There are reasons to believe that Matthew Stafford may have the last laugh. He perhaps might be able to give answers as to how he could turn his critics into his believers. There were many doubts and aspersions about the capability of Stafford. He was picked up Detroit Lions as the number one pick in 2009. He was the man with that powerful arm and he had the physical attributes too. He also had the criticism from various quarters. As Lions did not perform as expected and had only two playoff matches in the entire career of Stafford. Further Stafford was heavily dependent on Calvin Johnson the star receiver and many of his decisions were questionable. If you are keenly interested about NFL spread then you must certainly know more about Stafford.
However, Stafford has been able to tackle the two major issues to his favor. He has over the past few months become one of the most reliable and consistent quarterbacks in NFL. It also is leading to wins and the record is 10-6 since week 8 of the last season. This was around the same time when Jim Bob Cooter was put in charge of offense. He replaced Joe Lombardi and this led to Stafford completing 68.6 percent of his passes for 4,310 yards. He also had 35 touchdowns, eight interceptions and phenomenal passing rating of 105.4. This has turned around Lion well and truly. All this led to his wry smile and it answered all possible questions.
Yes, it is true that Stafford was modest in stating that he was the same person and was always trying to put his best foot forward as he had done always. Matthew always believed that his play must do the talking and this season’s turnaround is certainly doing the talking. This certainly explains the things that Lions should be doing when they are not having the best day on filed. Stafford is heading into 207 and this will be his final year of contract. If Stafford continues his current form, Detroit certainly needs to give him an extension so that he continues to remain with Lions. This might require paying him the going rate for franchise quarterbacks. This will make him the richest player in NFL.
Andrew Luck, who is the highest paid quarterback make around $25.594 million from the contract extension which he got this year. Joe Flacco averages around $21,133,333 per year making him the third highest player. This is as per information coming in from ESPN States & Information. With salaries set to rise again and with the premium on reputed quarterbacks being very much there Stafford is well in line to beat the numbers mentioned above. It is naïve to expect that Stafford would be talking about it. He has brushed aside these questions a number of time and Wednesday again was no exception. He also brushed aside discussions about his being considered as a potential Most Valuable Player. He said that it was not in his mind and his focus was on the games. He mentioned that he has had 5,000 yard seasons along with 40 touchdowns and he actually does no care too much.
He is carefully avoiding national attention and with good reason. He is bothered about not being unfair to his team mates and put in the best to make his team win. The team is behind him and he has been able to be a calming influence amongst the team. Stafford has mastered a winning drive in the quarter drive and Lions have won each time. His relationship with Cooter also has a role to play. Coach Jim Caldwell has told that Stafford has gelled well with Jim Bobs and Brian Callaghan. All these will certainly lead to the nay-sayers of Stafford decreasing in numbers.