Highest-paid player in NFL history - Losing Record

[kach22i]

Pat Caputo - Absolutely Lions should make Matthew Stafford highest-paid player in NFL history
Pat Caputo - Absolutely Lions should make Matthew Stafford highest-paid player in NFL history

Odds are shortly the Lions will sign quarterback Matthew Stafford to a contract extension making him the highest-paid player in NFL history.

Equally as probable is there will be plenty of backlash. It will be pointed out incessantly, on social media and sports talk radio, that the Lions have a losing record (51-58) with Stafford as starting QB. There will be endless chatter that he seldom wins big games, and how the Lions didn’t capture a playoff game or a division title during Stafford’s first eight seasons.

But signing Stafford to such a contract absolutely, totally and without question makes perfect sense. ............................

I was not watching Lions football until Matthew Stafford started playing.

He is exciting to watch, but it goes both ways; from crazy last minute comebacks to folding under pressure interceptions.

His statistics on paper look really good, the results in real life are less than spectacular to put it nicely.

There are news articles that Matthew Stafford used an off-season coach to improve his passing game as his probable contract extension is up this year. All I know is the fans grumblings at the end of last season were not favorable, lost faith big time.

One of the anchors/reporters on local Channel 2 Fox News said the "highest paid" trophy is going to be handed to every important renewing player because of timing of contract, and used some basketball player names as examples to make his point.

My question is who wants Matthew Stafford?

What team might he go to if not staying in Detroit?

Would you want him to be the starting QB of your home team?

Articles say he should be at the peak of his career based on physical and experience factors.

He was supposed to peak the last two seasons, wasn't he?

[legion]

Why don't the Lions fire Stafford and hire Jay Cutler? I'm sure he can be gotten cheap, and he should also be at his peak.

[ckelly78z]

I hear Jonny Manziel is looking for a home.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by legion

Why don't the Lions fire Stafford and hire Jay Cutler? I'm sure he can be gotten cheap, and he should also be at his peak.

Sounds like Jay Cutler was to Chicago what Matthew Stafford is to the Lions.

Following Jay Cutler could be the best thing to happen to Mike*Glennon
Following Jay Cutler could be the best thing to happen to Mike Glennon | Chicago Sun-Times

The Bears resolutely ended an era and moved on when they released their franchise quarterback in March. And in the first few days of the first training camp without Cutler in nine years, it’s clear that this has been a clean break.

Nobody’s wistful about the Cutler era. Nobody’s talking about the big shoes to fill or the leadership void with his absence. The Bears have turned the page to a new quarterback era, embraced a new quarterback in Mike Glennon and a quarterback-of-the-future in Mitch Trubisky and moved on from Cutler as quickly as Cutler moved on from the football field.

A fitting conclusion perhaps, but a little strange that there’s no lingering nostalgia for a player who was the focal point of Bears football for eight seasons, a beacon of hope — actually, the beacon of hope — and arguably the best quarterback the Bears have had since Sid Luckman.

Stafford has seven seasons behind him.

I bet there are a lot of teams in this situation, put all their eggs in one basket, build a team around a young quarterback, and then never win the big one.

Will a couple more years make a difference?

This situation has a lot in common with a low-performance stock.

Dump it now or ride it out until it fizzles?

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

I hear Jonny Manziel is looking for a home.

That would be an interesting choice.

What about this Drew Brees fellow?

New Orleans Saints Rumors: Johnny Manziel To Be Drew Brees’ Replacement In 2018?
New Orleans Saints Rumors: Johnny Manziel To Be Drew Brees’ Replacement In 2018?

Brees, the future first-ballot Hall-of-Fame quarterback that led the Saints to their first Super Bowl title back in 2010, is in under contract for this season at $24.2 million, could possibly leave New Orleans in 2018.

With an estimated cap hit of close to $19 million and his contract set to void in 2018 due to no tag or trade clauses, there is talk of Brees seeking to replicate fellow thirty-something Super Bowl champion, Peyton Manning in winning a Super Bowl in the twilight of his career.

