joey. I've been through it. They sent him packing. Quick. And they're not going to do it to this guy. I'm going to be right here next to him."