BUFFALO, NY - DECEMBER 16: Matthew Stafford #9 of the Detroit Lions warms up before the start of their NFL game the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field on December 16, 2018 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

The natural boredom that comes with the absence of football brings out a lot of various lists from just about every sporting publication out here, hell, I’ll probably end up doing one myself, we still have 45 days until Detroit Lions football people! Which makes this ranking season, and if nothing else, you get a gauge of how a player is being perceived by the national pundits from year to year. Though buyer beware, it’s primarily based on their previous seasons’ performance.

Matthew Stafford is coming off his worst season in his ten-year career as a Detroit Lion. He’s getting zero benefit of the doubt that he’ll return to a previous form from national NFL analysts. In previous seasons you would typically find Detroit Lions quarterback Stafford dancing anywhere between 5 to 10 in most NFL QB rankings. This year… not quite. Here are some of the 2019 QB rankings as of July;

Now how exactly are the Lions supposed to get that ever so elusive playoff win this season if Stafford is going to be just an average, middle of the road, game manager? Short Answer: They won’t. So no matter whether you’re a Stafford hater or lover, if you’re a Lions fan, these are not the projections you wanted…but they’re the projections you should have expected.

After an obvious regression from the ten-year veteran in 2018, there’s only one way to go during the ranking season, down, because nothing you or the team has done since can be measured. So now, still the most crucial question is why the regression in 2018? Was Stafford really on the decline already at 30 years old?

As I’m sure you have now heard, Mike O’Hara from DetroitLions.com reported earlier this summer and we’ve written in the past, Matthew Stafford had played with a broken back in 2018;

“He is durable, but he does play with injuries. Turns out he had a broken back last year. Broken bones in his back.”

O’Hara was stating what was already pretty common knowledge around the NFL but never officially reported by any Lions representative. Though Stafford wasn’t listed on any injury report until after a week 13 loss to the Los Angeles Rams where he took a beating, he was pulled from the week one match-up verse the Jets after taking (2) violent blows to the chest.

After which, Stafford never looked even halfway right to me, throwing (4) INT’s, then proceeded to overthrow everybody in week 2. It didn’t look like the same Matthew Stafford we’d seen play before. It didn’t look like the gunslinger version Scott Linehan introduced us to or the game manager version Lombardi and Jim Bob molded him in to. It looked like something totally different; it looked like a below-average quarterback.

I’m sure there are other factors last year besides his health that Stafford had his worst season. From his own fault, front office, coaches, teammates, last year was in many ways a perfect storm of chaos that was never going to get off on the right foot it seemed. But ‘the 2018 season’ was the past, Matt Patricia’s culture shock is hopefully the past. Jim Bob Cooter and his predictability was the past, and Matthew Stafford’s broken back was the past. So today during the ranking season, the bottom line is…what you expect from Stafford moving forward?

If NFL players were stock, I’m buying Matthew Stafford. His perception is bottoming out compared to his talent, and it would only take a (singular) playoff win, and his stock would skyrocket. Locally the fans would glorify him more than we’ve seen since Barry Sanders. Nationally it would be a great story that everyone would eat up and all of a sudden all those record-breaking stats would finally have some validity to them. I’m looking into if Vegas handles these sort of bets after this article.

But how does Matthew Stafford do it? Just like he’s done it every other season not named ‘The 2018 Season’.

In 2018 according to Pro-Football-Reference.com Stafford’s QBR was 50.9, good for 27th in the NFL — In 2017 it was 65.3, 8th in the NFL — and in 2016 it was 66.5, 5th in the NFL. Not including ‘The 2018 Season’ Matthew Stafford has been a borderline elite quarterback in this league. In the 2016-2017 season, Stafford was a legit MVP candidate until a broken finger on his throwing hand occurred. Along with that awkward looking sling he sported, essentially ruined his and the Detroit Lions season.

And while Stafford has been playing at a high level in seasons not named ‘The 2018 Season’, his supporting staff hasn’t, which is why I think his stock is going to skyrocket under this regime. For the first time in Matthew Stafford’s 11 year career, his GM and coach are putting a team around him that is also equipped to make a playoff run. The most prominent upgrade for Stafford comes by way of his new offensive coordinator. Darrell Bevell, the most accomplished and in my opinion the best OC Stafford will have ever worked with.

Other noteworthy contributions that should tell you to put all your money on a Stafford bounce back is the offensive line. Though it hasn’t happened as quickly as we hoped, has been trending up since Bob Quinn took over as GM and put resource after resource into it.

A budding star in Kerryon Johnson that finally got the Detroit Lions over that disgusting five-year 100-yard game rushing drought. A totally revamped tight end room highlighted by first-round pick T.J. Hockenson and FA signing Jesse James. Add all that offense to a promising defense that came on as a top ten unit by the end of last season, and on paper, you have a recipe for success.

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Now can the former first overall pick lead his team to success and reclaim his respect with a bounce-back season? I’m buying it.