Sadly, it will have to be done a la Peyton in a different uniform.

Set to turn 39 this coming January, the ten-time Pro Bowl standout and Super Bowl XLIV MVP completed 70 percent of his passes for 5,208 yards—his fifth 5,000-plus passing year, most in NFL history—for 37 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

[Crowbob]

I'm no expert on Lions football, but it seems to me Stafford isn't their problem. Last year it seemed like the Lions had 11 men on the field playing really well individually but never could make the whole team work together.

Thats a management problem, I would think.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

I'm no expert on Lions football, but it seems to me Stafford isn't their problem. Last year it seemed like the Lions had 11 men on the field playing really well individually but never could make the whole team work together.

Thats a management problem, I would think.

I thought Stafford was done for when Calvin Johnson (wide receiver) retired, but I was very wrong.

I am a fan of Stafford like I said, didn't even watch before he came to the team.

However Red Zone and crunch time interceptions are heart breaking, and although he's improved on this matter it still hurts each and every time.

01/20/16
Detroit Lions — Matthew Stafford’s 5 most impressive stats
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/article/OP/20160120/SPORTS/160129933

If you look into the stats, Stafford put up some pretty impressive numbers in 2015 considering he and the offense couldn’t get much going until Joe Lombardi was fired and Jim Bob Cooter stepped in.


Five other key stats for Stafford in 2015:


1. Stafford had the highest red zone completion percentage in 2015 (the whole season, not just the final eight games) of any quarterback in the NFL. He completed 48 of 73 passes in the red zone for a 65.75 percentage. (Brady’s was 61.70 and Manning’s was 58.33.)


2. Also Stafford ranked third with red zone touchdown passes with 26 behind Brady with 29 and Carson Palmer with 27. Of the three Stafford was the only one without an interception in the red zone.


3. Inside the 10, Stafford had the highest completion percentage (75 percent) of any starting quarterback and also had the most touchdowns (21).


4. Stafford’s overall completion percentage of 67.2 (a career best) ranked fifth among all NFL starters. He was behind Kirk Cousins, Drew Brees, Russell Wilson and Ben Roethlisberger. In the final three games (all wins) his passing completion was 88 percent at New Orleans, 78.4 percent at home to 49ers and 71.8 percent in blustery conditions at Chicago. When Caldwell took over the Lions in 2014 he said he wanted Stafford to complete at least 62 percent of his passes. In 2014 his completion percentage was 60.4, not quite high enough.


5. Stafford tied for seventh in touchdowns with 32, fifth in completions with 398 and eighth in total yards with 4,262. No doubt he has room to improve, but the stats show he is trending in the right direction.

What I saw last year was a lot of dropped passes that should have been caught.

Not Matthew Stafford’s fault at all.

I guess that goes under the "working as a team" category.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by kach22i

What I saw last year was a lot of dropped passes that should have been caught.

Not Matthew Stafford’s fault at all.

I guess that goes under the "working as a team" category.

I've been watching/recording the top college games of 2016 series.
Three times now, on separate games, the game analyst has mentioned that one of the QBs has an arm like M. Stafford.

For whatever that's worth.

[legion]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

I've been watching/recording the top college games of 2016 series.
Three times now, on separate games, the game analyst has mentioned that one of the QBs has an arm like M. Stafford.

Do they ever mention that a sacked QB has a fetal position like Jay Cutler?

[Don Ro]

^^^
I had high hopes for Cutler...a throw-back gunslinger with a great arm.
However..............................

[legion]

Cutler had a few problems, not all of which were his fault:

-His offensive line was Swiss cheese. It seemed like the Bears put zero effort into protecting him.
-He spent too long making decisions. This often lead to him going down with the ball rather than throwing it away when a play wasn't going to happen.
-He seemed to value trying to make a big play downfield over a short gain that was a sure thing. He threw a lot of interceptions this way.
-He got injured often. He seemed to sit out 1-6 games every season for injury. See above for why.

