The Matthew Stafford debacle

Tell me Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford somehow deserves to be the highest paid player in the entire NFL -- he is -- and I'll tell you you need to get into rehab. Obviously some sort of substance abuse has addled your mental faculties. Detroit's version of the Honolulu blue and silver kool-aid has been powerful addictive stuff for decades but, c'mon, this is ridiculous.

Let's look a little closer at how well the Motown Georgia Peach has fared over the years.

Now in his ninth season, Stafford's career stats aren't exactly stellar.

Yes, he's thrown for a ton of yards, but not so fast.

His career touchdown to interception ratio is a very modest 119 to 112. Not even two to one. Journeyman stuff.

He's been sacked 265 times for over 1700 yards. One can blame it on porous offensive lines, but maybe Matthew was hanging on to the ball a bit too long on passing downs. And it's not like he's mobile. The man has the foot speed and moves of your average -- well -- offensive tackle, without being able to absorb the pounding.

Early in his NFL career he rightfully earned the nickname "China Doll" because any serious contact seemed to shatter him. Fortunately, he seems to have progressed beyond that -- at least for now.

And then there's the wins and losses. Hey, if a QB is going to get most of the credit when his team prevails, it's only fair he shoulders most of the blame when they come up short.

That career stat is rather ugly as well. Matthew Stafford has a career mark of 54-61 during the regular seasons. Not even close to the ultimate mediocre .500.

Overall, he's 54-64, the other three losses having occurred during the rare playoff games the Lions have made it into over his tenure. In other words, over eight years, Stafford as led the Lions to a grand total of three playoff games -- all of which resulted in losses. Put bluntly, Stafford has been around for eight full seasons and has yet to win a single playoff game, let alone getting anywhere near sniffing a Super Bowl.

Many say Stafford has been the best quarterback the Lions have had since Bobby Layne. Perhaps. But Layne played mostly in the 1950's. You know, when the "I like Ike" presidential slogan was popular, nobody had a color TV, and the Andy Griffith Show with Aunt Bee, Barney Fife, Opie, and Gomer was yet to air. How long ago was THAT? And BTW, this was about the same time the Edsel made it's ill-fated debut. Also, BTW, another Ford product. The exploding gas tanks and tires would come later.

In the over sixty years plus ever since, it could be argued the Lions haven't had even a half way decent quarterback. So Stafford being the best of that bunch is hardly the stuff of greatness.

Oops. What's that? The Pittsburgh Steelers just handed the Lions their third loss in a row -- all at home?

And the Georgia Peach threw for over 400 yards but couldn't manage a single touchdown for the entire game, let alone win it? Somehow that sounds vaguely familiar.

So OK. Somebody tell me one more time how this guy came to be the highest paid player in the league.

The only thing that really matters is wins and losses, playoff runs, and getting to and winning a Super Bowl.

Lions fans will no doubt keep touting him as the greatest thing since wireless remotes, DVRs, and microwave popcorn. This is the kool-aid they continue to OD on. The poor devils just don't know any better.

But in all the football respects that define a player, Matthew Stafford has, and continues to be, a total bust.

Only in Detroit would they shower this guy with megabucks.

Kind of like the Detroit Pistons gave Andre (brick city) Drummond a max contract as well. This clown deserves to be paid like Lebron, Steph, and Kevin? Puh-leeze.

But that's a story for another day.