Matthew Stafford: Best Quarterback in the NFL for the Detroit Lions
At first glance, it may appear ludicrous: Matthew Stafford is the best quarterback in the National Football League, for the Detroit Lions.
I hoped for it as the season began, felt stronger about it after he carved the Denver Broncos and had it confirmed as Stafford has played through the pain of a broken index finger on his throwing hand, the most critical of digits for accuracy, without missing a game, let alone a snap.
After he was drafted No. 1 overall with a through-the-roof cannon for a right arm and an eye-popping Wonderlic score of 38, he was snake-bitten early on by injuries. Stafford’s first two seasons ended with him fighting the “Glass Joe” label as he played only 13 of the possible 32 games, battling knee and reoccurring shoulder issues.
After his shoulder injury in Chicago last year, he could have taken the easy way out and had season-ending surgery right away like Chad Henne did this year down in Miami.
Rather, he rehabbed and came back against the New York Jets to injure the same shoulder again in what should have been a water-shed victory if not for Drew Stanton stopping the clock late in the game.
Don’t minimize the toughness and leadership shown by Stafford. It’s that type of mental makeup that will endear him to the fans of Detroit while setting blue collar, lunch-pail standards for his teammates as well.
He eventually got the surgery—the same type performed on Sam Bradford—and is back, bulked up and more durable than before.
He’s taken some wicked shots this season and has bounced back up every time. The abuse he took in Minnesota and the monster hit he absorbed from Shaun Rogers stand out in my mind as moments you wait to see if No. 9 gets up, and he has.
As his first full regular-season is only three games away, Matt is already poised to rewrite the Detroit Lions’ record books.
The forgettable Scott Mitchell’s team record of 4,338 yards passing and 32 touchdowns are in dire straits. Stafford currently has 3,754 yards passing, 29 touchdowns and 14 interceptions; it’s not a matter of if, but rather when Stafford will absolve Scott Mitchell from all future Lions conversations.
I’m uncertain of Matt’s current Facebook relationship status or if his chicks are for free, but I do know he’s not getting his money for nothing as it has taken only one full season for the 23-year-old to become the greatest passer in franchise history.
Who in the NFL would you rather have than the big-armed Stafford, who is still not old enough to receive the insurance discount attained when you reach the ripe old age of 25?
Personally, I feel there are none better given all the variables of age, accuracy, arm strength, intelligence, poise and leadership.
Following are the remaining 31 NFL starting quarterbacks broken into tiers, titled appropriately by airlines.
Hooters Air
1 of 11Hooters Air
Rex Grossman
Mat Moore (Chad Henne)
Dan Orlovsky (Peyton Manning)
Do I really need to explain myself here? Like the defunct Hooters Air, these three are grounded and going nowhere.
Grossman is in and out of the starting lineup like Derek Jeter's girlfriends and has more interceptions (16) than touchdowns (12).
Mat Moore was passed up in Carolina, not once but twice for rookie quarterbacks. He got the Dolphins their first win, but his days are numbered in South Beach as Tony Sparano just got the ax. Fuhgeddaboudit!
Dan Orlovsky is destined for sports trivia calendars everywhere if he can't pull out a victory in the remaining three games, as he will be the only NFL quarterback in history to post a 0-32 record in two seasons. For more on Dan's quest, click here.
Peyton may not be any better going forward with a neck injury similar to the one that ended Dan Mario's career.
Pan Am Airlines
2 of 11Pan Am Airlines
Carson Palmer
Like the once-famous airline, these three’s best days are behind them and currently are just filling time on television.
Hasselbeck was Sleepless in Seattle and headed back east to keep the seat warm for Jake Locker in Tennessee, and he couldn’t do that for a full season, pulling up lame last week. His numbers are middle of the road—2,700 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 picks, nothing close to Stafford.
He's currently third string in his own family with brother Tim doing a good job on ESPN and sister-in-law Elisabeth turning heads on The View.
Carson Palmer got a reprieve when Bengals owner Mike Brown broke out his ski mask and robbed the Raiders of multiple picks. Great for Cincinnati, but I certainly don’t want Palmer leading my team in five years.
As for Cassel, his best performance was coming off the bench in replacement of Tom Brady in New England. How can a guy who couldn’t start in college get the mega contract the Chiefs offered? Makes you second guess the prowess of Scott Pioli doesn’t it?
US Airways
3 of 11US Airways (US Scare)
Kevin Kolb
Tarvaris Jackson
Just like US Airways, they’re never your first choice, but sometimes you have to fly with them based out of sheer necessity.
