- 2 months ago
Winning a Super Bowl changes everything. Yeah, sounds simple enough, but Matthew Stafford’s career could have looked a whole lot different without it. For a little over a decade, Stafford spent his days wasting away with the Detroit Lions, tossing up ridiculous record-breaking numbers with no success to show for it. They nicknamed the dude “Pat Statford” after all. Someone for sureeee cooked with that nickname, but the point is he was mostly known for empty stats with no important wins to back them up. At least he had good stats. Because early in his career, he couldn’t even claim those. Known mostly as an often-injured quarterback that the Lions blew a number one pick on. His own teammates called him a china doll. He looked like a bust. A fake franchise star meant to save a struggling team. Then, in 2021, he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams, and in his first season he earned a shiny new Super Bowl ring, shedding years of doubt.
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00:00You would think being labeled an overpaid, fragile, stat-padding, fake franchise star would be a death sentence for a
00:07quarterback, but Matthew Stafford made people forget all about that.
00:11A Super Bowl title can certainly convince folks otherwise, and while winning changes everything, that was something never guaranteed for
00:18Stafford in his career.
00:20Let's meet those versions of Matthew Stafford and the prism.
00:32In 2009, Stafford shrugged into Detroit as a bona fide number one overall pick, expected to be the savior of
00:40a Lions franchise that went winless the season prior.
00:43Except, you can't really save anything if you're never on the field.
00:48In his first two seasons, Stafford played 13 total games.
00:52That number would sound drastically better if Detroit's plan were to slowly bring its expected franchise star along, but no,
01:01he was thrown into the fire since week one of his rookie season and just couldn't stay healthy.
01:06Injuries happen, and I'm certainly not the type to criticize him because one bad night of sleep can ruin my
01:12neck for two weeks, but Stafford going through three shoulder separations and a knee issue sprinkled in over less than
01:18two years seemed more like a trend than a fluke.
01:21Critics couldn't help but question his toughness, which, I don't know.
01:27During his rookie season, the dude took a massive hit that should have sidelined him, but came back in and
01:32threw a game-winning touchdown pass against the Cleveland Browns.
01:36He was later shut down that season with one of those previously mentioned shoulder injuries, but seems like a very
01:42tough act to me.
01:43And to his credit, when he was unable to play in year two after another shoulder issue, Stafford didn't show
01:49any quid in him.
01:50He desperately wanted to dispel the notion that he was soft, but in a results-based league where sometimes your
01:57best ability is availability, his desire to play didn't matter if he couldn't stay on the field.
02:04Especially considering his counterparts outplayed him over the same time frame.
02:08They say comparison is a thief of joy, but even Brett Favre, a quarterback nearly twice Stafford's age, hardly missed
02:17a game during Stafford's stretch of absences.
02:19Not the greatest look were due just a few years removed from college.
02:24Because the truth is, Stafford wasn't just any other QB.
02:28The weight of being a number one overall pick came with a hefty price tag and the pressure to perform,
02:34but with just three career wins in his first two seasons, patience began to wear thin.
02:39And if history were any indication of his future, Stafford's career already seemed doomed.
02:45Former first-rounders who had been immediately tossed into action that Stafford had, including one whom Matt ultimately replaced, had
02:53all but crashed out of the league.
02:55Add in Stafford's injury history, and media members wondered if Detroit should consider pulling the plug earlier in their QB
03:02and start over.
03:03It's one thing for journalists to fuel fragile allegations, a reputation that Stafford was certainly aware of, but it didn't
03:11help that his own teammates bought into the claims as well.
03:14Over the years, the damage kept piling up.
03:18A hand injury in 2012.
03:21An early 2015 game so brutal that he could barely speak from hits to his ribs.
03:26A finger issue in 2016.
03:28It went on and on.
03:29Except that over the next eight seasons, Stafford never missed a single game.
03:34Whether it was being scarred over being called a China doll in his early years, or just wanting to be
03:40out there for his teammates because it's his job, Stafford transformed into one of the league's most durable players.
