Seriously, what happened to Stafford?

 

From all of the Lions games that I've watched over the last three years, my take on Stafford is this: a smart and talented QB who has a cannon for an arm but is mechanically flawed and makes bad decisions when being pressured.

 

There are times when I watched him throw a football and my eyes were wide opened -- dude simply has the sickest arm in the game.  Some of his long bombs were sick, but most of his game-changing deep throws where prayers/hail mary to Calvin Johnson.  His decision makings when being pressured, especially for being a 5th year veteran, are terrible; he reverts back to his bad habits and make terrible throws.  The more I watched him plays, I realize that at this stage in his development, he's a one-trick-pony QB.

 

He simply has no touch in his throws.  Most of the time he throws a 20-yarder with the same velocity as when he throws a 60-yarder, making it much more difficult for his receivers to catch the football.  And when he tries to soften his throws, he side-arm them, and he makes it worse when by throwing them off his back-foot.  I thought Vick and V.Young had the funkiest side-arm throwing motion until I watch Stafford throwing the football at a 45 degree angle as if he playing baseball.

 

I'm not saying that he's Andy Dalton conclusively as his ceiling is higher than that of Dalton.  But if Detroit can't find a coach to correct his flawed mechanics and bad habits with decision makings -- and I really don't know if it's already too late to correct his flaws being that this is his 5th starting year -- they are looking at a "flashier" version of Andy Dalton.

 

 

 

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Wouldn't that be the other way around?  Stafford came first.  

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I was wrong about Trent Baalke. 

Bradford has disappointed worse

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Wouldn't that be the other way around? Stafford came first.

Yes, but Dalton is the poster boy for the "good enough to win you some regular season games but not enough to take a team over the playoff hump QB".


As for Bradford, I don't include him in comparison because he's Dalton 0.5, which is even worse.

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I'll admit that I have not watched Stafford much this year but I did watch the Monday night game against the Ravens.


He was overthrowing his receivers all night. Whether it was lack of touch or just putting too much into the throw, he was definitely at fault. It cost the Lions the game, especially on his game ending overthrow for an interception.


With 3 time outs and only a FG to win, he should have been able to get them in range. Instead he gave it away.

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Stafford is another upper tier game manager type.

 

When an elite QB gets together with a talent like Calvin Johnson you get a result like what happened in NE in 2007. An almost unstoppable offense and records being set.

 

Randy Moss made a lot of guys in Minnesota look like they were good QBs, too, but a QBs stripes always show when the pressure is on.

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I think he's Romo-esque. 

 

They'll put up great numbers during the season, make some great passes here and there, but when the pressure is on they don't come through. 

 

They do juust enough to keep people believing they just may be what the team needs. 

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The Baltimore Ravens game should be an indication of concern for Lions fans going forward. Pretty much every single bad habits of his were shown in that loss. Bad decision makings when being pressured, bad footwork and mechanics, side-arm throwing etc...


They seriously need to get a QB coach who can fix his problems.

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Ohh Stafford....

 

Anyone watching the Detroit/NY game?

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I was watching some show last week and they were talking about Stafford. They were saying how he could get away with all this arm angles, but that he needs to hit the weight room more often and build his lower body strength. LOL

 

"Stafford, DO YOU EVEN LIFT BRO?"

 

It's so dumb what they said.

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Stafford's arm looks average to me, not big or ripped.  But it's amazing how he is able to put those zip on the football.

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Stafford's arm looks average to me, not big or ripped. But it's amazing how he is able to put those zip on the football.

Inherent arm strength is a funny thing. Sure it can be aided by building strength but it must have more to do with tendants or something.


My brother who is 9 years younger than me can throw a ball a lot further than I can and he looks like a stick figure. I'm not even close to being buff or anything but I sure as hell have more muscle mass/general arm strength than he does.


In football terms I have a noodle arm. I guess my dreams of being an NFL QB have been dashed.

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Stafford can be a really good qb, he just seems to me.....like many others on that team, undisciplined.

 

He throws passes that he shouldnt attempt, and at times relies too much on the athleticisim of Calvin Johnson.  If it werent for CJ, I think he'd have more interceptions than he already does.

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Inherent arm strength is a funny thing. Sure it can be aided by building strength but it must have more to do with tendants or something.


My brother who is 9 years younger than me can throw a ball a lot further than I can and he looks like a stick figure. I'm not even close to being buff or anything but I sure as hell have more muscle mass/general arm strength than he does.


In football terms I have a noodle arm. I guess my dreams of being an NFL QB have been dashed.

Doesn't that have to do with technique and mechanics.  Tim Tebow and Brady Quinn are almost like bodybuilders with giant arms -- I'm sure they can out arm-wrestle any QB in the league, maybe except Cam Newton and Andrew Luck -- but they weren't know to have strong armbecause their mechanics weren't good.  But then again, neither does Stafford or Vick has good mechanics, but they can zip the ball that no one else can. 

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Doesn't that have to do with technique and mechanics. Tim Tebow and Brady Quinn are almost like bodybuilders with giant arms -- I'm sure they can out arm-wrestle any QB in the league, maybe except Cam Newton and Andrew Luck -- but they weren't know to have strong armbecause their mechanics weren't good. But then again, neither does Stafford or Vick has good mechanics, but they can zip the ball that no one else can.

Yeah, mechanics probably have a lot to do with it for some. I'm not really sure how to explain guys like Stafford and Vick though.

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poor man's tony romo

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Does any QB receive more grief than Andy Dalton?

I think the Jaguars would take his results any time.

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The sun's not yellow, it's chicken.

Yeah, mechanics probably have a lot to do with it for some. I'm not really sure how to explain guys like Stafford and Vick though.

 

Most "arm strength" doesn't really come from the arm; it comes from the back -- the lats --, the shoulder, and the hips.

 

If you ever give a ball to a toddler and ask them to throw it, you'll notice that they will sit the ball on top of their shoulder kind of like they were going to shoot a basket ball. When you throw like this, you are trying to align the muscles in the back of your arm with the line of flight. If you attempt an "NFL" style throw, you hold the ball high with your elbow up and your opposite foot pointed at your target. When you release, you step towards the target and your upper arm moves forward being pulled by your shoulder. Your hips rotate with the step and power is delivered from the ground up through the legs to the hips. Your arm goes up and "over the top" of the ball and your follow through is across your body -- put your throwing hand in the other pocket -- with the body's weight being supported by the front, or plant, foot but the throwing side hip being in front of the plant foot at the end of the motion.

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I'm trying to make myself more informed and less opinionated.

Stop saying whatever stupid thing you're talking about and pay attention to all the interesting things I have to say!

Does any QB receive more grief than Andy Dalton?


I think the Jaguars would take his results any time.

 

It's funny. And it isn't just Jaguars fans either. He's the red headed stepchild of the NFL.

 

And I don't get it.

 

Look at his career:

 

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/pl...ltAn00.htm

 

He's made the playoffs every year.

 

His stats have improved every year.

 

I'd take the Andy Dalton 2.0 here in a second.

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poor man's tony romo

 

I feel ill, I was just about to compare Stafford to Romo (more so than Andy Dalton as the OP's take). 

 

Then I realized I am in agreement with HeeRo.

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