How Good is Matthew Stafford?
by fhnlion on Jan 1, 2012 5:46 PM EST
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PrintThis is something I posted on another football forum, just not for Lions' fans. So, I also wanted to know everyone's opinions here. Hopefully, this will gladden us over the loss that occurred today!
According to the stats, Stafford should be an elite QB. In any other era, these numbers would be a work of magic. Even in today's pass heavy game, over 5000 yards and 41 TDs is impressive. But, is Stafford elite like these numbers suggest.
Now, I am a Detroit Lions fan. In my ho
mer opinion, with the end of this season, he is a top 5 QB.
1a. Aaron Rodgers
1b. Tom Brady
1c. Drew Brees
4. Payton Manning
5a. Ben Rothlesburger
5b. Matthew Stafford
The only reason Staff is 5b, in my viewpoint, is we do not know how well he can perform in the playoffs. If he were to perform at a high level into the playoffs, I would put him over Ben.
Now, my opinion, I know, is not unanimous. Many people will point out that he has Calvin Johnson inflating his numbers, similiar to Duante Culpepper with Randy Moss? But how much do we discredit Brady in '07 with Moss? Shaun Hill played with Megatron last year, but I did not see anything close to 5000 yards.
Stafford has had some purely spectacular moments. The TD pass to Scheftler during this last game was remarkable. And it takes some real ice-cold blood to complete the comeback against the Raiders. However, it was also Stafford's offense that got the Lions in the hole in the first place.
There was also the stretch beginning with the Bears game. It was ugly. Excuses will blame it on his broken finger, but why isn't he sitting then?
However, we can also look at a game like the Chargers game. PFF proclaimed it "one of the better quarterbacking displays of anyone from the entire season".
The best way I could describe Stafford's development would be a graph that had many local minimuns and maximuns, but overall, had a very positive upward trend. And, with today's game, he reached an elite level.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pride of Detroit or its writers. FanPosts are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable fans.
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beyond all these comparasions with him and other Quarterbacks
Stafford has the skills. And i was down on him in other threads. But…..
It is the mental toughness he has displayed that speaks of “enough is enough it is time to win”. I sense that and to me that is the biggest difference between Stafford that puts up numbers and Stafford that wills his team to win. And to be honest todays game is a win if the defence even plays average…
Kinda speaks to the other issues i felt would come to play “edge rush is decent but not special”
Stafford will be elite if he isn't already
He won 10 games, threw for 5000 yards and 41 TDs, and lead several major comebacks this season. I absolutely love the body of work he put together this season. There is a lot of talent on this team, but they wouldn’t be playoff bound without Stafford. The best part? He’s 23 and only going to get better. I think he’ll be a top player in this league for the next 10 years, hopefully with at least one title in that stretch.
I couldn't think of a better signature.
Stafford has elite skills
The elite label will come with wins.
Look at that TD throw to Scheffler. There are maybe five QB’s in the NFL who can and do make that throw consistently like Stafford has all year.
[...]when Giants coach Steve Owen, a certified defensive genius, was asked how he planned to stop Nagurski, he said: "With a shotgun, as he’s leaving the dressing room."
I have no doubts that Stafford
will go down as the greatest Lions quarterback. I was very high on him when I watch Georgia v. Michigan State in their bowl game. He took over the second half to give Georgia the win. I knew than he had " IT ".
Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith 1945 - 2011 R.I.P.
Did megatron lead the league in receiving yards? i tokk him +1500 in the preseason so if anyone can confirm it would be appreciated.
Who is the only Maniac to appear in every mmamania fantasy football league superbowl in league history?
by DetroitDrew1980 on Jan 1, 2012 6:45 PM EST via mobile reply actions
nice!
Who is the only Maniac to appear in every mmamania fantasy football league superbowl in league history?
by DetroitDrew1980 on Jan 1, 2012 7:46 PM EST up reply actions
he was about 100 down to welker after last week so I had honestly given up hope. Mega-f'n-tron!
