“Orlovsky finds it fascinating that Stafford is still in Detroit because, he says, he could have left by now if he grew tired of trying to resurrect the franchise. But Stafford has “an immense amount of personal pride” in trying to win a Super Bowl in Detroit.”
I have always thought our QB is a good dude, and a leader of people. I honestly believe his nay-sayers will be silenced when he gets a ring or two, before retiring his Lions jersey into the Hall of Fame!
I’ve always felt very fortunate to have Mathew as ours.
Me too. That’s why I battle back when some call him a fat, lazy, bum. He is the exact opposite of that.
Nothing in the history of the universe is more laughable than the old “China doll” references. It was ridiculous then, and now…
Yup- I’ve always been a Stafford supporter. Consistently taking massive hits and playing behind one of the worst OLs ever assembled, and still getting it done.
And by “getting it done”…Not sure I can agree with that.
The offense didn’t outscore 2007’s offense 5 of his 10 years. No playoff wins. No division wins. Barely even wins against good teams.
Not sure what he’s “getting done”.
And then there was the massive choke job in 2013. What he got done that year was got Schwartz and Linehan done. Then Caldwell gave us Ebron instead of Donald and we missed our shot to have the defense carry us to the promised land…
2014 with Donald instead of Ebron = home playoff game and it was such a weak conference that year…
In one breath blaming Stafford, coaching/management, and the team around him.
You’re probably right about all 3, but, somehow you give Stafford the Lions share of the blame.
I think most of us see a lack of talent around Stafford as the main culprit. No QB is perfect. Even Aaron Rodgers can’t make it to the playoffs without help. Peyton Manning couldn’t either. 2 time Super Bowl winner and one time MVP Eli couldn’t either.
Not really. I think you’re reading a lot into what I’ve said.
I was questioning what the criteria for “getting it done” was.
The choke job in 2013 was on him. Watch the Giants game. We had that game won and the pick 6 in the 4th gave them the lift they needed. Watch the last 4 games. Bad QB play all 4.
I get that it takes a team and all that jazz, but the QB is part of the team and he has to play well in order for the offense not to suck.
So, again, I’m not seeing anything “getting done” any more than just “playing the position”.
Comeback wins? One gets a lot of comeback wins when one attempts a lot of comebacks. Comeback attempts can happen when you’re behind. Seems to me better offense means you’re behind in the 4th much less often than we seem to be.
Caldwell’s fault? Why put the governor on for 3.5 quarters then try to win it in the end if you trust your qB to get it done?
Just asking.
Getting it done = doing an amazing job, especially given the circumstances. He’s performed beyond reasonable expectations, given the situation he was surrounded with, IMO. I’ve felt that way every year. Pull any stat you want, I’m talking about watching football, and seeing an OL crumple like a tin can under a dozer. I’m talking about watching Ebron make low-pressure catches (pad his stats), while every drop is a drive-killer. I’m watching opposing QBs have half again, or double the amount of time in the pocket, etc, etc. Playing in Lambo’s offense (complete waste of a year and a half)…JBC…a very, very slight improvement.
Dude gets it done. Always has. Just my opinion.
Getting it done in that he’s a franchise QB who would be a starter on 20 teams as soon as he left us. We haven’t had that since…uh…Bobby Layne?
Well, I could say the same about Kitna. Certainly didn’t have a good OL. Had nobody receivers except Roy, who wasn’t really top shelf… 2 4000+ yard seasons and all. Defense was freaking awful in 07 and 08…
I saw us in shotgun an awful lot and us being one dimensional, part of which was caused by catering to Stafford (more time to scan the field, less moving parts…) OLs constantly in pass pro tend to look worse than those who aren’t, especially
And Lombo… I look closely at 2015. Stafford was starting to get it. That season was 60% completion in every game. No QB had done that and I had noticed it early on. Word was that Stafford wasn’t 100% buying into it in 2014 and it kind of showed, too. Then when the schedule got easy in 2015, JBC got all the credit for the “improvement”. That frosted me some.
It wasn’t so much dinks to Ebron, but dinks to backs. At one point I had noticed we had over 25% of the pass attempts to backs behind the LOS. That was Caldwell ball. That’s not the mark of a great QB.
