Stafford's Turnovers Way Down

[LPinSLC]

I'll tell you this, I'm happy when Stafford plays well, whether I bashed him or not.

With that being said, there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, worse than arguing all week with a Stafford hater about how you think Stafford is improving, only for him to suck on Sunday. I usually ignore my phone in that instance.

I just try to remain objective. This kid is a winner. When the game is on the line, I believe in him. When he makes mistakes, I feel like I critique him when it's justified. Maybe I have blinders on and excuse what appear to be good/great defensive plays on some of his INT's. He's not perfect. He's also not elite. Not many QB's have been. He tries/wants to win though. What more can one really ask for? People use the term elite like it's a common occurrence. That title is reserved for sure fire first ballot HOF's. That's not a requirement. HOF doesn't= SB victory but it helps. I hope for all of our stance, albeit, pro-Stafford or anti-Stafford, we can prove or disprove, Stafford, belonging in the HOF after a SB victory.

 

[themuzzer]

I just try to remain objective. This kid is a winner. When the game is on the line, I believe in him. When he makes mistakes, I feel like I critique him when it's justified. Maybe I have blinders on and excuse what appear to be good/great defensive plays on some of his INT's. He's not perfect. He's also not elite. Not many QB's have been. He tries/wants to win though. What more can one really ask for? People use the term elite like it's a common occurrence. That title is reserved for sure fire first ballot HOF's. That's not a requirement. HOF doesn't= SB victory but it helps. I hope for all of our stance, albeit, pro-Stafford or anti-Stafford, we can prove or disprove, Stafford, belonging in the HOF after a SB victory.

Might have a future in realism. This post is spot on......I've given 10 thumbs up I believe in almost 2 years posting here, and this post is getting one.

 

[lionstop1]

I still believe most people have given Stafford a different set of standards to live up to. From what I gather, fans want perfection. They want tons of yards, tds, efficiency and wins.....with no bad throws or mistakes. I get it though.

 

[Rollingthndr]

I still believe most people have given Stafford a different set of standards to live up to. From what I gather, fans want perfection. They want tons of yards, tds, efficiency and wins.....with no bad throws or mistakes. I get it though.

We hold him to a high standard because he has the skill set most QB's dream about.

Possibly the best arm in football
Highly intelligent
Best WR in the last 20 years
30 million dollar #2WR
Highly capable RB's
2 top 20 draft picks at the TE position

Dude has 19/12 with a 85.4 qb rating.

It's his 6th season in the NFL. He is capable of much more and yes, why shouldn't we as fans expect more?

 

[LPinSLC]

We hold him to a high standard because he has the skill set most QB's dream about.

Possibly the best arm in football
Highly intelligent
Best WR in the last 20 years
30 million dollar #2WR
Highly capable RB's
2 top 20 draft picks at the TE position

Dude has 19/12 with a 85.4 qb rating.

It's his 6th season in the NFL. He is capable of much more and yes, why shouldn't we as fans expect more?

Nothing wrong with expecting more. His OLine hasn't done him any favors though. Even the elite look like shit under pressure.

 

[tpaulus_2]

We hold him to a high standard because he has the skill set most QB's dream about.

Possibly the best arm in football
Highly intelligent
Best WR in the last 20 years
30 million dollar #2WR
Highly capable RB's
2 top 20 draft picks at the TE position

Dude has 19/12 with a 85.4 qb rating.

It's his 6th season in the NFL. He is capable of much more and yes, why shouldn't we as fans expect more?

I'm pretty happy with 11 wins, myself...

 

[Old Lion]

Nothing wrong with expecting more. His OLine hasn't done him any favors though. Even the elite look like shit under pressure.

Very true. Luck has been stinking it up. Manning looked horrible this week. They both lost. Brady got an ass whooping but luckily Rex Ryan negated a potential game winning FG with a TO and the Pats won. I love that guy. I hope so bad that the Bears hire him.


All that being said, he should be better than he is. His pocket presence needs to be better despite the pressure and he needs to be more decisive.

 

[Microwahevo]

We hold him to a high standard because he has the skill set most QB's dream about.