Colt McCoy is the little engine that could.
His numbers are respectable—2,700 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions—but at "listed" 6’1” and 215 lbs, he is one big hit away from the streets, and playing in a division with the Ravens and Steelers doesn’t help his football life expectancy.
The hit he took from James Harrison was lethal, God bless the mortal-sized Texan.
Kevin Kolb had his shot at stardom when he was given the reins in Philadelphia but lost them just as quickly to Vick.
He rebounded with a big contract from a desperate Cardinals franchise, but with a passer rating of 81.1, he’s way down the list of quarterbacks I’d want.
Tarvaris Jackson, really? With more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (11) and a passer rating south of 80, it’s insulting to Stafford to mention the free-agent signing of the Seahawks.
Nice work Pete Carroll, guess the Charlie Whitehurst era didn’t go as planned.
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JetBlue Airways
4 of 11JetBlue Airways
Andy Dalton
Blaine Gabbert
Chris Ponder
Just like JetBlue, these three are the new kids on the block.
Andy Dalton is clearly the best of the 2011 class.
With 2,800 yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 picks, he has been the catalyst for the Bengals' surprising season but lacks the big arm Stafford displays weekly.
Blaine Gabbert is still trying to figure things out, with less than 150 yards per game passing and a 65.3 passer rating. With ownership changing hands this year, it’s possible the new regime doesn’t ride out the learning curve for Blaine and signs a veteran or drafts their own signal-caller.
Wherever the Jaguars play next year, I won’t be pining for Gabbert .
If you watched the Lions game last week against the Vikings, I don’t need to discuss Ponder any further.
If you missed it, here’s the analysis: He sucks.
Southwest Airlines
5 of 11Southwest Airlines
Matt Schaub
Joe Flacco
Nothing flashy about Southwest Airlines, they herd you in like cattle and put you in seats with minimal cushion. But they get you to Las Vegas, via St. Louis, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City if you have the time.
These three give you a workman-like effort as well.
Matt Schaub toiled in Atlanta behind the legs of Michael Vick but eventually got his shot in Houston. With Andre Johnson on the receiving end, Schaub has put up gaudy numbers in excess of 4,000 passing yards the last two years and touchdown to interception ratios of nearly 2:1.
Schaub has been bitten by the injury bug too often for my liking. In three of the past five seasons, he has missed five or more games. Stafford’s had his own injury problems but not like Schaub.
Joe Flacco has the luxury of a great running game. Ray Rice is the best back in the NFL and is always an outlet when the heat gets to Joe.
Accordingly, Flacco throws for only 240 yards per game and with a passer rating less than 80, the Ravens don’t lean on Flacco nearly as much as Rice. Far different scenario than the Lions have.
Let’s not forget about the man who is replacing baby Jesus in nativity scenes all over the great state of Colorado, Tim Tebow.
Yes, the apostle who plays his home games closer to the pearly gates of heaven than any other NFL quarterback is having quite a run.
After being embarrassed by Detroit at home, Tebow has led a crusade of six straight victories with most being comeback in nature.
You can’t argue with success, but I can argue his arm strength and mechanics; Tebow’s long-term success compared with Stafford’s will be further apart than heaven and hell.
United Airlines
6 of 11United Airlines
Josh Freeman
Please, Mark, get up. You do not need to kneel before Stafford.
These three are “United” by the 2009 NFL draft.
Both Freeman and Sanchez were drafted in the same year as Stafford, and there were many who clamored for the Detroit Lions to trade their pick to Denver when the Broncos made it known they were looking for suitors for Cutler.
Is there anybody left that still thinks Freeman and Sanchez are going to be better pros than Stafford? They’re both middle-of-the-road quarterbacks with average stat lines, nothing special.
As far as Cutler goes, he has the big arm but a pedestrian Wonderlic of 26. The severity of his knee injury in last year’s NFC Championship game was never fully disclosed, at least to my knowledge. What I do know is Matt would have never pulled himself out of that game, which puts him ahead of Cutler in my book.
Frontier Airlines
7 of 11Frontier Airlines
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Alex Smith
Frontier Airlines is a smaller airline, but they’re clean, friendly and after you walk down the jetway you say to yourself, “I’d fly Frontier again.” These three quarterbacks as well are better than many want to give them credit.
