Sports Tribute: Matthew Stafford

 As a lifelong Detroit Lions fan I felt it necessary to make a post on the recent departure of our quarterback #9, Matthew Stafford. He has been the face and leader of our team since he was drafted as the 1st pick in 2009. For 12 seasons he starred at quarterback for the Lions, and broke so many statistical records. Although he never achieved any proper glory (0-3 in the playoffs) I still want to give him some homage here. I would ultimately define Matt Stafford as a good quarterback, but not a great quarterback. He is however in my opinion the greatest Lions quarterback of all time. He is also my third favorite Lions player behind Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson. 

The Arrival of Matthew Stafford

So a quick recap on my Lions fanhood; it began as a teenager in the mid 90s, inspired by the great Barry Sanders. In those days we were a running team, and despite the inconsistent performances of our quarterback Scott Mitchell, we were still a decent team. After their impressive 1991 season, by which they won the division and a playoff game, the Lions made it 5 more times in the 90s as a wildcard team (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1999). Even though they lost each of those games, it was still an encouraging time to be a Lions fan, much thanks to the greatness of Barry Sanders. 

However after the sudden (and early) retirement of Barry Sanders, the Lions took a sharp decline in the 2000s. They underwent various quarterback changes including Charlie Batch, the epic flop of Joey Harrington, and the vet John Kitna. Then came the infamous 0-16 season in 2008, by which the Lions became the 1st winless team in NFL history. The Lions had completely hit rock bottom and a total face-lift was much needed. Enter head coach Jim Shwartz, and superstars Calvin Johnson, Ndamukong Suh, and the 1st round draft pick of 2009 Matthew Stafford.

After 3 successful seasons at the University of Georgia, Matthew Stafford became the #1 draft pick of the Detroit Lions in 2009. He started in 10 games and quickly hit it off with superstar receiver Calvin Johnson, aka "Megatron". His opening season was promising, however he struggled with injuries and the Lions still finished a disappointing 2-14. The following season he only played in 3 games before once again missing out due to injuries. His NFL career had no doubt gotten off to a rough start and it appeared he was going to be yet another draft bust for the Lions. Then came his breakout year in 2011. 

The Breakout of Matthew Stafford

Matthew Stafford starred in all 16 games in the 2011 season and threw for a career high of 5038 yards. The Stafford-Megatron connection became the most formidable QB-Receiver duo in the league. Calvin Johnson led the league in reception yards with 1681. Despite his breakout season, Stafford was somehow snubbed for the Pro Bowl selection. The Lions finished with an impressive 10-6 record and made the playoffs for the first time since 1999. However they unfortunately loss to the New Orleans Saints. I remember ordering some chicken wings for this game and watching it on my computer at my apartment in Indy. Despite the disappointing loss it was quite encouraging to see the Lions finally had some star power again. 

I revamped my NFL attention in 2013 when I started a new job at Dow Agro and gave my full attention to the on-goings of my Detroit Lions. I watched as much media as I could on my down-time at work, including analysis and press conferences from head coach Jim Shwartz. And I watched every game on Sunday, often with my neighbor and fellow Lions fan, Josh. In 2013 we had a very promising season, yet finished poorly towards to the end of the season, with a 7-9 record. This marked the end of Shwartz's career and the start of the Jim Caldwell era. Caldwell arrived in 2014 as a respected NFL veteran and further upgraded the Lions credibility. Stafford and Megatron continued to put up big numbers, and the team made the playoffs twice more in 2014 and 2016. Stafford established himself as the comeback king, and made the Pro Bowl in 2014, and broke the single season comeback record in 2016. 

The Lions had so much potential from 2014-2018, and finally had achieved some above average credibility. In 2016 a new GM from New England Bob Quinn was hired with intentions to take the Lions to an even higher level. Yet after another disappointing mediocre finish of 7-9 finish in 2018, Quinn decided to fire Caldwell and replace him with a fellow New Englander Matt Patricia. The Detroit Lions thus attempted to mimic the system of the successful New England Patriots which quickly proved to be an epic fail. The Patricia/Bob Quinn era in Detroit was a total failure after 3 seasons, and the Lions digressed entirely. Stafford's career also digressed and in 2019 he brought an end to his impressive 139 consecutive starts. The following season he also struggled with poor play and injury. And so after 12 seasons at the age of 32 Stafford came to a mutual decision to part ways with the Detroit Lions. 

The Down Sides

So now I want to break down the good sides and down sides of Matt Stafford's game. I want to be quite frank here in saying that he was hands down the best Lions quarterback we've ever had, however he was not top tier. He had many flaws in his game, and despite his impressive stats, toughness, and comeback victories he also had many downsides. The two biggest stats that define Stafford's lackluster career at Detroit is his 0-3 playoff record, and his 10-60 (approx) record against winning teams. These numbers simply demonstrate that Stafford could never rise to the big occasion required to uplift the Lions to the next level.

