I was talking with a 49ers fan last night; he’s a Bronx native, diehard Yankees fan, but jumped on the SF bandwagon in the Montana - Walsh years. Tried to explain to me he would have his barber cut his hair like Steve Young & I was like “that was a thing?”
He was giving me a hard time about how we’ll never win a SB with Stafford. My response:
”Well, listen, I’m a lot closer to the grave than the day I was born, and they may never win a Super Bowl in my lifetime. But I realized a long time ago he’s not elite; he will never compare favorably with guys like Rodgers, Brady, Brees, Peyton, Big Ben....at best he’s a nicer version of Phillip Rivers, a more aggressive Matt Ryan, Tony Romo if he were clutch.
But you have to understand, Detroit is different. Our superstars are not blue collar, that’s absurd because they’re millionaires. But there’s a mold, in every sport. Not flashy, they don’t thump their chest, they just do their job. Think Al Kaline, Alan Trammell, Gotdie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Barry Sanders. In that sense, he’s the near-perfect face of a Detroit franchise. The Staffords live in the area year round, they’re in the community, he never says the wrong thing, he’s never in legal trouble. He’s a good quarterback, top 6 top 8 but he’s never been elite. He never was & probably never will be.”