Possibly the best arm in football
Highly intelligent
Best WR in the last 20 years
30 million dollar #2WR
Highly capable RB's
2 top 20 draft picks at the TE position

Dude has 19/12 with a 85.4 qb rating.

It's his 6th season in the NFL. He is capable of much more and yes, why shouldn't we as fans expect more?

Many fans expect much more bc he's a #1 overall pick. And those are held to high standards, moreso for the QB position. Problem is, not all players and QBs develop at the same rate, regardless of draft position. And not all players are coached the same.

Imo, Stafford, to be considered that "franchise savior", needs to win some division titles, lead us to some playoff victories and a SB or two or three or..... He was given that savior title by many fans bc of his immense talent and potential. We've seen some great things from him, and like some have said, he's neither elite not garbage. And it's ok to be somewhere in the middle. But to live up to that "savior" name, he's gonna need to continue with his progression.

 

[Microwahevo]

On a side note, I'm still not fully convinced his 2nd interception last week was his fault. If u watch Tate's route and where Stafford threw the ball, it looked as if Tate stopped his route short and Staff thought he was gonna keep curling more towards the middle of the field. Who got the route wrong is anyone's guess.

 

[tpaulus_2]

On a side note, I'm still not fully convinced his 2nd interception last week was his fault. If u watch Tate's route and where Stafford threw the ball, it looked as if Tate stopped his route short and Staff thought he was gonna keep curling more towards the middle of the field. Who got the route wrong is anyone's guess.

I noticed that, too. Tate appeared to be sitting down on the route to give Stafford a look to the outside towards the pylon, and Stafford looked like he was expecting him to continue across the middle.

Even on the 1st pick Megatron was in position to be exactly where the ball was when Stafford let it go, but he got caught in traffic before he could get to the spot. That's one of those throws Stafford has to learn to just not make. Yes- CJ is huge and likely would have bodied out the defenders if he got to that spot, but with that much traffic it's too risky of a throw, imo.

The second pick wasn't a bad throw, so much as just a simple miscommunication...

 

[jdwills126]

On how this pertains to Stafford, Joique Bells production has stayed the same, and his turnovers are down. Stafford on the other hand can only say the same about half that statement.

I'm in the middle on Stafford. So I've debated both sides of the argument. Why on earth people can't look at him for what he is blows my mind. I will argue with anyone who says he's "elite" just as I will anyone who says he's "garbage".

My point is Bell and Bush stats are really poor for RBs but we don't hold them to a standard or critisize their play like Stafford.

I said before and think it's 100% true....Caldwell has Stafford playing a scaled back ball control style like Flacco did in Baltimore when Caldwell was their. When Stafford didn't have quality WRs my biggest complaint was he didn't elevate the Ogletrees and Durhams into good receivers. That was probably a bit unfair because you can only do so much and in reality their are only a few QBs that can do that. But he was asked to throw the ball an ungodly amount of times and when you do that you will have stats. Now Caldwell doesn't want him to be that QB.

11-5 and they win ugly is about the stupidest comment I have ever heard. Would people rather see them look good and be 8-8? Boy I wish they looked high powered it would make their wins count double!

Against Chicago Stafford was sacked 4 times and hit almost 3 times that. He had 1 bad pick but he kept them in the game and when he needed to he made the plays. If he throws for 400 plus and two TDS and they win 20-14 does it matter?

 

[gandydancer]

My point is Bell and Bush stats are really poor for RBs but we don't hold them to a standard or critisize their play like Stafford.

Are people here making them or the OL to be better than they are or defending poor play when it does happen?

 

[TwoCents22]

On a side note, I'm still not fully convinced his 2nd interception last week was his fault. If u watch Tate's route and where Stafford threw the ball, it looked as if Tate stopped his route short and Staff thought he was gonna keep curling more towards the middle of the field. Who got the route wrong is anyone's guess.

Could be either way, true. But I'm less inclined to give Stafford the benefit of the doubt when he's not exactly had the best consistency with accuracy.

You can either believe that there was a miscommunication between the 2 and Stafford put the ball in the exact spot he wanted, or you can believe he was just inaccurate. His reputation suggests the latter.

 

[jdwills126]

Are people here making them or the OL to be better than they are or defending poor play when it does happen?

