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QB Matt Stafford, LAR (1 Viewer)

Overrated as a real life qb (not fantasy)?

  • Way overrated

    Votes: 82 15.0%
  • Slightly overrated

    Votes: 153 27.9%
  • Rated just where he should be

    Votes: 190 34.7%
  • Slightly underrated

    Votes: 95 17.3%
  • Way underrated

    Votes: 28 5.1%

  • Total voters
    548

Dr. Awesome

Footballguy
In the Niners/Lions game thread, several posters claimed Stafford was overrated. And they weren't just talking about his one game performance against a good defense but as a quarterback in general. He did have over 5,000 yards passing last year. 41 touchdowns vs. 16 interceptions. 5th best qb rating. That's pretty damned impressive. Only negatives I can even slightly come up with is the fact he lead the league in passing attempts, was 13th in ypa, and he throws the ball to Calvin (thus boosting his stats vs. those who have lesser weapons). ETA to add initial discussion from the game thread:

' said:
' said:
' said:
' said:
Stafford = Over-rated
Seriously? I share the thought with you but I'm afraid I won't make it out of here alive. Last season I did a couple FBG game recaps for the Lions and I mentioned that the coaching staff held the reigns back until they fell behind and then they turned him loose. I was surprised he racked up the 5,000/40TD season. Maybe just not his night.
I have to admit to not watching him play a lot of games...but every time I have watched it seems like he's had multiple WTF throws and several off target throws that cost yards. I could be wrong, but it seems like a lot of his success is based on a solid team around him and a ton of opportunity more than any special talent of his own. (I am in no way trying to imply that he's a scrub btw...just don't see him as a stud or future stud like so many seem to. I still see a decent career in his future.)
I actually agree with you. I think there are a LOT of QBs in the NFL who could put up some serious numbers if they could throw the ball 663 times in a season to one of the best WRs corps in the NFL. His stats were also greatly aided by the number of times they threw the ball at the goal line last year.
<title edited by FBG Mod to help with searching>

 
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I think he will be fine. 2 tough defenses the first 2 weeks. I expect him to level out and start putting up some solid numbers

 
Incredible that a guy can have a historic year and after one game against the league's top defense on the road, casually be dismissed as overrated when he isn't even rated in the top three quarterbacks to begin with.

 
He is good, but not great. Having Megatron would make most good quarterbacks put up great stats.
So if great stats and come-from behind wins aren't enough to qualify him as great, it's pretty much impossible for him to ever be great? What is he supposed to do?
 
I think he will be fine. 2 tough defenses the first 2 weeks. I expect him to level out and start putting up some solid numbers
To be clear, folks were also referring to last year. Not just through these first two weeks.
The guy put up 5000 yards. Was he expected to put up 6000?
:shrug: From the other thread:
' said:
' said:
' said:
' said:
Stafford = Over-rated
Seriously? I share the thought with you but I'm afraid I won't make it out of here alive. Last season I did a couple FBG game recaps for the Lions and I mentioned that the coaching staff held the reigns back until they fell behind and then they turned him loose. I was surprised he racked up the 5,000/40TD season. Maybe just not his night.
I have to admit to not watching him play a lot of games...but every time I have watched it seems like he's had multiple WTF throws and several off target throws that cost yards. I could be wrong, but it seems like a lot of his success is based on a solid team around him and a ton of opportunity more than any special talent of his own. (I am in no way trying to imply that he's a scrub btw...just don't see him as a stud or future stud like so many seem to. I still see a decent career in his future.)
I actually agree with you. I think there are a LOT of QBs in the NFL who could put up some serious numbers if they could throw the ball 663 times in a season to one of the best WRs corps in the NFL. His stats were also greatly aided by the number of times they threw the ball at the goal line last year.
 