Plus, Stafford had Calvin Johnson in his prime. He should have been able to take advantage of the many one on one’s he had with other
I watched football. I saw poor placement and virtually no touch. He burned them in tight windows that nobody could match, but I’m not even sure that made up for that lack of touch and placement. I saw yards left on the field because WRs and TEs had to overadjust for the ball. Drops are drive killers and if a ball hits a receiver in the hands he should absolutely catch it. But the QB should not just be able to rifle it in there every time and put it in places where it’s harder to catch and not expect a higher drop rate.
I kept watching and hoping that Stafford would fix those. Caldwell came in with “I will fix him” and we spent the better part of 3 years doing just that. Small ball. Get Stafford to realize there are plays he was missing. Then eventually take off the training wheels. But when they fired Lombardi and put JBC in charge, Stafford walked all over him and reverted back to a Linehan style game without Linehan calling plays.
We almost never see a consistent game from Stafford and even as recently as last year, no touchdowns in 2 games against the Vikings. You can dump that on the offense and all that, but at some point the QB takes heat for not elevating the offense.
And supporting cast. Well, we’re paying a lot of cap to Stafford. It stands to reason that when you spend all your money on one player, you need to expect more from him.
I don’t think it’s an amazing job. I’d say “good” job. But I don’t pay top dollar for “good”. I’d rather have Mark Sanchez and the best run game and best defense. Then you win playoff game.
What offense? Backup OL? 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th options at WR? 3rd and 4th string RBs? Not a legitimate NFL talent on the roster at TE?
Hard to take it seriously, when someone starts using Kitna references.
You and I are not going to see eye to eye on this, and I don’t care enough to try to prove you wrong. Complete waste of time for both of us.
I’m talking about looking at the tv with my eyes and seeing what’s real. My reality is that this dude is running for his life, and that is not his skillset. Maybe a mobile QB would be better with no OL. That’s not Matt’s strength, and never will be.
All i’m saying is - I’m thankful we have the guy, and I believe he will win us a title or two. I love the direction of this team. Quinn and Patricia will take us to the next level.
Exactly! Easily the best QB I’ve seen in a Lions uniform in my lifetime. Easily a top 10 QB.
Yepper! And it ain’t even close!
Really? You think Kitna isn’t relevant to this discussion? All I was saying is that the same excuses probably should apply to Kitna, but for some reason, they didn’t and, apparently, they don’t to you.
I look at 2007. Scored 346 points with that offense. (Defense was terrible, thus the 7-9 record. And it got way worse in 2008, thus the 0-16 record)
5 of 10 of Stafford’s years, we did not do better than that on offense, including 2018…
I would argue that it’s the construction of the team on all counts and that it doesn’t matter who is QB on a sh-t team. The team is sh-t.
But, if I were to look at the components (offensive units) other than QB, there aren’t many units I’d take from 2007 and sub them in for any of the teams since 2009. Would you?
You can have all the faith you want, but after 10 years of non-elite, non consistent QB play, I’ll believe the titles when I see them. I’ve seen several things that give me reason to doubt. 2013. That play in Dallas where we needed 1 yard on 3rd and one. Pre-snap read screamed “Audible to CJ for a quick yard”. Instead, long developing trick play to a TE we targeted 15 times all year.
Also the most expensive QB, by a lot.
Last year his rating was barely top 25. We could use total QBR and he moves up to 22…
“really” - Yup, that’s why I said it.
“apparently not to you” - correct! That’s why I said it.
Admire your passion. Said this before, and saying it again.
You and I are not going to see eye to eye on this, and I don’t care enough to try to prove you wrong. Complete waste of time for both of us.
This is opinion, and mine isn’t going to change. I believe what my eyes tell me.
Actually, I think I may have brought Kitna into the conversation.
The Kitna/Martz connection was nothing short of amazing! When you think about how many times Kitna was sacked, not to mention pressures. 4,000+ yards passing was miraculous!
Then consider no RB. Roy and Furrey were fairly reliable, and that was it!
Kitna did a fantastic job while he was here!
I felt pretty neutral towards Kitna. Tough guy, smart enough, but not a lot of physical tools. Did the best he could with what he had, for sure.
Me too.
I hope I’m wrong. I always do when I doubt a Lions QB.
Good read! I never even heard of the show Billions… wtf lol