Detroit Lions Head Coach Jim Caldwell: The Quarterback Whisperer

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Matthew Stafford

Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

I’m sure there are some out there that would say that if Jim Caldwell can fix Matthew Stafford, it would be his finest masterpiece. This basically implies that Matthew Stafford is the outcast girl with paint covered overalls, glasses and a pony tail and Jim Caldwell is apparently Freddie Prinze Jr. who is going to make Stafford prom queen. Ya know, that sort of thing.

Pre-Caldwell

Year	Cmp %	Yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions	TD %	Int %	Team Record
2013	58.5	4,650	29	19	4.60%	3.00%	7 wins, 9 losses

Matthew Stafford has been one of the most scrutinized quarterbacks in recent years. Much like Manning was when he was first starting out, or Alex Smith (the Matthew Stafford of the mid 2000’s), the idea is that being the first overall selection should mean that you’re an elite quarterback beginning week one of your rookie year. As we know, Matthew Stafford has had his troubles throughout his career. With the talent that he has, the thought has been that he doesn’t know how to use it.

So when Jim Caldwell came in for his interview with the Lions, he wowed the front office by tracking and analyzing every throw that Stafford made in 2013 and showed what he could do to fix it. But Matthew Stafford was a lot like a an old electronic device. You have to take it apart and re-wire it to fix it.

With Caldwell

Year	Cmp%	Yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions	TD %	Int %	Team Record
2014	60.3	4,257	22	12	3.70%	2.00%	11 wins, 5 losses

Forget about the 5,000 yards and 41 touchdowns- those days are over. What should be focused on here is Stafford’s improved percentages and the teams improved record. You can see from the stats that Caldwell’s attention was directed towards Stafford’s decision-making. Because of that, Stafford threw a career low interceptions and had his 2nd best completion percentage of his career.

It was also clear that Caldwell treated Stafford like he was on probation in some ways. Taking away the chance plays and long bombs and having Stafford focus on simply moving the ball down the field. The handcuffs are likely to come off in 2015 and Stafford will be allowed to be a controlled version of his former gun slinging self. If this works out, Stafford truly could be Jim Caldwell’s Mona Lisa.

What do you think? Has Jim Caldwell been a major factor in these quarterbacks careers? Leave your comments below.

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