03:47With him actually being on the field, Stafford was able to show the quarterback he was promised to be.
03:52He lit up defenses.
03:54Instead of Tim Couch or Cade McCown, he found himself among legends like Dan Marino or peers like Drew Brees.
04:02Over those eight Ironman years, he threw his way into conversations of top signal callers in the sport.
04:08In a past heavy league, those records are shorter change after he set them, but take a second to appreciate
04:14just how outrageous those numbers are and the company that he kept.
04:18Yet, while the numbers put him in rare company, the wins didn't.
04:22Without those, nobody was handing him a spot in that elite conversation.
04:28After a decade in the league, Stafford had only brought Detroit three playoff appearances.
04:33The franchise hadn't seen postseason play since 99, but it can't feel that much better getting bounced on wildcard weekend
04:42each time.
04:43What's the point of the numbers if the results didn't match?
04:46It was a critique that followed Stafford since his college days at the University of Georgia, where his talent was
04:52never in question, but his inconsistencies in high-pressure situations were apparent.
04:57At UGA, just like Detroit, Stafford was expected to lead the Dawgs back to greatness, but never quite delivered.
05:04He failed to even reach a conference title game.
05:07He ran up against a juggernaut program in his division that dominated college football in the 2000s, but it's not
05:13like things get any easier in the pros.
05:15He wasn't stepping into a cakewalk.
05:18Before the 09 draft, even with his sky-high potential, journalists believed Detroit would be foolish to select Stafford first
05:26overall.
05:27A team doesn't go winless for no reason.
05:30They had a laundry list of issues.
05:33Detroit did show promise with a young core of Stafford slinging the rock to standout receiver Calvin Johnson and ferocious
05:40defensive tackle Ndamukong Su wrecking havoc on the other side of the ball, but it takes more than three players
05:45to win a title, let alone a playoff game.
05:48Even when Stafford won up the game's greats, he was doing so to mostly save a miserable team around him.
05:55During the 2012 season, Stafford tied Drew Brees for an NFL record for consecutive 350-plus-yard passing games.
06:03However, records didn't translate to success as Detroit finished the season miserably.
06:09It's a bit easier to post eye-popping numbers playing from behind, and Stafford would have much preferred to go
06:15home with more Ws.
06:17Seven years later, when he became the fastest to reach 40,000 passing yards, his sentiment was the same, just
06:25another record.
06:26The 2016 season, in particular, painted how great Stafford had to be individually just for the Lions to be relevant.
06:34By the numbers alone, a 9-7 team sounds slightly better than average, but Stafford willed his team to get
06:41that far.
06:41He led a record-breaking eight game-winning drives that season, carrying his squad all the way to the playoffs.
06:48And then they all folded.
06:51To be the best, you gotta beat the best.
06:54And Stafford, well, never beat anyone when it mattered most.
06:59His numbers are there, but the wins ain't.
07:03Marino and Ryan are the only dudes on this list without a ring, but at least they had a shot
07:08at one.
07:08But his numbers were talked about like empty calories alongside real eaters who actually won.
07:14And after that 2016 season, his final playoff appearance in Detroit, Stafford kept inflating those numbers with nothing to show
07:23for it.
07:24Detroit didn't sniff the playoffs over the next four seasons, and by the end of 2020, with the team pointing
07:30toward a full overhaul,
07:32Stafford's window to win in Detroit was all but done.
07:35Following the season, the organization wasn't oblivious.
07:40Detroit brought its captives together to face the reality of yet another rebuild.
07:45The team wanted the players' input on the change.
07:48While everyone else chimed in, Stafford kept quiet.
07:53After over a decade of catching L's with no consistent direction, Stafford was also ready for a change,
07:59but didn't want to stick around for theirs.
08:01The team president wasn't even shook.
08:05He knew his franchise was a bunch of losers.
08:08Stafford didn't want to strong-arm the team.
08:10He just wanted it to be somewhere he could win.
08:13With the organization in flux, both sides agreed to keep things on the hush and work behind the scenes,
08:19which wasn't a requirement of Stafford.