Of course there are many cases to be made, that the talented Stafford was operating in a poor system, with poor management, and poor quality around him. These cases are certainly warranted, and the Detroit organization can certainly take some blame for it's poorly run franchise (in comparison to other teams). However aside from the head coach, it's the quarterback who leads the team by example, and thus Stafford is also to blame for Detroit's downsides. If he can be accredited for the good, he certainly can be accredited for the bad. 

My biggest argument with Stafford's overall game style, was his frequent poor decisions. This included taking far too many sacks, and many costly fumbles or interceptions. I can't count the amount of times Stafford turned the ball over on key drives in which the game hung in the balance. Ultimately I came to the conclusion that Stafford was a gifted quarterback, however in the big moments he would often buckle under pressure. That being said he also played best when his back was against the wall and hope was at it's most dismal. This is perhaps why Stafford was able to lead the Lions to so many sneaky comebacks, and acquire so many cheap stats in blown-out games. It seemed he didn't really activate his best play until the 4th quarter, and while this did lead to many comebacks, it ultimately led to more defeats. 

The Good Sides

Now that I got the negative out of the way I want to finish on a positive note and highlight the many good sides to Matt Stafford. For starters, perhaps his greatest asset was his throwing arm. These days there are many types of quarterbacks, ranging from agile/running QB, to the staying-in-the-pocket and throwing QB. Stafford was definitely an old school gunslinger who couldn't scramble or run well, but was very sharp on his throwing. He could throw far, fast, and accurately (into very tight windows) which is no doubt why he broke so many passing yards. If Stafford plays 10 more years he could certainly pass Drew Brees all-time record of 80,358 yards (Stafford sits at 45,100 but if he continues to average 4000 per season he could pass that incredible milestone). 

Another defining quality of Stafford was his remarkable toughness. So many times in his career with the Lions he struggled with various injuries, yet so many times he played thru them. This is best exemplified in his incredible stat of 139 consecutive starts from 2011-2019. Stafford sits at 7th place on this list (very far behind the endurable Brett Favre who set the bar at 297). The past couple seasons he has however succumbed to further injury and had to miss more games as a result. 

Third and perhaps Stafford's most defining quality is his competitive leadership. There can be no question that Stafford is a competitor who wants to win games. And over the years he had become more and more of a leader. He is very humble off the field and never engaged in social media or much advertisement. He was a team player who never put himself above any other player on the team. For these qualities I would not be very surprised to see Stafford excel in perhaps a more established team. It will of course be difficult to watch him succeed elsewhere, but I truly do hope he can continue to build his legacy. I someday hope to see him returned as a Lions legend with his name enshrined on the Lions Ring of Honor. 

Most Memorable Stafford Moments

5. Game against Mahomes and the Chiefs (2019): Perhaps one of Stafford's most incredible games of which the Lions still loss to the eventual Super Bowl champs. Stafford was sharp as ever in this game, and made many incredible throws into very tight windows. The most impressive was the TD dart he threw to Kenny Golladay thru 4 KC defenders. 

4. Comeback against the Falcons in London (2014): That year Stafford had many iconic comebacks that led the Lions to another wildcard birth. My neighbor and I use to joke they were the Cardiac Cats, and kept us invested each game to the final second was off the clock. The game against Atlanta in London was probably the biggest comeback by which the Lions were down 21-0 at halftime. In the 2nd half Stafford chipped away at this deficit to bring us the victory. 

3.  Game Winning Drive against Vikings (2016): This was a very entertaining game, where with some 30 seconds on the clock and no time-outs, Stafford was able to get the team into field goal range to take the game into overtime. On the next drive in OT, he threw a pass to Golden Tate who broke loose and did a memorable butt-flip into the end zone to win the game. 

2. Dislocated Shoulder against Browns (2009): Early in his career, he suffered a terrible shoulder dislocation against the Browns. However with the game hanging in the balance, he came out on the final play to throw the game winning touchdown. Although this game took him out for the remaining of the season it demonstrated Stafford's undeniable resilience. 

1. Fake Spike Against the Cowboys (2013): Stafford led the Lions some 80 yards in 1 minute to completely steal the game from the Cowboys with a final fake spike TD. This was a very entertaining game between superstar receivers Calvin Johnson and Dez Bryant. The victory at Ford Field became one of Stafford's first of many incredible game winning drives and is all the more special if you listen to his mic-ed up audio during the drive.