I think he will be fine. 2 tough defenses the first 2 weeks. I expect him to level out and start putting up some solid numbers
To be clear, folks were also referring to last year. Not just through these first two weeks.
The guy put up 5000 yards. Was he expected to put up 6000?
:shrug: From the other thread:
' said:
' said:
' said:
' said:
Stafford = Over-rated
Seriously? I share the thought with you but I'm afraid I won't make it out of here alive. Last season I did a couple FBG game recaps for the Lions and I mentioned that the coaching staff held the reigns back until they fell behind and then they turned him loose. I was surprised he racked up the 5,000/40TD season. Maybe just not his night.
I have to admit to not watching him play a lot of games...but every time I have watched it seems like he's had multiple WTF throws and several off target throws that cost yards. I could be wrong, but it seems like a lot of his success is based on a solid team around him and a ton of opportunity more than any special talent of his own. (I am in no way trying to imply that he's a scrub btw...just don't see him as a stud or future stud like so many seem to. I still see a decent career in his future.)
I actually agree with you. I think there are a LOT of QBs in the NFL who could put up some serious numbers if they could throw the ball 663 times in a season to one of the best WRs corps in the NFL. His stats were also greatly aided by the number of times they threw the ball at the goal line last year.
Why are you quoting what somebody else said to start a thread? Do you agree or disagree? Are you trying to figure out if it's true?Aided by the number of times they threw the ball at the goal line? Is this schtick?

 
Why are you quoting what somebody else said to start a thread? Do you agree or disagree? Are you trying to figure out if it's true?
A few quality posters claimed Stafford is overrated. It made me wonder if Stafford is actually overrated and if so to what degree. Were some well known board trolls making the statement I would have ignored it.It wasn't a topic I had considered but once I thought things over I decided Stafford is probably slightly overrated (not top 5 imo) but still an extremely good quarterback. I was curious to see how others felt.
 
It wasn't a topic I had considered but once I thought things over I decided Stafford is probably slightly overrated (not top 5 imo) but still an extremely good quarterback. I was curious to see how others felt.
This. Like I said, I wouldn't call him great yet, but he can still get there. Also, Stafford was definitely aided by throwing the ball a ton last year in getting to 5,000 yards. He was only 13th in YPA, and that is despite having Megatron.
 
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Actually the guy who brought it up in the game thread admitted several times he hadn't seen much of Stafford.

He's not perfect, there are other QBs who are more accurate. But he does have a cannon, and reasonable accuracy. He has weapons. From throwing the game winner after separating his should to leading three comebacks from down 17 or more last year to the Week 1 back to back TD drives after playing like crap for 40+ minutes, I think he deserves to be rated very highly.

I don't think anyone rational claims he is elite in the class of QBs who are uber productive and have a ring (Rodgers, Brees, Brady), but he's not far behind in, and in that scheme and with that RB corps, he's pretty close to elite in FF.

ETA: I also think highly of his leadership skills, but I doubt that's gonna get much respect in this discussion.

 
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Why are you quoting what somebody else said to start a thread? Do you agree or disagree? Are you trying to figure out if it's true?
A few quality posters claimed Stafford is overrated. It made me wonder if Stafford is actually overrated and if so to what degree. Were some well known board trolls making the statement I would have ignored it.It wasn't a topic I had considered but once I thought things over I decided Stafford is probably slightly overrated (not top 5 imo) but still an extremely good quarterback. I was curious to see how others felt.
I was also following the game thread, and I must have missed the quality posters making legitimate claims. I'm a Lions fan who tends not to feel very strongly one way or another about players in Detroit or across the league. Stafford is a 23 year old kid who throws ropes, plays superbly under pressure and makes the right read at a rate far superior to most quarterbacks who have more experience than him. What irritates me are threads like these that pop up when a guy doesn't throw for 300 and three scores. People pick players they like and don't like, and when a guy they don't like has a bad game, it's time to announce how they're overrated and only put up numbers because of reasons you could apply to any other quarterback. Throwing for 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in a season, and 380 and 3 touchdowns in a road playoff game only earns you respect until you have your next bad game I guess.
 
From a real-life perspective, I don't think he is overrated in terms of physical ability one single bit. He can clearly do it all. He might be overrated in the mental aspect. I think maybe some people just kind of assume that he has command over all the nuances of the game but I think he has some growing to do there.

