Is Matthew Stafford a HOFer in Waiting?

  • To unlock all of features of Rams On Demand please take a brief moment to register. Registering is not only quick and easy, it also allows you access to additional features such as live chat, private messaging, and a host of other apps exclusive to Rams On Demand.
He was a starting QB for over 15 years.
It would make sense that those numbers are sizable.

He was a good QB.
I just don’t see him as an elite QB.
I don't either, overall.
But he was elite in one Super Bowl and beat an undefeated juggernaut in the other. One measure people talk about with the HOF is, "can you talk about that era without mentioning that player" and, you can't. Eli beat Brady twice. I think it's too big of a story, along with respectable overall stats, to get him in.
I mean, look at Aikman's numbers... Eli absolutely dwarfs those.. with only 2 more years playing.
 
I don't either, overall.
But he was elite in one Super Bowl and beat an undefeated juggernaut in the other. One measure people talk about with the HOF is, "can you talk about that era without mentioning that player" and, you can't. Eli beat Brady twice. I think it's too big of a story, along with respectable overall stats, to get him in.
I mean, look at Aikman's numbers... Eli absolutely dwarfs those.. with only 2 more years playing.
That's what I mentioned in the OP, that The Story is extremely important and Eli has it. Unfortunately Jim Plunkett, does not.
 
  • High Five
Reactions: Pupped
I don't either, overall.
But he was elite in one Super Bowl and beat an undefeated juggernaut in the other. One measure people talk about with the HOF is, "can you talk about that era without mentioning that player" and, you can't. Eli beat Brady twice. I think it's too big of a story, along with respectable overall stats, to get him in.
I mean, look at Aikman's numbers... Eli absolutely dwarfs those.. with only 2 more years playing.
Aikmans passing numbers are fairly pedestrian in todays NFL.

Eli’s stats may be enough to get him in, but he was never a guy that other teams feared IMO
 
Yes he is in my opinion. I can't wait to see him with this what I believe to be an improved team this season.
 
He needs to continue to put up stats for me to put him in the Hall. The Super Bowl helps, but another would easily cement my decision.

Also, Holt and S-Jax absolutely need to make it, and it’s ridiculous that they already haven’t (Devin Hester?! Serious-fucking-ly?!).
 
The HOF lost all credibility with me when they snubbed Roman Gabriel his entire post-career life. And before somebody tells me the reason is he didn't win a SB, there are about 30 members who didn't, including several QBs.
 
  • Cheers
Reactions: Mackeyser
That's what I mentioned in the OP, that The Story is extremely important and Eli has it. Unfortunately Jim Plunkett, does not.

The story of Plunket is a west coast thing before universal media coverage. He was scapegoated by the 9ers, his career left for dead.
He went to the raiders and was told he wasn’t gonna be the guy, just insurance.

I know he started in Boston as a cheatriot, but he came out of Stanford as a heisman trophy winner. He was home grown in San Jose—a native son in some measure. Perhaps if all of this had occurred in New York and he had an established name going in, he might be wearing a gold jacket today.
 
Not to mention Lamar Jackson with his two MVPs that will certainly make leapfrog Stafford

In what world could Lamar Jackson be seen as a better qb than Stafford? That guy blows.

There's more to being a qb than running. I don't care what his stats say, the eye test tells me he's useless when the pressure is really on and his team needs him to make a play with his arm.

.
 
In what world could Lamar Jackson be seen as a better qb than Stafford? That guy blows.

There's more to being a qb than running. I don't care what his stats say, the eye test tells me he's useless when the pressure is really on and his team needs him to make a play with his arm.

.
I absolutely agree.

Lamar is great in the regular season because the Ravens are so dominant in most phases that when they play other lesser teams - they will destroy them.

Lamar is only good when he can run around making plays.

Keep him in the pocket and he sucks.

And in the playoffs, there is usually a team that can keep him in the pocket.

The Buffalo Bills were one of those teams and he played absolutely shitty against them a couple years ago.
 
  • Thread Winner
  • Like
Reactions: kurtfaulk and Loyal
I absolutely agree.

Lamar is great in the regular season because the Ravens are so dominant in most phases that when they play other lesser teams - they will destroy them.

Lamar is only good when he can run around making plays.

Keep him in the pocket and he sucks.

And in the playoffs, there is usually a team that can keep him in the pocket.

The Buffalo Bills were one of those teams and he played absolutely shitty against them a couple years ago.
Agreed
 
Also, Holt and S-Jax absolutely need to make it, and it’s ridiculous that they already haven’t
We all know how much you love him, but I don't think SJ has a snowballs chance in hades. Has he even been a nominee?
 
We all know how much you love him, but I don't think SJ has a snowballs chance in hades. Has he even been a nominee?

He was…only for Jahri - fucking - Evans to be chosen over him. It boggles my mind.

No, I don’t think S-Jax makes it in until he’s passed from the earth. It doesn’t mean that I find it any less insulting that lesser players like Evans and Hester make it over him.
 
It is currently popular for Lions fans to call Stafford ‘Sidearm Susie’, and they actually think Goff is the better QB. That’s a ridiculous opinion if you are a Rams fan and have watched every snap of both QBs under McVay’s system. But to Lions fans, all they remember is Stafford losing and Goff winning irrespective of their situations.

Unfortunately, this is how most of the world sees it too. Bad team= bad QB. It’s even possible that people are saying that Stafford is only the beneficiary of a great head coach and assemblage of players, and that is where his success has come from. But that’s because they don’t look at the details. That Super Bowl win was an unbelievable feat that I believe even the best of our generation could not have pulled off. How many did Brady win with one starting offensive weapon and a weak running game?

So, when considering Stafford’s Lions career, popular opinion creates a huge hurdle. He needs to burn an image into people’s brains of just how good he is. He needs 2-3 more good years to erase that stain from people’s minds.
 
We all know how much you love him, but I don't think SJ has a snowballs chance in hades. Has he even been a nominee?
Same thing that goes for Stafford, goes for Steven Jackson. Bad team bias kills his chances. The guy had to make his own holes his through the line his entire career. If he had been on a good team with a functionally blocking Oline he’d be a shoe in.
 
  • Thread Winner
Reactions: Memento
Same thing that goes for Stafford, goes for Steven Jackson. Bad team bias kills his chances. The guy had to make his own holes his through the line his entire career. If he had been on a good team with a functionally blocking Oline he’d be a shoe in.
I see what you are saying, but Stafford has a ring and far more career accolades to his credit....and is a far better QB than SJax was a RB (IMO).
 
Casual fans might think Goff is better and Detroit fans are hoping, but people who really follow football have got to know better. Goff doesn't even get us past TB after they comeback in the playoff game. He certainly doesn't make that throw to Kupp. Just look at that Miami game his last season with the Rams and you know that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Loyal and Hobgoblin
Stafford is already a Hall of Famer in my book because he's already top 10 in most QB categories, I believe. Throw in the unbelievable playoff run to the super bowl, the ridiculous no-look passes, the toughness, the brains, the comebacks, and the leadership and he is as good as anyone in the Hall right now.