I think most fans can agree the o-line is bad and that effects the RBs but it effects the QB as well.

I have heard Stafford doesn't go down field as much....well Tate is a catch and run guy and the o-line can't keep the rush out consistently. I give Caldwell and Lombardi credit they have an offense that plays to their ability.

If I was going to bitch about anything it would be why has the o-line fallen off? Last year it was a strength so WTF happened?

 

[lionstop1]

We all know he can be better. The good thing fans need to realize though is that he needs to learn how to win also. He's done that this season and now its on to the playoffs. Fans should be happy the wins are happening regardless of how its done.

 

[lionstop1]

You're on point jdwillis,

I dont understand the logic behind fans thinking everything must be a flawless victory in order for the wins to actually mean something or how it tells whether or not how they will perform in the upcoming games.

And you're also right that nobody criticizes the the mediocre play from our RBs or the oline. Its very obvious that the focus is strictly on Stafford.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

My point is Bell and Bush stats are really poor for RBs but we don't hold them to a standard or critisize their play like Stafford.

I'm think the reason Bell and Bush aren't scrutinized like Stafford is based more on the amount Stafford is getting paid. He is being paid like an elite QB. Calvin is getting paid like an elite WR and he plays like one. Suh is getting paid like an elite DT and he plays like one.

I think that is the only reason why Stafford miscues are pointed out and dissected, with everyone saying they expect more out of him. If Stafford was being paid like a middle of the road QB -- I don't think you would hear a peep from anyone.

 

[jdwills126]

I'm think the reason Bell and Bush aren't scrutinized like Stafford is based more on the amount Stafford is getting paid. He is being paid like an elite QB. Calvin is getting paid like an elite WR and he plays like one. Suh is getting paid like an elite DT and he plays like one.

I think that is the only reason why Stafford miscues are pointed out and dissected, with everyone saying they expect more out of him. If Stafford was being paid like a middle of the road QB -- I don't think you would hear a peep from anyone.

I get the paid amount but the alternative is guys like Orton or starting all over in the draft. How many Bear fans would like Stafford? Stafford gets the money due to Lion ineptness and the prior draft pay. If we didn't have Stafford we would be in the same spot as the Bears.

How many Raven fans think their Superbowl victory doesn't count because Flacco wasn't elite? Dilfer?

People have been all over Russel Wilson. He is an average QB but great athlete. Without that running game Wilson would not be talked about like he is. The Seahawks just win and that makes him good. If Stafford can string a couple 10-11 win seasons together then I don't care about the stats or the style points he just puts the Lions in a position to win.

And as a long suffering Lions fan that thinks of Erik Kramer fondly I shake my head at the QB progression in this city. I do not want to go back to the draft and hope for a guy. For every Wilson or Carr their is a Bradford or Geno Smith.

 

[TrustMeIamRight]

I get the paid amount but the alternative is guys like Orton or starting all over in the draft. How many Bear fans would like Stafford? Stafford gets the money due to Lion ineptness and the prior draft pay. If we didn't have Stafford we would be in the same spot as the Bears.

How many Raven fans think their Superbowl victory doesn't count because Flacco wasn't elite? Dilfer?

Personally I agree with you. That was just my guess on why people are so tough on Stafford. As far as what Stafford was paid -- He was given the monster extension, if I'm not mistaken, because was in the same spot as other high paid players on the Lions, like Suh and Calvin, where they restructured his deal where the cap hit was going to be huge. So instead they signed him to an extension and unfortunately for the front office -- it just so happened the year this fell on was the year he had 40+ tds and 5000 yards passing -- so he was paid accordingly.

I can't put the blame solely on Stafford. As others have said the OL has been terrible, we haven't had a consistent running game and they are running a new offensive scheme, which I have a feeling is hurting more than helping the offense.

It is what it is though -- for years the offense had to win shootouts to get victories. this year the defense has been the reason for most wins and it is a nice change of pace.

 

[Coach_Ed_LPW]

If u watch Tate's route and where Stafford threw the ball, it looked as if Tate stopped his route short and Staff thought he was gonna keep curling more towards the middle of the field. Who got the route wrong is anyone's guess.

I watched it a bunch of times...I personally think he just rifled it and missed. But I agree there is no way of knowing.