Does Matthew Stafford still have to prove himself?
By Robert Jones
Recently there have been two polls that have seemingly slighted the abilities of Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford.
One was a poll ranking the number one overall NFL draft picks from the last 10 years and the other was the NFL Networks top 100 player list. Both of which have many local fans up in arms because of the perceived underestimation of Stafford’s talents.
In the poll ranking the last 10 number one picks, Stafford came in number six behind Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Jared Goff, Jadeveon Clowney and Jameis Winston. In the NFL’s top 100 players poll he finished as number 31 overall.
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So the easy question is; are these ranking fair?
Let’s start with the media based and completely subjective last 10 number one picks. The reality is that there is no way Stafford is sixth on that list. The author claimed that Winston and Goff were ranked ahead of Stafford because of ‘potential’.
Would he have still ranked them ahead of Stafford if he had won the Super Bowl even once?
The answer has to be ‘no’ unless he wanted to look like a complete moron. That’s why a quarterback is selected number one overall. Yet the the fact that Stafford has produced at a record setting pace has been completely ignored.
Once again we could say that the bias against the Lions and their lackluster last 60 years came into effect here.
Meanwhile on the NFL’s top 100 list, Stafford was basically ranked the ninth best quarterback in the league. He finished behind Tom Brady, Carson Wentz, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Ryan.
What is the one thing all of those quarterbacks have in common? They have all gone to the Super Bowl and all of them except Ryan have won it. That is sort of a testament to winning being important. The other thing we have to remember is that the NFL’s top 100 list is voted on completely by NFL players.
So is this ranking fair? Maybe or maybe not, but it does put an emphasis on winning, which is what the goal of every team in the league should be.