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Monday night, NFL Network finally called Matthew Stafford’s name on their Top 100 Players of 2017 list, as voted by the players. Stafford came in at 31, his highest ranking since the list’s inception in 2011.
Stafford was humbled by the experience and talked with NFL Network about it after Monday’s show. “It’s an honor to be on this list,” Stafford said. “You play this game for respect of your peers and those are the guys voting on it, so it means a lot to me.”
After missing the list for the past two years, Stafford’s ranking at 31st elicited some strong reactions from across the league. Here’s a sampling of the best and worst responses from social media and beyond.
The Worst
The short segment on Matthew Stafford started out with an insult from Chicago Bears linebacker Pernell McPhee. For whatever reason, that part of his reaction was cut from the online version of the video, but The Detroit News transcribed it:
“I was just talking about that, and I was like, ‘He’s nowhere near the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL,’” McPhee said. “He’s definitely not in my top 10. I had Kirk Cousins over him.”
McPhee later went on to compliment Stafford, saying that he “has the best arm in the league.”
McPhee was far from the only person talking a little trash about Stafford. In fact, some of it was coming from his own fanbase.
@nflnetwork Stafford shouldn't be allowed on the list until he wins a playoff game! #NFLTop100
— Ryan Scott (@LionSinceBirth) June 6, 2017
Remember, kids: Playoff wins is not a quarterback statistic.
I shouldn’t be giving him the attention, but Heath Evans is back and sipping on his Stafford Hatorade:
— Heath Evans (@HeathEvans44) June 6, 2017
Someone tell Heath that a non-top 10 defense does not mean it’s a “bad, horrible, atrocious defense.” Also, maybe provide that same split for other quarterbacks for some context? You’re not exactly exposing anything enlightening by proving that quarterbacks play worse against good defenses.
The Best
It wasn’t all hate towards Stafford, in fact, most people were really excited to finally see “their” quarterback get some well-deserved credit:
thank u matt stafford. Finally getting his credit without megatron #nfltop100
— blogmamba (@blogmamba) June 6, 2017
Finally a little respect for my boy Matt Stafford #NFLTop100 #Lions https://t.co/g0y20z8Zt7
— Maxwell McKendry (@McKendryMM12) June 6, 2017
@nflnetwork Finally Stafford gets some respect! #NFLTop100 pic.twitter.com/O4W2bYvFuZ
— Brooks Hitchcock (@BMHitchcock) June 6, 2017
Then, of course, it was time to do a victory lap over the haters:
I thought some of the Lions fans told me that he's bad https://t.co/TT2sV5aebq
— #1 Ameer Fan (@BeastFBall) June 6, 2017
The Teammates
A good teammate congratulates his fellow player upon their accomplishments, and that’s exactly what a few Lions players did following the announcement. Ameer Abdullah simply retweeted this tweet, while Tahir Whitehead was a little more vocal about his opinion:
I think he should be higher ♂️congrats Brodie. https://t.co/bWhaLkHrPV
— Tahir Whitehead (@Big_Tah47) June 6, 2017
Punter Sam Martin simply went with the raised hands approach:
— Sam (@SamMartin_6) June 6, 2017