Getty Matthew Stafford celebrates a touchdown in Philadelphia with Taylor Decker.
Matthew Stafford has been a much maligned player in the NFL for his work with the Detroit Lions, but now that his team has managed to make some early season noise in 2019, opinions are beginning to change in terms of the quarterback.
After leading the Lions to a 2-1-1 record thus far on the season and looking the part of a more complete player, Stafford is finally getting some love for what he has been able to do on the football field. Some of the folks who have been blind to his talent for various reasons are finally starting to wake up to the excitement Stafford offers the football viewing public every week.
Take ESPN’s Ryan Clark. Recently, Clark admitted that the fact that the Lions have been a losing team as well as Stafford’s relative obscurity in the league have prevented him from getting a ton of due. Even such, Clark said he sees Stafford as special, especially as he battled Patrick Mahomes in a close game and nearly beat the MVP.
Former Lions and NFL linebacker Bobby Carpenter expanded on Clark’s analysis even better. After playing with Stafford and the Lions from 2010-2011 and also playing with the Dallas Cowboys (Tony Romo) and the New England Patriots (Tom Brady) in his career, Carpenter has a unique perspective on what makes a quarterback.
As he shared, Stafford is someone he has always considered to be a beast, with perhaps the best pure arm talent he’s seen out of the bunch and solid decision making skills which rival the elites as well. The only thing Stafford hasn’t had which others have enjoyed according to Carpenter? Help. That’s minus wide star receiver Calvin Johnson, of course.
Stafford doesn’t have the playoff victories and big game wins that Brady does, nor does he have the hype that Romo was able to generate given his status as quarterback for “America’s team” in Dallas. What he does have is raw talent, and the chance to make believers as he progresses in his career.
Now, Stafford might finally have some of that long awaited help that Carpenter talked about, too. He’s got Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, T.J. Hockenson and Jesse James to catch his passes, Kerryon Johnson to run the ball and a better semblance of an offensive line than arguably he’s ever had before.
Stafford also finally has professional offensive coordinator in Darrell Bevell at his disposal, who could groom him as he has the other top quarterbacks he’s coached. Bevell’s offense seems more tailored to suit his particular skillset, especially considering how strong Detroit has started the season already in 2019 on that side of the ball.
Thus far, Stafford has an impressive 9 touchdowns to only 2 interceptions, and has passed for a solid 1,122 yards and a nice 102.6 QBR.
With more big plays and big wins to come, Stafford will slowly but surely be able to change everybody’s mind both in the media and otherwise about what he can do. Those who have seen him operate up close already like Carpenter understand what he’s working with, and know it’s simply a matter of time before the narrative changes completely.
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