There is no QB I’d rather have down with less than a minute to go than Matthew Stafford.
I wish the Lions could analyze why he’s so effective in those moments, and try to help it to translate to throughout the game. Obviously you can’t run hurry-up the whole game with the Lions’ defense.
But what else is it besides the pace that has Stafford so comfortable and so effective in those specific scenarios?
Some guesses:
Some level of prevent, or at least “don’t let anything past you” being played by the defenses, that Stafford feels particularly comfortable finding pockets in and picking apart.
The pace making it less about thinking and more about Stafford’s arm.
The prevent-ish defense also equating to less of a pass rush.
Incompetent coaches not having the ability to force ineffective plays. Instead it’s more, “Go get open.”
Stafford has a big arm, which is kind of necessary for those moments. He has always excelled when they run a sped up offense. I agree, with our defense, you can’t necessarily do that, because they are garbage. But when he gets to run a sped up offense, and make snap decisions, he is as good as they get
Aqib said his opinion why during telecast.
Fast pace makes it easier for stafford to read msn coverage and decide where to throw. He can make the throws.
When he has time and can step into his throws, he’s super deadly especially with that big arm. He can also fit the ball in tight windows.
When the team has 3 timeouts to spare, he can work the entire field. He has developed very good time management skills and situational football awareness.
Prater is also a weapon as he can hit 50+ yard field goals.
Here’s the number of “3 and Outs” each team had today.
Crazy that “3 and Outs” happen all over the NFL, every week, in every game.
And I didn’t count the drives that appeared to be closing out the half or end of game. Also didn’t count a crap ton of “4 and Outs”.
Cincinnati 6
Pittsburgh 5
Denver 4
Las Vegas 4
Green Bay 4
New Orleans 3
San Francisco 3
Arizona 3
LA Chargers 3
Detroit 3
Seattle 2
Miami 2
Carolina 2
NY Giants 2
Tennessee 2
Houston 2
Cleveland 1
Philadelphia 1
Washington 1
Jacksonville 1
Buffalo 1
LA Rams 1
Indianapolis 0
Tampa Bay 0