Still, Megatron or not, I would be really happy to have him as my QB on my NFL team if I needed one. I think you can say if you put him on the Browns or Jags or Cardinals Or any team that could use some franchise QB, then you can make the argument that he wouls be a very good QB, regardless.

 
Why are you quoting what somebody else said to start a thread? Do you agree or disagree? Are you trying to figure out if it's true?
A few quality posters claimed Stafford is overrated. It made me wonder if Stafford is actually overrated and if so to what degree. Were some well known board trolls making the statement I would have ignored it.It wasn't a topic I had considered but once I thought things over I decided Stafford is probably slightly overrated (not top 5 imo) but still an extremely good quarterback. I was curious to see how others felt.
I was also following the game thread, and I must have missed the quality posters making legitimate claims. I'm a Lions fan who tends not to feel very strongly one way or another about players in Detroit or across the league. Stafford is a 23 year old kid who throws ropes, plays superbly under pressure and makes the right read at a rate far superior to most quarterbacks who have more experience than him. What irritates me are threads like these that pop up when a guy doesn't throw for 300 and three scores. People pick players they like and don't like, and when a guy they don't like has a bad game, it's time to announce how they're overrated and only put up numbers because of reasons you could apply to any other quarterback. Throwing for 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in a season, and 380 and 3 touchdowns in a road playoff game only earns you respect until you have your next bad game I guess.
Yes it reminds me of a certain thread about a certain Cleveland RB after one week's results.
 
in magic football or real football?
Real football. Edited the OP. :thumbup:
then i think he's rated about right. if i was starting a franchise today and i had my pick of the litter, he'd probably be 4th or 5th on my list. For a one year run, a few notches lower than that.
That's because there's a premium on youth (or rather, a penalty against the older guys). Right now, no way is he better than Brady, Brees, or Peyton. Were someone starting a team from scratch lots of players would vary in their rankings. That's a lot different from ranking someone right now.
 
From a real-life perspective, I don't think he is overrated in terms of physical ability one single bit. He can clearly do it all. He might be overrated in the mental aspect. I think maybe some people just kind of assume that he has command over all the nuances of the game but I think he has some growing to do there. Still, Megatron or not, I would be really happy to have him as my QB on my NFL team if I needed one. I think you can say if you put him on the Browns or Jags or Cardinals Or any team that could use some franchise QB, then you can make the argument that he wouls be a very good QB, regardless.
Actually, he can't do it all - he's not much of a runner (that draw last night was a shocker), and his numbers outside of the pocket are weak. But he does have the ability to switch gears from forcing a hard throw into tight coverage to lofting a touch pass over the second level to throwing an accurate deep ball. You could definitely say he can do it all from a throwing perspective.That said, he has had several throws the first two weeks that are baffling for those of us who have seen him play a lot. His technique and footwork is less than perfect, and he often gets away with it because his arm is so strong, but he had 4-5 WTF passes against the Rams. Last night he side armed a ball that was 20 yards beyond Titus Young, easy pick for the deep safety. He's made more bad throws in the first two games than I remember him making all of last year, and I don't really get why that has happened.Very good QB, and I agree with the vast majority of the Pool - rated about right.ETA: typo
 
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From a real-life perspective, I don't think he is overrated in terms of physical ability one single bit. He can clearly do it all. He might be overrated in the mental aspect. I think maybe some people just kind of assume that he has command over all the nuances of the game but I think he has some growing to do there. Still, Megatron or not, I would be really happy to have him as my QB on my NFL team if I needed one. I think you can say if you put him on the Browns or Jags or Cardinals Or any team that could use some franchise QB, then you can make the argument that he wouls be a very good QB, regardless.
:goodposting: I've watched Stafford several times over the last few years (though not nearly as much as any dedicated Lions fan) and my impression is that he's overrated as a leader - but that's about it. When you watch the really great QB's they are immediately on the sideline looking at stillshots of the defensive sets or coaching up a young WR. All too often after a 3&out I see Stafford, helmet tipped half off his head, hands on hips and staring at nothing in particular. Not saying he's lazy or aloof, it just seems like sometimes he's missing that sense of urgency and desperation to win that the truly elite QB's have. He's as physically gifted as any QB though and all of the above could just be me expecting too much from a QB still on the learning curve.
 
