Matthew Stafford Typical Rookie or Face of the Franchise
Will he be the face of the franchise?
After years of suffering Matt Millen’s wide receiver after wide receiver first round picks, Detroit Lions fans have a new stud QB in Georgia’s Matthew Stafford. When all was wrong in Lion land last year and it looked like we in Minnesota had nothing else to laugh at them about, the front office made office coolers around the city joyful again with the signing of Daunte “Crisco hands” Culpepper. Yes, the only thing that could have made our hearts any lighter would have been a signing with Green Bay but hey, just to see Daunte usher in the worst season in football history make for fantastic talk radio. Alas, just as it looked like we would have at least one season with Culpepper at the reigns of the lowly Lions, it appears we have a dog fight in training camp with rookie Matthew Stafford making a legitimate push for the starting position. Say it ain’t so Detroit. At least let Daunte get announced the starter at the Metrodome, please!
All kidding aside and much to my chagrin, it appears Stafford is making great strides toward the top spot and has all of Detroit a twitter with anticipation. The worst thing for all future rookie quarterbacks may have been the incredible season Matt Ryan had last year. After a seemingly out of left field season, Ryan may have given the impression that a bad team is just one stud away from a playoff run. Unfortunately, it takes at least 22 to pull a sled and the Falcons had a lot of things going for them without Ryan. Let’s face it, the Lions were and probably still are the worst football team ever. That rank last or very near last in every stat. They lack confidence, cohesion, experience….what else can I put in here…oh yeah, NFL caliber talent. Ok I’ll exclude Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith.
So now, with a team eager to shed the loser label from last season, we see Stafford emerging into the lime light. All I can say to Coach Jim Schwartz is DON’T DO IT! I know it is so tempting looking at Stafford standing 6’3’, weighing 237 and coming off an impressive junior year at Georgia. I know he has a great arm and his college coaches, high school coaches and buddy Knowshon all say it’s the best they’ve ever seen. He has all the upside, he didn’t go number one in the draft just for shits and giggles. He is accurate, consistent, he has great down field vision and that sixth sense for QB’s, pocket awareness. He can scramble, still deliver the ball and more importantly know when to get rid of the ball. He’s tough, smart and can be taught. That it evident to anyone who has watched the maturation of Stafford during his career at UGA and it’s reflected in his stats.
It’s this ability to learn and apply that knowledge to the game that tells me Stafford could be a great NFL quarterback. How many times though have we seen great college quarterbacks who just don’t translate in the NFL. More often than not, it was an organization that rushed a young kid into the toughest job in sports before they were ready for it. They either couldn’t make it mentally or were physically beaten so bad they developed happy feet and forgot how to play the position. Keep the pressure off this kid. Face it Detroit, the Lions suck. They are going to suck for a long time. Let Daunte Culpepper take the beating for him. If not, the Lions may find themselves in the same situation as last season, only this time having wasted a lot of time and money and the talents of young Mr. Stafford. If this does happen, just remember, you do get the first round pick and there’s always Sam Bradford.
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