Who is the only Maniac to appear in every mmamania fantasy football league superbowl in league history?
by DetroitDrew1980 on Jan 1, 2012 7:46 PM EST up reply actions
Stafford is amazing
Plain and simple. As young as he is, both his age and NFL experience. He played unbelievably well today. Just needed the defense to make a friggin’ stop.
USE THE SCHWARTZ!!!
Did'nt you make a post 5000&40
A few weeks ago? If so Great Call,If I remember right it was mostly regarded as unrealistic.Credibility is in the accuracy of prediction.
We've become so dumb we don't know how dumb we've become. Source Obscure.
Don't sweat the petty stuff & don't pet the sweaty stuff.
by Lionz Fowlweatherfan on Jan 1, 2012 9:54 PM EST up reply actions
He's awesome.
On a side note, how is NOBODY (Yahoo, ESPN, NFL Network, NBC, CBS, etc) talking about Matt having 5k passing yards in a season? Brady does it before breaking the record, they’re on his junk. Brees, on his junk. Stafford breaks 5k, nothing. I seriously haven’t found a single MENTION of it. Really??
There way to busy
Sucking Tim Teblows dick…
Datsyukian Deke, Detroit Red Wings Blog
Follow @cnsportsblogs
I love Stafford
He is a great QB, but you become ELITE with how you play in the playoffs. The top 5 all have rings. Stafford needs to lead this team to at least a NFC championship game to be in that group.
The top five all have way more years playing than Stafford, so if he's putting up # similar to "elite" Qb's in the same year they are shouldn't he be considered elite?
The first part of Twitter is twitt...don't be a twitt and tweet!
no
Needs playoff wins.
We don’t consider Matt Ryan elite even though he puts up decent numbers and wins a lot of game. The reason is because he is 0-2 in the postseason.
We are taught from an early age how to deal with failure not success. (If at first you don't succeed try try again, if at first you succeed then what....) -Charlie Sheen
I come ready, when I came out the womb I was ready, tell them mama that's why you had me, you knew I was ready. -Moss
Dominating your opposition physically is great and all, but confounding them mentally is sooo much more fun.
2-15-DEN 44(14:36) (Shotgun) K.Moreno up the middle to DEN 47 for 3 yards (N.Suh). FUMBLES (N.Suh), RECOVERED by DET-N.Suh at DEN 47. N.Suh to DEN 47 for no gain (K.Moreno). FUMBLES (K.Moreno), recovered by DET-C.Houston at DEN 47. C.Houston to DEN 47 for no gain (O.Franklin). Denver challenged the fumble ruling, and the play was REVERSED. (Shotgun) K.Moreno up the middle to DEN 49 for 5 yards (S.Tulloch).
Go ahead and take Peyton off this list.
I love watching him play, but theres no way he returns to his former self.
We don't know that yet
If he does then he is right were he is supposed to be, maybe even 1D.
Datsyukian Deke, Detroit Red Wings Blog
Follow @cnsportsblogs
Peyton should be #1 IMO
All the other QB’s on the list, their teams can win some games without them, but as we saw this year Peyton IS the Colts. Before this year i would have agreed that most great QB’s are at a minimum on a good team, but it has become very obvious that Peyton alone carries that team and really bumped him up on my list of great QB’s.
My opinion is that Manning is the best to ever play the game
But, I can’t consider a guy who hasn’t played all season to be top 5 in the game, especially with all the other unknowns about his condition. I’d love to see him come back and be his former self, but that’s a very tall order.
I couldn't think of a better signature.
6-10
Peyton Manning could well have gone 6-10 with the Colts this season as the Colts’ talent has been diminishing for quite some time. Certainly the Colts would have won more games with Manning, but to assume they’d be a playoff team this year is a stretch.
Nitschke never wore an earring!
The Colts didn't have a tough schedule this season
With Houston’s injury problems and Tennessee’s inconsistencies, they could have won that division with Manning at the helm.
I couldn't think of a better signature.
According to the record books he is a top three QB.
Follow @Crino22
Defenses around the NFL will fall victim to the fatal disease "Natecalvintitus"
Not yet
Another season like this and some playoff success than he is hands down.