I know it seems like he's been around forever, but let's not forget he is only 24!

Look at the ages of the other top QB's in the league and you can see how much more experienced they are.

Rodgers 28

Brady 35

Brees 33

Eli 31

Peyton 36

Ben 30

Romo 32

Rivers 30

Ryan 27

How many of these guys were doing what Stafford did last year when they were 23?

If he's not great already, he's going to be.

Edit: Typo

 
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Overrated how, exactly? He's not totally awesome, he's just awesome?

23 years old, played one full season.

In game threads: not the place to find solid opinions.

 
This is basically Staffords second full season after missing much of his first two with the shoulder injuries. You have to remember that Stafford is only 24 years of age. Given his age and talent it seems he is on the right path to continue to grow and get better and barring injury should have a great career.

 
Stafford when you watch the majority of his games is accurate in the sense of

the ball goes where he is trying to throw it and can make all the throws needed.

But he goes through these periods where he looks as if he forgot how to do it as

a good QB would, mostly early in games till he gets going, and I don't know what it

is that makes him do that, but when he gets going is one of the best young QB's I've

ever seen in the sense of being able to make every throw and then some great "improv".

So from watching him he's got all the tools to be a top 5 QB, but he needs to try an

keep improving on the things that keep him back early in games and a few bad decisions.

If you watch enough though he does not make all that many bad decisions that leave you

wondering weekly "what the heck was that" on so many young QB's.

He's got 1 really good(great) Offensive weapon in Calvin, beyond that the rest is average

castaways or other young players, so it isn't the talent around him that gives him an upper

hand at being an upper echelon QB, it is his talent, the guy is young and an coming superstar

in this league that should get better as time goes, how many young QB's in the NFL don't have

room to grow and don't get better as there time in the league goes, he's got the skill now to do

it with a few bumps here an there, but what he's displayed already puts skies the limit on him.

Seriously his offensive line is not great either, and no running game to count on but still gets

it done to the point he has so far, forget about the few national televised games where he didn't

play complete Great games from start to finish, the rest of the body of work if watched says other.

I've NEVER been a Lion QB fan as they've all stunk in my assessment, but this kid is the real deal.

(just stay healthy and improve as QB's generally do this guy "should be top 6" year in and year out)

So no I think the media and rankings has him about where he should be at this point.

 
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I think he will be fine. 2 tough defenses the first 2 weeks. I expect him to level out and start putting up some solid numbers
To be clear, folks were also referring to last year. Not just through these first two weeks.
The guy put up 5000 yards. Was he expected to put up 6000?
That's an overly simplistic way of looking at it. The guy threw the ball 663 times, 160 of them being to Calvin "jump ball champion" Johnson. With 663 attempts, one only needs 7.54 ypa to achieve 5000 yards. Stafford squeaked in at 7.60 ypa.Take a look at the other QBs by yardage and their ypa:

Brees - 8.3

Brady - 8.6

Stafford - 7.6

Eli - 8.4

Rodgers - 9.2

Rivers - 7.9

Romo - 8.0

Schaub, who carries no QB street cred due to low-ish attempts and a strong goal line ground game, has a career ypa of 7.8. Rivers, who has fallen out of favor of the fantasy community, has a career ypa of 8.0.

I know Stafford won a lot of people some games last year so there is some SP loyalty, but as a pure QB, he's nothing special. Last year was the perfect storm: lots of WR/TE talent, no run game, terrible defense. Let Rivers or Schaub chunk it up 663 times to the likes of Calvin Johnson and they'll give you 5000 yards, too. Would that make them elite? Probably would on fantasy football forums... :shrug:

 
He's got 1 really good(great) Offensive weapon in Calvin, beyond that the rest is averagecastaways or other young players, so it isn't the talent around him that gives him an upperhand at being an upper echelon QB
Let me stop you right there.I know it isn't all about where you were drafted, but let's just look real quick-like at these castaways:Burleson - 3.07 pick in 2003. Very underrated player.Pettigrew - 1.20 pick in 2009 by Detroit. Scheffler - 2.29 pick in 2006. Pass catching specialist.Young - 2.12 pick in 2011 by Detroit.Broyles - 2.22 pick in 2012 by Detroit.And really, we can't just write off Calvin Johnson as the one good player. 1.01 pick in 2007 by Detroit.So, these six guys can't be castaways when they've actually been drafted BY DETROIT in the top 2 rounds. The two lowest draft picks were free agents who had proven their worth and were signed by Detroit to help Stafford. I actually think this is the deepest receiving corps in the NFL and one of the top 3-5 most talented, if not the most.
 
'FF Ninja said:
He's got 1 really good(great) Offensive weapon in Calvin, beyond that the rest is averagecastaways or other young players, so it isn't the talent around him that gives him an upperhand at being an upper echelon QB
Let me stop you right there.I know it isn't all about where you were drafted, but let's just look real quick-like at these castaways:Burleson - 3.07 pick in 2003. Very underrated player.Pettigrew - 1.20 pick in 2009 by Detroit. Scheffler - 2.29 pick in 2006. Pass catching specialist.Young - 2.12 pick in 2011 by Detroit.Broyles - 2.22 pick in 2012 by Detroit.And really, we can't just write off Calvin Johnson as the one good player. 1.01 pick in 2007 by Detroit.So, these six guys can't be castaways when they've actually been drafted BY DETROIT in the top 2 rounds. The two lowest draft picks were free agents who had proven their worth and were signed by Detroit to help Stafford. I actually think this is the deepest receiving corps in the NFL and one of the top 3-5 most talented, if not the most.
Don't know what your smoking, but I'd completely disagree with your assessment there.Burleson, is nothing special, and at the end of his career. he is an average NFL receiver.Pettigrew, have you seen him play? catches some tough catches and drops a TON others.Scheffler, basically the same as Burleson, an average NFL tight end. (no one else wanted)Young - 2.12 pick in 2011 by Detroit. (young inexperienced player not even in the mix)Broyles - 2.22 pick in 2012 by Detroit. (young inexperienced player not even in the mix)There's No Receiver contributing now besides Calvin that is an Above Average "NFL" player. They have one Legitimate "Above NFL Average" Receiver Actually Playing Now, an that is it.(Yes Calvin is a Superstar, but the rest used are no better than decent average NFL players)
 
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'FF Ninja said:
He's got 1 really good(great) Offensive weapon in Calvin, beyond that the rest is averagecastaways or other young players, so it isn't the talent around him that gives him an upperhand at being an upper echelon QB
Let me stop you right there.I know it isn't all about where you were drafted, but let's just look real quick-like at these castaways:Burleson - 3.07 pick in 2003. Very underrated player.Pettigrew - 1.20 pick in 2009 by Detroit. Scheffler - 2.29 pick in 2006. Pass catching specialist.Young - 2.12 pick in 2011 by Detroit.Broyles - 2.22 pick in 2012 by Detroit.And really, we can't just write off Calvin Johnson as the one good player. 1.01 pick in 2007 by Detroit.So, these six guys can't be castaways when they've actually been drafted BY DETROIT in the top 2 rounds. The two lowest draft picks were free agents who had proven their worth and were signed by Detroit to help Stafford. I actually think this is the deepest receiving corps in the NFL and one of the top 3-5 most talented, if not the most.
Don't know what your smoking, but I'd completely disagree with your assessment there.Burleson, is nothing special, and at the end of his career. he is an average NFL receiver.Pettigrew, have you seen him play? catches some tough catches and drops a TON others.Scheffler, basically the same as Burleson, an average NFL tight end. (no one else wanted)Young - 2.12 pick in 2011 by Detroit. (young inexperienced player not even in the mix)Broyles - 2.22 pick in 2012 by Detroit. (young inexperienced player not even in the mix)There's No Receiver contributing now besides Calvin that is an Above Average "NFL" player. They have one Legitimate "Above NFL Average" Receiver Actually Playing Now, an that is it.(Yes Calvin is a Superstar, but the rest used are no better than decent average NFL players)
And somehow the dude threw for 5,000 yards.Those guys aren't all-pro, but they aren't average either. Tough to defend against all those guys when Calvin is on the field. They're good enough to get this far and they're good enough against single coverage against most teams, if not all except the 49ers.
 
