Dutch 874 Posted July 12, 2013 (edited) Donovan McNabb: Matt Stafford has done "nothing" to earn Lions contract http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2013/7/12/4518618/donovan-mcnabb-matt-stafford-has-done-nothing-to-earn-lions-contract Donovan McNabb just can't believe what's going on these days. All these QBs are getting big contracts and in his mind, they don't deserve them! As you may remember, he was flabbergasted at the Tony Romo deal back in March. "Tony Romo 6 yr 55 million dollar extension. Wow really, with one playoff win. You got to be kidding me" The latest QB to get an extension is Detroit's Matt Stafford, who inked a five-year $76.5 million extension. McNabb says he's just not worth it because he doesn't win games. "It's about wins and losses again," McNabb said on NFL Network. "Now, as a quarterback and as Matt Stafford, hey, I would take that contract just like Tony Romo took his contract. But is he worth top 5 money? I would have to say no. And I say that because it's about wins and losses. What has he really done for the Detroit Lions? Nothing." There's no doubt that Stafford's record is not very good. In fact, he's a staggering 1-23 against teams with a winning percentage over .500. Stafford was asked about McNabb's comments on Mike & Mike. He actually agreed that he hasn't has delivered the wins like he expected, but says he's not out to please Donovan McNabb. "I totally understand Donovan's point of view, but at the same time, I'm trying to please the Lions, my teammates and my coaches," said Stafford. "Nobody else. People can say what they want to say but as long as the guys in that building, that locker room, believe in me that's all that matters." Now, is it all about wins and losses with a QB? It's actually a much more nuanced question in football than it is in a sport like baseball. You can be one of the best pitchers in the game and have a so-so W/L record. But is that the case for QBs? Fact is, the best QBs in the NFL are consistently the guys with the best W/L records as well. Let's just look at last year. Of the top 5 QBs in terms of QB rating, all 5 made the playoffs. Of the top 10, 7 made the playoffs. Of those that did not make the playoffs, only Drew Brees had a losing record (barely, he was 7-9). Obviously we know that Drew Brees as a starter in New Orleans has had a fantastic win/loss record. The other top 10 guys who didn't make the postseason were Ben Roethlisberger who had a winning record last year but missed a few games (all of which the Steelers lost) and Tony Romo, who was 8-8. Stafford got off to a rough start over the first two years of his career, had a breakout season in 2011 and regressed sharply along with the rest of Lions last year. Still... He's only 25 and clearly a guy with talent. Plus, as PFT points out, Stafford was drafted before the rookie wage scale, so he signed an enormous rookie contract and this extension actually gives them cap relief over the next couple years. There's no doubt that Detroit is betting that his 2011 is closer to what he really is, rather than the other 3 seasons of his career. Certainly, he's not even reached his prime yet so there's room for growth. And frankly... if you're going to take a risk anywhere, the place to do it is on a young QB who has already had a breakout season. You're lost in this league without a QB and I'm not sure McNabb is factoring that in. It was a staggering amount of money given what Stafford has actually done over the last 4 years, but it's a risk Detroit has to take. What's the alternative? Trade him away? Let him walk? That's just not going to happen. In a sense, it's some truth to what Mcnabb said but you can't let a potential franchise QB like Stafford walk when you have no back up plan better than him. It's called leverage. Mcnabb has been insecure his entire career. Now he's bitter having an opinion and a condescending disposition towards just about everyone and not himself after choking in every big game of his fucking life. Edited July 12, 2013 by dutchff7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AllYouNeedIsLovie 377 Posted July 12, 2013 I agree with McNabb. The Lions shouldn't have extended him yet and they paid way too much. He's only had 1 really good year. Every other season, he has either been hurt or not good. The Bucs are in a similar situation with Freeman and I am happy that they are letting him play out this season before extending his contract. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch 874 Posted July 12, 2013 I'm tripping, I forgot he still had one season left on his contract. Well, are probably scared he would walk or something and didn't want to go through that situation. Who knows. I'm just probably more annoyed by Mcnabb then anything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BC 331 Posted July 12, 2013 Quarterbacks will be overpaid, especially in Detroit where they have been desperate for a good one, as the other good quarterbacks they as of late are Jon Kitna and.... Jon Kitna. