Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford Is the Best Young Quarterback in the NFL

With all the success that other young passers like Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Sam Bradford and Josh Freeman have had in recent years, Matthew Stafford has for a long time been the poor cousin.

He had all the talent, but was never on the field to show it. All of last season, Detroit fans were waiting for his return, and when it never came the season seemed dead.

Nevertheless, the Lions did spring off a four-game winning streak at the end of 2010, and it felt like that was what the Lions were capable of. Now, in 2011, we are proving that to the entire league, with a winning streak (including preseason) that stretches 10 games.

The catalyst for Detroit's success has undoubtedly been the return of the Lions' former first-overall draft pick. In the preseason, he was the best passer in the league, and he has followed this up with some sparkling play in the first two games of the season.

While the other young signal-callers have looked rusty, Stafford has been tearing up two good secondaries. He has thrown for 600 yards, seven TDs and two interceptions—one which came off a dropped pass and the other off a bad decision he will probably never repeat.

His passer rating is fourth in the league, and he has really only thrown the ball for one-and-a-half games, due to the run-dominated second half against the Buccaneers.  

It is also the way that Stafford has been passing. He has consistently made tough throws and has been completing most of his passes.

Another key stat is his high 8.9 yards per attempt. Thus far in his career, Stafford has managed a very low average despite his powerful arm, but now that he is stretching the field with new weapons like Titus Young, the Lions' passing game has a lot more balance.

Although it is true that he has a lot of weapons on offense, his run game does nothing to support him. He has certainly shown up all the preseason doubters (yeah, you, Heath Evans).

This is the key difference between his performance and other young quarterbacks. All of them have a very strong running game that draws defenders into the box to set up the pass. It is exactly the opposite for Stafford.

The Lions' running game is set up by successful passes. This trend is similar to the great quarterbacks of the present like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, and puts Stafford in elite company.

While I am not trying to argue that Stafford is a top five quarterback at the moment, he is displaying all the tendencies of one, and he should reach that level in the next few years. 

His future—and Detroit's—look very bright indeed.