'FF Ninja said:
He's got 1 really good(great) Offensive weapon in Calvin, beyond that the rest is average

castaways or other young players, so it isn't the talent around him that gives him an upper

hand at being an upper echelon QB
Let me stop you right there.I know it isn't all about where you were drafted, but let's just look real quick-like at these castaways:

Burleson - 3.07 pick in 2003. Very underrated player.

Pettigrew - 1.20 pick in 2009 by Detroit.

Scheffler - 2.29 pick in 2006. Pass catching specialist.Young - 2.12 pick in 2011 by Detroit.

Broyles - 2.22 pick in 2012 by Detroit.

And really, we can't just write off Calvin Johnson as the one good player. 1.01 pick in 2007 by Detroit.

So, these six guys can't be castaways when they've actually been drafted BY DETROIT in the top 2 rounds. The two lowest draft picks were free agents who had proven their worth and were signed by Detroit to help Stafford. I actually think this is the deepest receiving corps in the NFL and one of the top 3-5 most talented, if not the most.
Yes Matt Millen is well known for his mastery of the NFL draft.

 
Since he's been in the league for four years people tend to forget that he's still only 24.

 
He's got 1 really good(great) Offensive weapon in Calvin, beyond that the rest is average

castaways or other young players, so it isn't the talent around him that gives him an upper

hand at being an upper echelon QB
Let me stop you right there.I know it isn't all about where you were drafted, but let's just look real quick-like at these castaways:

Burleson - 3.07 pick in 2003. Very underrated player.

Pettigrew - 1.20 pick in 2009 by Detroit.

Scheffler - 2.29 pick in 2006. Pass catching specialist.Young - 2.12 pick in 2011 by Detroit.

Broyles - 2.22 pick in 2012 by Detroit.

And really, we can't just write off Calvin Johnson as the one good player. 1.01 pick in 2007 by Detroit.

So, these six guys can't be castaways when they've actually been drafted BY DETROIT in the top 2 rounds. The two lowest draft picks were free agents who had proven their worth and were signed by Detroit to help Stafford. I actually think this is the deepest receiving corps in the NFL and one of the top 3-5 most talented, if not the most.
Yes Matt Millen is well known for his mastery of the NFL draft.
Calvin is the only Millen pick there brah
 
He's got 1 really good(great) Offensive weapon in Calvin, beyond that the rest is average

castaways or other young players, so it isn't the talent around him that gives him an upper

hand at being an upper echelon QB
Let me stop you right there.I know it isn't all about where you were drafted, but let's just look real quick-like at these castaways:

Burleson - 3.07 pick in 2003. Very underrated player.

Pettigrew - 1.20 pick in 2009 by Detroit.

Scheffler - 2.29 pick in 2006. Pass catching specialist.Young - 2.12 pick in 2011 by Detroit.

Broyles - 2.22 pick in 2012 by Detroit.

And really, we can't just write off Calvin Johnson as the one good player. 1.01 pick in 2007 by Detroit.

So, these six guys can't be castaways when they've actually been drafted BY DETROIT in the top 2 rounds. The two lowest draft picks were free agents who had proven their worth and were signed by Detroit to help Stafford. I actually think this is the deepest receiving corps in the NFL and one of the top 3-5 most talented, if not the most.
Yes Matt Millen is well known for his mastery of the NFL draft.
Calvin is the only Millen pick there brah
Yeah I thought he was listing Detroit draft picks. My bad brah

