Turns out Matthew Stafford does have a heart. Fooled me
Matthew Stafford is being hailed as a folk hero across the NFL for, of all things, a display of heart. I have to confess: As someone who saw Stafford’s first collegiate pass against Western Kentucky and his last against Michigan State, “heart” wasn’t the commodity I felt he had in abundance.
Arm strength, yes. That he threw for 422 yards against Cleveland on Sunday didn’t surprise me all that much — Joe Cox could throw for 442 yards against Cleveland, which hasn’t had a team in any sport do much of anything since the self-appointed mayor of that city threatened me on live TV — but the already-legendary endgame tableau did.
To recap: With Detroit down by six, Stafford runs around looking for a receiver and, after much hurly-burly, slings the ball into the end zone as time expires. (Did I mention he has a big arm?) Alas, it’s intercepted. But wait.
The Browns’ defensive backs, making the Falcons’ DBs look good by comparison, manage to interfere with two different Lions. The foul on Bryant Johnson by Hank Poteat is called. The one on Calvin Johnson, of whom you’ve heard, is not. No matter. It’s pass interference. Ball on the 1. Untimed down. (Game can’t end on a defensive penalty, unless it benefits Florida or Alabama, in which case it’s OK.) But wait.
Stafford has been flattened by defensive tackle C.J. Mosley and is, as they say, in a world of hurt. The Lions send backup quarterback Daunte Culpepper on the field while the medical staff tends to Stafford. But wait.
Cleveland coach Eric Mangini calls timeout to yell at the refs about the interference call — has there ever been a nickname less apt than ManGenius? — and Stafford re-inserts himself into the game. And throws the winning touchdown pass after the game has technically ended.
Miracle comeback. Five touchdown passes by a rookie, the fifth coming after a hit so violent Stafford was left with a bad left shoulder and might not be able to play Thursday, when the Lions stage their annual Thanksgiving gala. Guts, glory and a really big arm.
And I have to admit: The guy showed me something new. My take on Stafford at Georgia was that he was a great talent but not necessarily a leader. I’m not saying he didn’t want to win. (Clearly he did.) I’m just saying I never considered him a particularly inspirational player. He did his job but didn’t necessarily elevate his team, which was a key reason I wouldn’t have taken Stafford No. 1 overall were I the Lions.
Courtesy of YouTube, here’s the whole wild game in miniature. You’ll notice Calvin Johnson doing the usual nice work, and you’ll also notice Mohamed Massaquoi, who used to play with Stafford and now plays for Cleveland, catching a touchdown pass. But mostly you’ll notice Stafford, doing something I wouldn’t have expected him to do. Consider me re-educated.
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114 comments Add your comment
James
November 24th, 2009
9:01 am
UGA’s problem is not Cox. It is a defensive coordinator that thinks “bump and run” is a run defense and, just like Miami and FSU, too many 5++ double diamond recruits who think college is a necessary evil on the way to the NFL. Football is and will always be the ultimate team sport.
Big Ten Sleeper
November 24th, 2009
9:02 am
best qb to enter the league in 10 years
bigeasy830
November 24th, 2009
9:05 am
Stafford nor any QB could elevate a team coached by Ritch’s staff. But matbe you people forget the big run he made his freshman year in the GT game. I was in the stands for that game. UGA’s offense did not look ggod for most of the game but Stafford lead them to a score to win it late in that game. Stafford always had heart and the ability to make plays with his arm and his legs. The problem last year was not Stafford or Moreno, it was a soft defense and a undisciplined team. It is the coaches resposibilty to discipline his players not the QB. I guess Mark you are blaming Stafford for all the players being arrested and all the late hits and other boneheaded penalties the other undisciplines players got. Ohh Wait, thats the same problem the team is having this year with a much worst record after Stafford left, so I guess it’s stil lhis fault for UGA being 6-5 so far this year too. He should lead UGA from Detroit.
Come On Son
DP
November 24th, 2009
9:06 am
(Game can’t end on a defensive penalty, unless it benefits Florida or Alabama, in which case it’s OK.)