You could also call this tier “Head of the Class.” Fitzpatrick, Smith and Manning own the top three Wonderlic scores for NFL quarterbacks with 48, 40 and 39 respectively. Stafford’s 38 is fourth best and negates any intelligence differential, sorry fellas.
Eli Manning is having the best year of the three with 4,100 yards passing and a touchdown to interception ratio better than 2:1. He also has a Super Bowl ring, just as many as big brother Peyton, but he’ll be 31 in less than a month.
For comparison, at 23, Manning had just over 1,000 yards passing and a 55.4 passer rating; I’ll stick with Stafford.
Fitzpatrick started hot with nine touchdown tosses in the first three games but has cooled off recently with only 11 in his last 10 games.
His 16 interceptions are tough to swallow as well. He’s got the Harvard sheepskin, but Stafford is the better QB.
Alex Smith is finally doing what the 49ers expected when they drafted him, winning.
With Jim Harbaugh playing the role of Geppetto and pulling the strings, Smith has turned into a real NFL quarterback.
He still averages less than 200 yards per game, but his touchdown to interception ratio of 3:1 is very nice.
Still, if he were great, wouldn’t he have been winning sooner? He’s a product of Harbaugh’s coaching, not a quarterback I’d covet.
Delta Airlines
8 of 11Delta Airlines
Michael Vick
Delta is based in Atlanta, where Michael Vick burst onto the NFL scene.
The southpaw has crazy physical talent and after his stint in the pokey, he has learned to rely on his arm more than his legs. Even with his “Dream Team” around him, he has averaged only 240 yards passing and a 1:1 touchdown to interception ratio.
Toss in a tremendous running threat in LeSean McCoy and a pass-happy head coach, and Vick still looks up to Stafford in all quarterback categories—most importantly, wins.
Will Philip Rivers ever win a big game, or is he destined to flame out with Norv Turner calling the shots?
Rivers is having a good year yardage wise with over 3,700, but his 17 interceptions are the worst of his career. He does have the best winning percentage of NFL quarterbacks for the month of December, which is great as the Chargers have typically been a slow-starting team.
But when he gets into January the wheels come off. He was tough as nails a couple years ago when he nearly led the Chargers to victory on a bum leg in New England as LaDainian Tomlinson pouted on the sidelines, but Rivers is 30 and that gives Stafford a decided advantage.
Tony Romo protects the football about as well as a man whose daughter “dances” for a living.
If you have a female offspring, your No. 1 priority in life is to keep her off the pole, and if you’re an NFL quarterback your No. 1 priority is to protect the football.
Against the Lions, Romo squandered a 24-point lead in the third quarter by throwing two interceptions returned for touchdowns on consecutive possessions.
This mental meltdown alone is why Romo should never rank above Stafford. There’s a reason Romo went undrafted.
British Airways
9 of 11British Airways
Cam Newton
Sam Bradford
British Airways set the world record for passenger flight by piloting a Concorde G-BOAD from London to New York in less than three hours. These three could ascend to the top of the NFL in the same fashion.
Cam is silly good and should already have his Pepsi Rookie of the Year suit tailored for the presentation.
With nearly 3,600 yards, 15 touchdowns and 16 picks, Cam has had a tremendous rookie campaign. He’s the new-age quarterback with a rocket arm and wheels to match. He also has 554 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground; he’s a bigger version of Vick.
The concern for me, besides his Wonderlic score of 21 (Vick’s was 20), is the potential character issues.
The transfer from Florida and alleged stealing of laptops, the pimping of Cam’s services to Mississippi State by his father Cecil and that “Cam had no knowledge or involvement in this misconduct.”
Really? Seems to me the father-son relationship was much stronger than portrayed by the NCAA, considering that after Cam left Auburn early to enter the draft and begin training for his pro day, he was living in a rented house in California with his father!
They’re small things, but the small things are the seeds of disaster when adversity strikes. I’m not saying Newton will implode someday, I’m saying Stafford’s moral compass may be a bit more accurate and that’s the guy I want in my building.
Matt Ryan has been solid since he completed his first NFL toss against the Lions for a 62-yard touchdown to Michael Jenkins.
With nearly 3,500 yards, 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, his stats are comparable with Stafford’s.
He’s a leader for sure with high character, which was part of the reason Arthur Blank wanted him in Atlanta after Michael Vick’s incarceration.
After coming back from what appeared to be a serious ankle injury in Detroit and beating Stafford head-to-head this year, Matty Ice has proven his toughness.
What he does lack is the arm strength of Stafford, which most do, to put the zip on the deep ball. Advantage Stafford.
