Who is the best comp. for Stafford?

I think so. In some ways its more impressive to be able to tell the difference between their own players and the other teams players when they didn’t have color. If you notice, the interception rate for QBs went down when color was introduced, and down again when HD was introduced and down again when 4K was introduced.

ron burgundy anchorman GIF

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Favre had a touch of stupidity that made him good. I thought of Favre as a Winston comp when he came out. Stafford’s probably just a touch too smart to be a Favre-esque gunslinger.

Someone posted a video of all 30 Winston INTs. A majority of them were just bad throws and bad decisions where he didn’t read it right rather than gambling he could get a ball into a space and losing the bet.

Hey, I said “when he came out” LOL. I didn’t know he was ~that~ stupid.

Matt Ryan and Stafford are the exact same QB.

Only difference is Ryan had a magical season Staff never did (maybe 2012 was Staff’s magic season but didn’t match with the teams best season 2014).

Stafford has a better arm than Matt Ryan.

Honestly, Stafford reminds me of like 75% of John Elway—similar arm and style, not as athletic or driven.

That’s been my thinking as well, but Elway’s ability to both stand tall in the pocket and then to also be able to scramble set him far enough apart that I dare not make the comparison.

Yeah, if you’re going to compare Stafford to an all-timer, I think Marino is closest stylistically.

Stafford doesn’t have nearly the quick release, though. That’s not an insult to Matt, because nobody has had a release like that since Marino.

That dude was something. Damn shame he never had more success.

Marino always seemed more surgical to me than Stafford. Maybe I’m blurring the lines between personality and playing style. Always thought of Marino like the Ivan Lendl of quarterbacks, just a machine. NOW I MUST BREAK YOU. (Yes, I realize that quote is Ivan Drago, not Ivan Lendl, but still.)

Temperamentally, Stafford reminds me of Elway in the sense that he brings some swagger and confidence, and he actually seems to have fun out there.

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Let me expand on my choice of Steve Bartkowski.

He was unquestionably one of the better QBs of his era (mid-70s to mid-80s). Had one of the strongest arms of any QB of his era.

Was a two-time Pro Bowler. Passed for 3,829 yards in 1981, when the league wasn’t so pass-happy. It would probably equate to about 4,500 yards now. Led the league with 31 TD passes in 1980.

And yet … played 11 seasons with the Falcons, one with the Rams. His completion percentage was OK, but never upper-echelon. Probably threw more INTs than Stafford.

Made the playoffs three times, won one playoff game. They won one division championship while he was there.

I think him, and his career, are a pretty good comp for Stafford.

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It’s Marino.

Both special Arm talents. Both productive. Both couldn’t do quite enough to get their teams a super bowl ring.

Yes Marino went a little further.

I fully believe the team that was robbed against Dallas in the playoffs was good enough to make the SB.

Love that 2014 team but disagree. If they were a Superbowl team they would’ve got the job done the week before in Green Bay and locked up the division. They were a good team, best the Lions had since the 90s, but not a great team.

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Nonsense.

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Favre

I always thought Stafford looked like Elway in the face.

:ok_hand: prove it

Imagine putting Marino in a West Coast Offense. He’d be good in it, but that’s not his game. That is what they did with Stafford for stretches of his career.

Bevell is not what I’m talking about so much, but Caldwell is. I think Caldwell made Stafford better in some ways but he really muted his upside.

Marino was special. Stafford is shorter and isn’t as accurate in general. But I can see a comparison in some aspects. Stafford and Marino are both at their best when they are very aggressive passing downfield.

The other thing too is Marino was drafted onto a good team. Stafford was drafted onto an 0-16 team.

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TOTALLY handcuffed him.

Word

You can thank weed for that. Only reason Marino wasn’t taken by some crappy team in the top 10 of that draft.

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Jeff George - Extreme talent and arm. First overall pick. Forgettable career.