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241 Posted July 12, 2013 I'm absolutely happy with the deal. He showed flashes of brilliance as a 24 year old, and this past season was just all over the place. He's proved that if nothing else, he can be the future of this team and put up very good to possibly great numbers even if asked to throw the ball a lot. The win/loss thing is highly irrelevant, and IDK who was the first person to stumble upon the stat but it's completely useless in actually evaluating Stafford as a player. Mcnabb is entitled to his opinion, and frankly, like the vast majority of football analysts on both ESPN and NFLN, lazy analysis and saying headline worthy stuff is how they get attention. I ain't even mad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch 874 Posted July 12, 2013 Dmac dilemma inc. His favorite player or his QB. Who you riding with Dmac??!?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted July 12, 2013 There's no doubt that Stafford's record is not very good. In fact, he's a staggering 1-23 against teams with a winning percentage over .500. In Stafford's 45 games that he's played in, the opposing team has scored an average of 26.5 points per game. It shouldn't be a surprise that his record is bad since he's had pretty much no defense, no running game, and no real targets other than Megatron since he's been there. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241 Posted July 13, 2013 Dmac dilemma inc. His favorite player or his QB. Who you riding with Dmac??!?? Gotta stick with my QB! 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
badgers 380 Posted July 13, 2013 Matt Stafford is 1-23 against teams witha winning record because the Lions suck. I can vouch that he plays rather well, he's ripped us apart on occasion (not only with Megatron but everybody else too). And our defense is not always terrible, it usually plays average against them. The contract extension seemed like a good idea to me. If you're Detroit and you've waited 20 years for a good quarterback, you'd best hang on to the one you've got on the roster if he has this good a chance of being the guy. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted July 13, 2013 The Lions are either going to suck with a low payroll or suck with a high payroll. Looks like they picked the latter. Doesn't matter to me, because they belong in the cellar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BwareDWare94 723 Posted July 13, 2013 (edited) I'm not a fan of Matt Stafford because I don't think he'll ever work on his mechanics (gee, Donovan, doesn't that sound familiar?), but when you have a QB in town who can drop 40,000 yards and potentially 30 and maybe even 40 TDs like 2011, you gotta sign the son of a bitch, and today's market is today's market. McNabb is just bitter. Romo's better than McNabb was already, and Stafford will be in the end, and I think Donovan knows that. Edited July 13, 2013 by BwareDWare94 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted July 13, 2013 The question is though... Are they bringing Stafford back just because he has been able to stat pad in an offensive scheme that asks him to throw more times than any other QB in the HISTORY of the league? Don't get me wrong, I think Matt is a solid maybe slightly above average type QB but that doesn't mean I am going to throw another 40 million guaranteed at you. He is going to need multiple season of putting up numbers like he did in 2011, and try to avoid garbage dump stat padding seasons like 2012 to even remotely justify this contract. It would also be nice if they could consistently win games and get into the playoffs. Heck, maybe even win a playoff game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted July 13, 2013 The question is though... Are they bringing Stafford back just because he has been able to stat pad in an offensive scheme that asks him to throw more times than any other QB in the HISTORY of the league? Don't get me wrong, I think Matt is a solid maybe slightly above average type QB but that doesn't mean I am going to throw another 40 million guaranteed at you. He is going to need multiple season of putting up numbers like he did in 2011, and try to avoid garbage dump stat padding seasons like 2012 to even remotely justify this contract. It would also be nice if they could consistently win games and get into the playoffs. Heck, maybe even win a playoff game. I think the Lions understand two ultimatums: retaining a quarterback who doesn't suck costs big money, and Stafford is the best quarterback they've had in a long time. Considering his gigantic pre-rookie cap contract that DMac mentioned, they had no choice but to dish out the big dollars to keep him in town. At least they were smart enough to limit the length of the contract so they won't be handicapped forever if Stafford goes down the drain. It's somewhat similar to the Ravens' situation with Joe Flacco. The scenario of overpaying for a non-elite (and possibly medicore) quarterback is a bad one, but the scenario of trying to win without a competitive quarterback at all is worse. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted July 13, 2013 I think the Lions understand two ultimatums: retaining a quarterback who doesn't suck costs big money, and Stafford is the best quarterback they've had in a long time. Considering his gigantic pre-rookie cap contract that DMac mentioned, they had no choice but to dish out the big dollars to keep him in town. At least they were smart enough to limit the length of the contract so they won't be handicapped forever if Stafford goes down the drain. It's somewhat similar to the Ravens' situation with Joe Flacco. The scenario of overpaying for a non-elite (and possibly medicore) quarterback is a bad one, but the scenario of trying to win without a competitive quarterback at all is worse. Definitely true in regards to the length. Nice point there. I also really love looking at Flacco's contract details because he will never see half of the money he signed for -- not without a massive restructure of the deal anyway. The Ravens got off with a large guaranteed chunk of the contract, but gave themselves an easy out a couple years down the road to either cut him or pay him significantly less. At least the Lions were straight forward with Stafford. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BwareDWare94 723 Posted July 13, 2013 Detroit's offense is one of the dumbest schemes I've ever seen. As soon as a good defense is pinned against it, it struggles to produce. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted July 13, 2013 Detroit's offense is one of the dumbest schemes I've ever seen. As soon as a good defense is pinned against it, it struggles to produce. It's not like the scheme is overly complicated, either. You just need the capable players on defense and you can smother Detroit enough to come away with the victory 9x out of 10. Granted, not everybody has those capable players, but with the NFC just getting better and better, Detroit is going to need to adapt to survive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch 874 Posted July 13, 2013 Detroit's offense is one of the dumbest schemes I've ever seen. As soon as a good defense is pinned against it, it struggles to produce. You mean as soon as Stafford just throwing to Calvin Johnson isn't effective enough to win the game, they struggle to win? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241 Posted July 13, 2013 2012 season was really strange though. Not saying that he wasn't bad... Because he was pretty bad, awful at times. But ESPN had a number that said Stafford's receivers were tackled inside the 5 yard line, 23 times, which was by far the highest in the league. It was on the NFC North blog. Granted he also threw way more then anyone else so that number is probably inflated, but still that's a lot. A 2.3 INT% makes me happy, and we had a lot of receivers go down as the season progressed. The season was just full of questionable stuff. I still have a lot of hope in Stafford, but if he continues to look like he did in the rainy game against GB, I'll be a sad panda. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241 Posted July 13, 2013 You mean as soon as Stafford just throwing to Calvin Johnson isn't effective enough to win the game, they struggle to win? ...Or having no balance and having to throw the ball 50 times a game isn't an effective way to win a game... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch 874 Posted July 13, 2013 ...Or having no balance and having to throw the ball 50 times a game isn't an effective way to win a game... I know man. Just having some fun 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted July 13, 2013 Well, it's not like Stafford or the Lions actually tried getting the ball to anyone but Calvin Johnson. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AL_Royalty 489 Posted July 13, 2013 McNabb is just salty as fuck these days. He's all pissy everytime a QB gets a contract bigger than his was. Sorry Donovan. You played in an era where where QBs didn't get 20 million a year. Also, It's not Stafford's fault that he doesn't have a killer defense to fall back on and win games for his balls-in-the-dirt throwing ass. Oops that was you. Fuck off McNabb. No one cared while you were in the league, and no one cares now. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch 874 Posted July 13, 2013 McNabb is just salty as fuck these days. He's all pissy everytime a QB gets a contract bigger than his was. Sorry Donovan. You played in an era where where QBs didn't get 20 million a year. Also, It's not Stafford's fault that he doesn't have a killer defense to fall back on and win games for his balls-in-the-dirt throwing ass. Oops that was you. Fuck off McNabb. No one cared while you were in the league, and no one cares now. This ^. +1 when it's off cooldown. Mcnabb is one whiny bitch man.. I swear. He's so insecure and has always felt like he deserves more recognition then he got. Now since he's an analyst, he's been bitter and condescending talking down on players when all he did was choke on his dick in every big game of his life. I appreciated Mcnabb for the success* he brought to our franchise but I never liked him. He always came off as a whiny, soft, insecure wuss to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theMileHighGuy 656 Posted July 13, 2013 First the RG3 stuff, now this, the sooner McNabb realizes he's not in the game anymore the better. His baseless tirades get old quick. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch 874 Posted July 13, 2013 First the RG3 stuff, now this, the sooner McNabb realizes he's not in the game anymore the better. His baseless tirades get old quick. Exactly. I remember him saying RG3 in Washington would never work (most likely because HE didn't work in Washington). Then RG3 has an amazing rookie season that Mcnabb has barely emulated throughout his entire career and now he has advice for RG3. Get the fuck outta here Mcnabb Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