 
He's got 1 really good(great) Offensive weapon in Calvin, beyond that the rest is averagecastaways or other young players, so it isn't the talent around him that gives him an upperhand at being an upper echelon QB
Let me stop you right there.I know it isn't all about where you were drafted, but let's just look real quick-like at these castaways:Burleson - 3.07 pick in 2003. Very underrated player.Pettigrew - 1.20 pick in 2009 by Detroit. Scheffler - 2.29 pick in 2006. Pass catching specialist.Young - 2.12 pick in 2011 by Detroit.Broyles - 2.22 pick in 2012 by Detroit.And really, we can't just write off Calvin Johnson as the one good player. 1.01 pick in 2007 by Detroit.So, these six guys can't be castaways when they've actually been drafted BY DETROIT in the top 2 rounds. The two lowest draft picks were free agents who had proven their worth and were signed by Detroit to help Stafford. I actually think this is the deepest receiving corps in the NFL and one of the top 3-5 most talented, if not the most.
Don't know what your smoking, but I'd completely disagree with your assessment there.Burleson, is nothing special, and at the end of his career. he is an average NFL receiver.Pettigrew, have you seen him play? catches some tough catches and drops a TON others.Scheffler, basically the same as Burleson, an average NFL tight end. (no one else wanted)Young - 2.12 pick in 2011 by Detroit. (young inexperienced player not even in the mix)Broyles - 2.22 pick in 2012 by Detroit. (young inexperienced player not even in the mix)There's No Receiver contributing now besides Calvin that is an Above Average "NFL" player. They have one Legitimate "Above NFL Average" Receiver Actually Playing Now, an that is it.(Yes Calvin is a Superstar, but the rest used are no better than decent average NFL players)
Burleson isn't an explosive guy, but they can't all be Calvin Johnsons. Burleson strikes me as a very underrated player due to his role in this offense. He isn't playing the WR1 role, so he isn't going to look that great to the casual observer. And yes, Pettigrew drops passes but so does Witten and Finley and everyone else. Pettigrew isn't holding Stafford back. Young does appear to be in the mix, so I'm not sure what you are talking about.Can you name five teams in the NFL with better receiving corps top to bottom than Detroit? I highly doubt it. Stafford takes a lot of pass attempts to a lot of good WRs and does ok. Great for fantasy football. Doesn't make him a great QB.
 
Can you name five teams in the NFL with better receiving corps top to bottom than Detroit? I highly doubt it.
Green BayAtlantaPittsburghNew York GiantsDallasNE
Yep, and besides Calvin, Pretty much every team has just as good if not better receivers than Detroit.(Burleson is the next best Detroit receiver, he's average and past his prime)The rest of Detroit's receivers are yes average at best, and Pettigrew drops aton of passes and Certainly could be construed as "hurting" QB production there.(EVERY SINGLE GAME Pettigrew drops the easiest of passes that it's mind boggling)I've seriously never seen a guy get as much playing time as Pettigrew drop all thepasses this guy does, every game it's like "oh man I hope he holds on to that one".And Young? Until this game he had 1 catch in the first 2 games. (nothing to add there)He got the hail marry thrown yep, an may get more opportunities as the season goes, butup until now has basically contributed sparingly along anyone else not Calvin or Pettigrew.As far I'm concerned Staffords been putting up numbers an pretty good play with little help.(give him a better tight end and a solid number 2 WR(which they may find) skies the limit)Yes his numbers are up with sheer volume of passes, but so are all the rest of the top QB's..(to me he's ranked about where he should be for now, just outside all those top elite guys).
 
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He's the new captain checkdown. 'oh, I'm scared to throw the ball downfield to Calvin Johnson.' 'Let's run it and kick a FG'.

 
Isn't it possible that his hammy has been bothering him longer than we think? Who knows when he actually hurt it? How would a right hammy injury effect his throws? Maybe that is his hesitancy to throw it deep?

 
I tend to think he's slightly overrated. Not a top-5 real QB. Somewhere in the bottom of the top 10. If I were starting a franchise from scratch, I'd take Rogers, Newton, Griffin, and Luck over him for sure. Probably Eli. Maybe Ryan (normally he'd be on my slightly overrated list with Stafford, but he's looked great so far this season). Maybe Roethlisberger (30's not old for a QB, but he's taken a major beating over his career). Definitely Rivers, if you could guarantee that I was getting the pre-2011 Rivers. So for starting from scratch, Stafford is a no-brainer top-10 guy, but he's not a top-5 guy, and insofar as he gets some top-5 hype, he's mildly overrated.

