Since Stafford wasn’t traded, for simplicity’s sake, there would no Iffy, no Jamo, no Jahmyr, no La Porta, no Goff. Both teams won the trade, that’s not the question.
The question is could Ben Johnson have molded, coaxed and accentuated Stafford’s talents to near the extent that he has Goff’s?
Would the results be near the same? I ask because their signature talents are different: Bazooka arm versus pinpoint accuracy. Ben would have a different starting point with Stafford, I’d think. Of course Brad’s a magic man and he would have found 4 useful pieces to fill the void of those stars listed above. We’d still have the Sun God.
Would we enjoy a similar promise of offensive success in a 2024 Stafford/Ben Johnson simulation? Does every bit of spaghetti Ben throws against the wall stick?
(BTW, I had a steroid shot this afternoon and some spicy food tonight, so sleeping ain’t in the cards tonight.)
For me, I look at the Stafford trade as a blessing for both sides. Yes, it would have been fun for me to see what Stafford could have done in Ben Johnson’s offense tailored to Stafford’s skills. OTOH, that trade was instrumental in bringing many quality players to the organization to help with the turn around. He did us a favor. And Stafford got a SB ring out of it too.
Yup! You always want to play to your strengths → that includes management. This trade plays to one of the major strengths of our Front offices…drafting and developing talent. No player in the history of the game is worth wha we got in that trade. Simply amazing.
If we had kept Stafford we wouldn’t have gotten hutch. We very likely win at least 3 more games. Browns, Vikings and Steelers. Possibly even the ravens. They did need a miracle kick that year to win.
100% right. We got a lot of draft capital in the Stafford trade that helped build the core of this roster. Most importantly we got a QB back in return.
Lions would have had success on offense with Stafford. A great deal of success. Would the team have been as successful this early in the process? I do not know, and I am leaning towards no. But the Stafford would have had the best years of his career had he stayed…but I am glad he left.
This isn’t true. People keep saying it, but it’s not. Iffy had like 4 good games in his entire career. Jamo has had about 4 average games. LaPorta is great, and Gibbs is great. Stafford won the SB. Rams won the trade, and that’s it. I hate to break it to Goff fans, but Goff never won, and Stafford did. However, this should never be a “who won the trade” discussion. Its a team rebuilding vs a team ready to win.
What is this myth of Goff having pinpoint accuracy? I always read it, but it’s always a lie. Am I the only one who watches the games? Goff is not a rocket armed gunslinger, and he’s not great at accuracy, and he have no athleticism, but what makes him good (for the most part) is he runs the offense the way it needs to be run. And he does a very good job doing his job.
Also, Stafford is as accurate as anyone.
No one knows how well the Lions would have done with Stafford. Right now their best is 13 wins, and a NFCG. Stafford is a way better QB. This team won because of him alone. And they had a miserable long losing streak without him. I would say yes. This team would be at least just as good.