Datsyukian Deke, Detroit Red Wings Blog
Follow @cnsportsblogs
Well, he was set up to fail in the postseason this year
Taking on the best team in the NFL in the first round? Yikes.
You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.
-Johnny Cash
by TheLoneDavid on Jan 1, 2012 10:53 PM EST up reply actions
Note
He wasn’t sitting because even with a fractured finger and accuracy issues he still gave us our best chance to win. Also it was important for the players to see him battle through it. Dom talked about how proud they all were to see that and how it proved to them that he was their guy.
We are taught from an early age how to deal with failure not success. (If at first you don't succeed try try again, if at first you succeed then what....) -Charlie Sheen
I come ready, when I came out the womb I was ready, tell them mama that's why you had me, you knew I was ready. -Moss
Dominating your opposition physically is great and all, but confounding them mentally is sooo much more fun.
2-15-DEN 44(14:36) (Shotgun) K.Moreno up the middle to DEN 47 for 3 yards (N.Suh). FUMBLES (N.Suh), RECOVERED by DET-N.Suh at DEN 47. N.Suh to DEN 47 for no gain (K.Moreno). FUMBLES (K.Moreno), recovered by DET-C.Houston at DEN 47. C.Houston to DEN 47 for no gain (O.Franklin). Denver challenged the fumble ruling, and the play was REVERSED. (Shotgun) K.Moreno up the middle to DEN 49 for 5 yards (S.Tulloch).
What I'd like to see from Stafford is
the ability to extend plays in the pocket like Brees, Brady and Rodgers have done all year.
That is huge to be able to keep an idea of the angle of the pass rushers while keeping your eyes downfield, and that’s something he’ll need to be truly elite.
that comes with experience
to be fair I’m betting all year he had that voice in the back of his head saying “don’t get hurt, don’t get hurt” now that he has a full year under him that should silence that a bit.
it also comes with having full faith in your offensive line
something else Matt lacks compared to some of these other guys. not that they all have the best, but the Lions arguably have the worst o-line out of the the teams mentioned
The fact that Stafford is so young and we're having this conversation
is good enough for me. He’s right on the border of being elite at 23 years old. Brees, Brady, and Manning are all over 30. Rodgers and Reothlisberger are getting close. Stafford has shown that he’s the best young QB in the game this season (Cam Newton is no slouch either). Aside from that rough stretch in the middle of the season (broken finger), he’s gotten better as the season progressed. I have very little doubt that he is going to be great.
I couldn't think of a better signature.
I'll even go as far as to say I wouldn't trade him for any other QB in the game
Anybody on or above the level Stafford is at is also at least 4 years older than him.
I couldn't think of a better signature.
The crazy thing
is that this season for Staff was clearly better than any of those elite QBs seasons in their first 4 years or so. He ended up 5th in passer rating and with a very solid 63% comp despite largely having no run game and being put in bad down and distances frequently. If and when we take some stress off of Staff (better Oline, run game, defense), he’ll be even more efficient and protect the ball even better. There’s no doubt he was a top 5 QB this season and will continue to be top 5 moving forward.
The boys are back in town!
Right on Rames
The huge thing is that we have almost ZERO running game, as you mentioned. That’s so key. Even the Patriots and Packers have a semblance of a running game when they need it. We do not…at least most of the time.
I think it was Billick who even mentioned that yesterday (what Staff is doing without a running game to help him).
I said it before the season and I'll say it now.
IF Stafford can stay healthy long enough during his NFL career, he will finish up as a candidate for the Hall of Fame, the kid is that good.
He made a half a dozen throws just yesterday that no other QB in the league can make at this point in time and I’ll say no one from the past could ever make. A 3 inch passing window where only his receiver can catch it in a 25 mph cross wind and he nails it? That’s unheard of.
The only reason some of the national people are poopooing his accomplishments is due to Calvin, but half of those tough throw yesterday went to receivers other then CJ and this kid deserves every accolade out there. He’s a pleasure to watch.
Is your head as big as your Mama's ass?
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