Although he’s having a disappointing year, Sam Bradford will probably be great sooner rather than later.
He’s struggling in his first season in Josh McDaniel’s offense with only 214 yards per game and a passer rating of 70.5, good for third worst in front of Painter and Gabbert. Yes, Bradford is having the quintessential “Sophomore Slump.”
He has all the measurable skills, but let’s face it, he doesn’t have a Calvin Johnson to keep the secondary occupied.
His rookie season was excellent, in rookie terms, as he threw for over 3,500 yards and 18 scores.
There was a debate prior to Bradford’s announcement to stay at Oklahoma for his senior year, as to who would be drafted higher, Bradford or Stafford. I think the Lions were lucky Sam opted to keep his apartment in Norman.
Asiana Airlines
10 of 11Asiana Airlines
Tom Brady
The world’s recognized No. 1 airline is the best way to classify these three field generals.
Between them they have six of the last nine Lombardi trophies before Rodgers got his last year. It is the ultimate measuring stick for quarterbacks; sorry, Marino, you'll always have your Isotoner commercials.
Drew Brees, once again, is having an MVP-worthy season. With nearly 4,400 yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, Brees is making the Dolphins cringe again as they missed out on the Brees sweepstakes six years ago.
But this year they get a second chance because Brees becomes a free agent after this season. The asking price will be markedly higher this go around, but I don’t think Drew is going anywhere; there’s bound to be a statue for Brees in New Orleans for bringing the Super Bowl trophy to the Bayou after it had hosted so many of the games previously.
At 32, Brees is a full second-career ahead of Stafford in experience, and I think that’s plenty of time for Matt to improve on his early success.
Tom Brady is in the midst of making the argument for best quarterback of all-time.
He, again, is lighting up secondaries with nearly 4,300 yards, 33 touchdowns and 11 picks. Here’s the kicker, he’s doing it with tight ends and wide receivers under six feet in height.
He’s never had a true running game, and once again it ranks in the bottom third with only 105 yards rushing per game.
He idolized Joe Montana growing up, and in my opinion he’ll pass Joe Cool with another Super Bowl victory. But at 34, most of Brady’s best production is in the books, and the Lions need Stafford to continue to grow as the boys in Allen Park continue to assemble a championship contender.
Roethlisberger is the most recent underclassmen to have mega success at the NFL level. He has two rings and seems to play through more pain than any other quarterback in the league.
His numbers are again great with 3,500 yards, 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, but his off-the-field issues are troublesome.
The motorcycle accident and the alleged rape of a young female in the bathroom of a Georgia bar. I just don’t want that kind of guy leading my team.
Don’t try to tell me it was a money grab by the girl either, he was suspended by the league and the Steelers were trying to trade Big Ben and they could not—most notably to the Rams because the Steelers saw Bradford as a “once in a lifetime” quarterback.
You don’t try to trade a Super Bowl quarterback because of empty accusations. The truth will never be told publically, but the actions of Roger Goodell and the Rooney family paint a bleak picture as to what really transpired in Milledgeville, Georgia.
Qantas Airways
11 of 11Qantas Airways
As Ray Babbitt informed his brother Charlie of the superior flying record of Qantas Airlines, Aaron Rodgers is worthy if this top-tier distinction.
Rodgers is the only guy I can genuinely consider more desirable than Stafford. He leads the league in touchdowns with 39 and has six interceptions. Only Alex Smith and Tebow have less.
His team is undefeated and has not lost in nearly a year; yeah, Rodgers is good.
But tell me what he was doing when he was 23? Let me help you, “Good Morning, Mr. Favre, is there something I could get you this morning? Perhaps a bagel and lox?”
Yes, at 23 Rodgers was toting a clipboard and had amassed a total of nine completions in the NFL. Stafford blew out his 23 candles with 250 completions, 2,800 yards passing and 19 touchdowns under his belt.
What do you think Stafford could do with five more years of seasoning?
I know Rodgers is currently the best, no doubt. Would I trade Stafford’s potential for Rodgers Super Bowl Ring? Of course.
But I’ll take my chances with Stafford. Everybody needs to remember the kid is only 23 years old. Very few underclassmen come out of college early and have successful NFL careers; even fewer produce right away like Stafford. Cam Newton and Ben Roethlisberger are the exceptions.
There are several rolling their eyes and about to type their personal vitriol, but I'll stick to my guns; give this kid some time and he will be what all Lions fans hope for, a superstar.
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