The narrative surrounding the career of Matthew Stafford has officially changed forever. After spending 12 years with the Detroit Lions, Stafford finally got his chance to play for a legitimate franchise. In his first season as the Los Angeles Rams, Matthew Stafford met expectations in every way, shape, and form. It wasn’t always pretty, but you can’t argue with the results. He led the Rams to an NFC West crown, NFC Conference Championship, and ultimately, a Super Bowl title.
The 2021-22 season for Matthew Stafford wasn’t just the best year of his career. This season truly captured just how poorly run the Detroit Lions have been. They had Stafford for 12 seasons, made the playoffs three times, and never won a single playoff game. It’s safe to say the Detroit Lions undeniably wasted Stafford’s career, along with other notable players such as Barry Sanders, and of course, Calvin Johnson. Further proving that where you land in the NFL matters more than what spot you get drafted.
No one may be happier for Matthew Stafford than his former backup and current ESPN football analyst, Dan Orlovsky. He took to Twitter with his bold analysis of Stafford’s career.
A lot of people called Stafford a lot of things
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) February 14, 2022
Y’all gonna call him a Super Bowl Champion and a Hall of Famer now
Flames for everyone tomorrow on TV.
Dan Orlovsky is rightfully supporting his good friend after one of the great storied seasons in NFL history. However, to claim that Matthew Stafford is an NFL Hall of Famer after one Super Bowl-winning season is flat out ridiculous. Interestingly enough, Mr. Orlovsky isn’t alone in his line of thinking. Stephen A. Smith voiced his thoughts on ESPN early Monday morning, sharing the same sentiment regarding Matthew Stafford’s career.
This performance solidified Matthew Stafford as a future Hall of Famer. pic.twitter.com/lGuX76CZMz
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 14, 2022
I’m not sure if the bar for making the NFL Hall of Fame has dropped or if everyone’s being overly emotional, but this is a line of thinking I cannot get behind.
Stafford Belongs in the Hall of “Very Good”
Matthew Stafford has had a very nice statistical career. He’s the fastest quarterback to reach 20,000, 30,000, 40,000, and 45,000 passing yards. Stafford has multiple other passing records and is the Detroit Lion’s franchise leader in multiple other categories. He’s a fourth-quarter comeback wizard and clearly had his talent squandered in Detroit. Having said that, a quarterback who’s only made one pro bowl, no All-Pro teams, has a losing record, and has won one Super Bowl in 13 seasons cannot be a Hall of Famer.
The 2021-22 season was a solid first step in the makings of a Hall of Fame career for Matthew Stafford. However, if he were to retire today, there’s no way Stafford would or should make the Hall of Fame. If anything, Stafford’s career is more in line with Philip Rivers than with that of a Hall of Fame quarterback. Philip Rivers was a solid quarterback who compiled a lot of regular season stats but never resulted in wins when it mattered the most. Stafford, until this season, was viewed as a stat-padder on an average to below-average team. One successful season cannot turn this narrative around into, “Hall of Famer.”
You could even make the argument that Stafford’s career is closer to that of Joe Flacco. Like Stafford, Flacco never made an All-Pro team, and in fact, he’s never even made a Pro Bowl. However, Flacco’s claim to fame was his Super Bowl-winning season, where he had one of the greatest post-season stat-lines of all time. Stafford is clearly a better quarterback than Flacco as a whole, but in career accomplishments, there’s not much that separates the two. I won’t put Flacco in the “Hall of Very Good,” despite his playoff resume, but I will put players like Stafford and Rivers there.
The HOF Door isn’t Shut
Maybe Stafford’s rebirth with the Rams will result in a few more great seasons with deep playoff runs, but as of now, there’s no way anyone can claim that Stafford is a Hall of Famer. Detroit clearly didn’t maximize his talent, but he didn’t uplift Detroit so much that he warrants gold jacket consideration for winning four total playoff games. Stafford would be without a doubt one of the least qualified HOFers of all time. If Stafford were to play for another five or so years, based on his trajectory with the Rams, he’d end his career with a winning record, north of 70,000 passing yards, over 400 touchdown passes, a few more playoff wins under his belt, and maybe even another Super Bowl.
That, to me, is the resume of a Hall of Fame quarterback, given today’s era.
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