[BReif61]

Quarterback contracts are an interesting conundrum in the NFL. The dance between the Redskins and Kirk Cousins is a good example. Cousins probably isn't "worth" what he'll be getting paid, but that's the rate for a QB now. The problem is that then the team has so much money tied up in the QB that the rest of the team suffers, or they have to hope to find good young (read: cheap) talent in the draft. But the league is so QB driven, that you NEED to have a good QB.

With these superstar QBs the real question is "where would they go, if not here?" Who else would pay Stafford or Cousins $20+million a year? Would they WANT to play for that team?

Just an interesting situation, IMO.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

I hear Jonny Manziel is looking for a home.

The home he needs has lots of nice young men in white coats.

[Crowbob]

Stafford throws so hard passes do get dropped allot.

All last season I kept waiting for some Lion to spark the team but it never happened. It seems like Stafford gets beat up a lot, too. Broke his thumb late last season, IIRC.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

Stafford throws so hard passes do get dropped allot.

All last season I kept waiting for some Lion to spark the team but it never happened. It seems like Stafford gets beat up a lot, too. Broke his thumb late last season, IIRC.

I have wondered if it was possible to throw too hard at the professional level.

I have not read of any receivers complaining about it though.

It was not his thumb, but it was a finger on his throwing hand.

Didn't seem to throw his game off much, but it was wrapped.

[kach22i]

I am watching the Greenbay Packers pre-season game against the Washington Red Skins.

Aaron Rodgers still has the right stuff. Delivering under pressure as always.

Lions have their work cut out for them.

[MRM]

From what I understand it is possible to throw too hard, even for professionals. That's why a quarterback who has a soft touch and can get the ball where it needs to go with a little less zip is so important. Aaron Rogers had it, so does Tom Brady. Farve was famous for throwing so hard he'd break his receivers fingers. But he could take the heat off if he wasn't trying to thread the needle.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Kaepernick needs a job, right?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Per what I saw on Sportscenter, Stanford led more game winning drives than any QB in history last year. Considering that he's not exactly surrounded by superstars, I think he does pretty well. And so you cut him loose, then what? Cleveland has been looking for a decent QB for about the last 25 years, it's not like they are easy to find.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by MRM

From what I understand it is possible to throw too hard, even for professionals. That's why a quarterback who has a soft touch and can get the ball where it needs to go with a little less zip is so important. Aaron Rogers had it, so does Tom Brady. Farve was famous for throwing so hard he'd break his receivers fingers. But he could take the heat off if he wasn't trying to thread the needle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_Favre

Favre was the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for 500 touchdowns, throw for over 70,000 yards, over 6,000 completions, and over 10,000 pass attempts

Brett Favre was good/great, no doubt.

Stafford is perplexing.

He throws really hard, you would think this limits interceptions - it does not.

He throws unconventionally or I should say can throw sidearm style when required, this seems to be an advantage when breaking out of the pocket and on the run - also leads to interceptions.

I can say in the two pre-season games the personal off-season training he's received seems to have paid off, interceptions not an issue.

This is not for the lack of his receivers trying to give it away, bobbling the ball in the air and tossing it at the feet of their opponents.

It's not volleyball guys, seriously don't make me come down there on the field and lecture you.

Aug 23, 2017
Lions roundtable: Will Detroit sign Matthew Stafford to a contract extension before the start of 2017?
https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2017/8/23/16182514/detroit-lions-roundtable-debate-matthew-stafford-contract-extension-deadline

The preseason is closer to its end than its beginning, but Matthew Stafford is still without a contract extension. Does Detroit sign its franchise quarterback before the start of the 2017 season?

Kent Lee: Wrong only in that it is a very specific time to set. As much as people want to say "Let him play this season and if he does well, extend him next year,” Stafford is the cheapest he will ever be right now.