If we're doing a list of guys I'd take if we were just playing one season and I wanted to win now, we'd get similar results. Definitely behind Brady, Rogers, Brees, Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, and Tony Romo. Possibly behind Peyton (give me a few more weeks before making that call) and Ryan (ditto). Once again, Stafford is in the bottom half of the top 10, and insofar as he gets any love for the top 5, he's mildly overrated.

 
According to Football Outsiders, Stafford is 9th in DYAR and 10th in DVOA, and Detroit is the 8th best passing offense. Sounds like business as usual. It's been partly obscured by the lack of TDs, and partly obscured by the tough schedule they've faced so far (4th toughest schedule of defenses to date). Still, it's not like he's playing appreciably worse than he did last year, he's just been putting up fewer points because of the lack of TDs.

 
According to Football Outsiders, Stafford is 9th in DYAR and 10th in DVOA, and Detroit is the 8th best passing offense. Sounds like business as usual. It's been partly obscured by the lack of TDs, and partly obscured by the tough schedule they've faced so far (4th toughest schedule of defenses to date). Still, it's not like he's playing appreciably worse than he did last year, he's just been putting up fewer points because of the lack of TDs.
In terms of mechanics he is not "appreciably worse" than last year, but he won't have anywhere near last years numbers if he continues to play the way he has been. Last year was a fluke, a future outlier. His footwork and throwing motion have been poor since he entered the leaque and he rested on his (5000+ yard, 40+ TD) laurels instead of correcting those deficiencies. He probably is throwing sidearmed more often this season, though I'm not sure if that qualifies as "appreciably worse".Plus his coaching staff is mediocre. Poor work ethic and bad coaching is not a recipe for success.
 
According to Football Outsiders, Stafford is 9th in DYAR and 10th in DVOA, and Detroit is the 8th best passing offense. Sounds like business as usual. It's been partly obscured by the lack of TDs, and partly obscured by the tough schedule they've faced so far (4th toughest schedule of defenses to date). Still, it's not like he's playing appreciably worse than he did last year, he's just been putting up fewer points because of the lack of TDs.
I can understand the idea that he's not as bad as he's looked these past few weeks, but there's no way things are business as usual. For starters, the TDs aren't just down a bit, they're down a tonne; from averaging over 2.5 a game to less than 1 a game, I don't see how that can be easily excused. And not only that, but his YPA so far is down a full yard from last year. His current 6.64 YPA ranks him 26th in the league among starters behind stalwarts like Mark Sanchez. He hasn't had a YPA over 7.5 in a single game this season in 6 games; he only had a YPA under 7.5 in 5 games all of last year. Certainly doesn't seem like Stafford's playing at the same level as he did last year, or anywhere close for that matter.
 
According to Football Outsiders, Stafford is 9th in DYAR and 10th in DVOA, and Detroit is the 8th best passing offense. Sounds like business as usual. It's been partly obscured by the lack of TDs, and partly obscured by the tough schedule they've faced so far (4th toughest schedule of defenses to date). Still, it's not like he's playing appreciably worse than he did last year, he's just been putting up fewer points because of the lack of TDs.
In terms of mechanics he is not "appreciably worse" than last year, but he won't have anywhere near last years numbers if he continues to play the way he has been. Last year was a fluke, a future outlier. His footwork and throwing motion have been poor since he entered the leaque and he rested on his (5000+ yard, 40+ TD) laurels instead of correcting those deficiencies. He probably is throwing sidearmed more often this season, though I'm not sure if that qualifies as "appreciably worse".Plus his coaching staff is mediocre. Poor work ethic and bad coaching is not a recipe for success.
Agreed. People got blinded by his numbers. He was never as good as his raw stats last year. Still, he is who we thought he was- a low-end top-10 NFL QB.
 

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