08:22There is no rulebook for how to handle a trade, but you often see rumors pop up, then players deny
08:28rumors,
08:29which really means they definitely want to be traded, and ultimately results in a move.
08:35Here, when the news eventually broke, there was no mess to sort through.
08:39If anything, not causing a fuss and playing ball may have landed Stafford in the exact position he wanted,
08:46ultimately leading to a blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Rams.
08:50Detroit could have sent him anywhere, with quite a few options at his disposal as teams bid for Stafford.
08:56L.A. snuck in and offered the most compelling package with a plethora of future picks.
09:01For Detroit, it also meant taking a massive gamble on Jared Goff,
09:06a quarterback the Rams believed couldn't cut it despite leading them to a Super Bowl just a few seasons earlier.
09:12The historic trade marked the end of a long, fruitless era for Stafford and Detroit.
09:18When the trade was official, the quarterback later reflected on how tough it was to come to the conclusion
09:24that he was ready to move on, but he had no bad blood with the Lions.
09:28He didn't complain, which makes him a better man than I am.
09:32Because best believe, after getting called soft throughout my early years,
09:36I wouldn't willingly keep putting my body on the line,
09:40fighting through injuries for a franchise that just can't seem to get out of his own way.
09:44It's an organization that's forced some of the NFL's most electric playmakers into an early retirement.
09:51Stafford sought another way out, which paid off tremendously.
09:56After just one season with the Rams, Stafford was a champion.
10:01L.A. as an organization was a complete 180,
10:04offering a strong foundation with a reliable coach and front office,
10:08weapons on offense, and a defense ready to win ASAP.
10:11However, just as much as Stafford needed L.A., the Rams needed a battle-tested QB.
10:18The road to the title wasn't easy for L.A.,
10:21and the Rams had to rely on Stafford's penchant for clutch moments.
10:24He led them to three consecutive game-winning drives in the postseason,
10:28knocking off one of the game's greats, and capped it all off with the Lombardi trophy.
10:32It's the type of pressure situations that Stafford thrives in.
10:36Except, instead of fourth-quarter meaningless heroics in Detroit, it earns Stafford a title in L.A.
10:44And sorry if this feels like me constantly dunking on the Lions organization,
10:48but even their fans acknowledge they lived a cursed existence.
10:51When Stafford won immediately after leaving town, Detroit diehards weren't even salty.
10:58They were happy to see their former quarterback, who went through years of grueling seasons,
11:03finally experience some success.
11:05I guess it's different when you have one of your own calling the team trash,
11:09so I'll leave it to this Lions lifer to tell it like it is.
11:12Not saying that dude speaks for all Detroit fans,
11:16because I'm sure for some it's stung to see Stafford win ASAP,
11:19but those positive feelings toward him are only possible
11:22because he handled his exit gracefully like a champ in the making.
11:26With just one season, and yes, it ended by winning the sport's most sought-after accomplishment,
11:32Stafford completely erased years of doubts.
11:35He'd played through injuries, putting together an impressive Iron Man streak
11:39of consecutive games played, so you couldn't call him soft.
11:43In just one year, he won the biggest game there is,
11:47so you could no longer dismiss his stats as pointless.
11:50There weren't any holes left in his game for past critics to pounce on.
11:55While he may not have won another title yet,
11:58the Rams have consistently been Super Bowl contenders with him under center,
12:02and in his 17th season, Stafford added NFL MVP to his already record-breaking resume.
12:10Media members believed he was a shoo-in for football's greatest honor whenever he retires.
12:16Stafford as a Hall of Famer would have been a blasphemous statement years prior.
12:20A fake injury-prone savior of a franchise who couldn't stay upright to perform.
12:26When he was healthy enough to play,
12:28just a dude out for stats who would never win anything meaningful,
12:33destined to rot on a franchise that buried legends before him.
12:36But with a change of scenery came a change of perception,
12:41and Stafford, through the eyes of many, is simply a champion.
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