Matthew Stafford’s back?
This past week I was having lunch with a friend of mine when he suddenly blurted out, ‘why do you hate Matthew Stafford?’ A question I found amusing and misguided all at once. Yet when he followed up with the ‘evidence’ that I had strongly urged the Lions to use the third pick in the draft to select Tua Tagovailoa in a couple of recent articles I wrote, I knew I needed to clarify myself more.
Let me start by saying that I do truly like Matthew Stafford. He is both a stand-up guy who doesn’t try to hide from criticism and is also the most gifted signal-caller to ever play for the Lions.
However, just because I feel that way doesn’t mean I can allow myself to be blinded from what I see. I have been more than willing to praise him when he deserved it and I have never questioned his competitiveness or toughness. His ability to lead the Lions to last minute come from behind victories is second to none and his overall win/loss percentage would be higher if he was surrounded by a better team.
Yet the other side of the coin is also in play. I haven’t shied away from criticizing him when it was deserved like the down-season he had in 2018. I admit part of that was Jim Bob Cooter’s offense and part of it was sustaining the back injury he played through. But even he admitted to not playing as well as he’s capable.
So regardless of my personal feelings, I have to call them as I see them. That also means since I do not have access to Stafford’s medical files, I have to draw conclusions based on what I see.
Unfortunately, what I saw was a player bouncing back with a very good season only to have it interrupted by an injury that he appeared to have suffered the previous year. Between not having any medical records to prove otherwise and with Stafford about to turn 32, this raises the question of whether this will continue to be a problem.
My impartial answer was to use this golden opportunity to select a very talented successor, should Tagovailoa’s medical reports prove he is healthy, who also happens to have the intangibles that make great quarterbacks.
Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia have the medical access to Matthew’s back that I do not. If he is indeed healthy and this is expected to no longer be a lingering issue, then it opens up other possibilities to really help improve the Lions. But if there is a red flag of any kind, then the Lions have to be willing to be opportunistic and pick Tagovailoa who most experts believe will be a franchise quarterback. It would be in the Lions best interest.