Mark, is that a weak attempt at humor or are you confused about the ending of the Alabama-Tennessee game? I thought you were smarter than Lane Kiffen.
Given how poorly coached and undisciplined Georgia has been in recent years, it’s possible that Matt Stafford had to go to an organization like the Detroit Lions to realize his potential.
Mark Bradley
November 24th, 2009
9:10 am
Answer: B., a weak attempt at humor.
SadDawg
November 24th, 2009
9:14 am
I’ve asked the question for about 3 years. What heights would Stafford have taken say, a Spurrier coached team? I also believe if you put Stafford at UF and Tebow at UGA, it’s Stafford who plays for the BCS titles and Tebow who spends a lot of time jogging off the field shaking his head. Stafford had heart at UGA, hence the many come-from-behind victories. The gameplans handed him vs quality coaching were usually outclassed, if not from the start, then certainly after halftime…
RIP_Uga7.net (Formerly FireUga7.net)
November 24th, 2009
9:16 am
Good Grief. Is Willy Martinez coaching the Lions DBs? Because MoMass et.al. are wide, wide, wide open for their touchdown catches against the Lions.
ARE you kidding me?
November 24th, 2009
9:20 am
How come Stafford has been mentioned as “graduated” and also “his senior year”? Did I miss something, thought he left early to go to the draft!
The Dogfighter Returns
November 24th, 2009
9:22 am
The lions played cleveland people. relax.
cherokee
November 24th, 2009
9:23 am
Mark we don’t care what you think. Get off the guys back.He is a damn good quarterback.
cherokee
November 24th, 2009
9:28 am
Techman………well said!!
Sautee Dawg
November 24th, 2009
9:33 am
Mark
Hope you didn’t spend too much of your time on this piece. If I were grading you would have recieved a (D).
Your continous Jabs at UGA, It’s players and coaches has not gone unnoticed.
Articles like these is why you can’t do any real interviews. How many times did you sit down and interview Matt Stafford while he was at UGA? None probably,
If your name and AJC weren’t on a name tag Stafford probably wouldn’t even recognize who you were.
Questioning whether a player has heart or not based on your own judgement of them is questionable!!
Mark you can do better than this.
President Obama
November 24th, 2009
9:40 am
Where my teleprompter AT ??
Angus
November 24th, 2009
9:41 am
One thing Dawgs & Jackets can agree on?
We wish neither Calvin nor Matt were in Detroit.
Bob
November 24th, 2009
9:52 am
You don’t think Stafford elevated his team at Georgia? He was burdened with one of the worst defenses in recent memory last year and a banged up offensive line that was different every single week. We still won 10 games, due in large part to his 3,500 yards and 25 TD passes. Matthew Stafford is Exhibit A on how a quarterback can elevate an otherwise mediocre team. If he had had the supporting cast that David Greene had he’d have won 2 BCS titles.
I’ve never understood all this crap about how he doesn’t have heart. He was thrown to the wolves as a true freshmen but never complained or made excuses. All he did was get better every single year he was here. If we had him this year we’d be 9-2 at worst right now. Doesn’t elevate a team? Good grief.
Bryan G.
November 24th, 2009
10:06 am
Mark,
I actually can be counted as one of the folks who thought that Staff didn’t reach his full potential at UGA. However, after seeing UGA without him and with almost the exact same defense this year, I have changed my mind. I think #7 and #24 covered up for a LOT of deficiencies at Georgia last year both on the field and on the sidelines.
Pete
November 24th, 2009
10:08 am
Mark, you’re aging badly and Jeff Schultz is a much better journalist than you.
Paul in RDU
November 24th, 2009
10:10 am
Big 10 Sleeper – Best QB to enter the league in 10 years? Really?
Better than Ben Roethlisberger? Drew Brees? Philip Rivers? Eli Manning?
Only time will tell
Spencer
November 24th, 2009
10:10 am
UGA 13
GT 56
It’s coming
Mark Bradley
November 24th, 2009
10:10 am
I hear you, Bryan G.
Rome Dawg
November 24th, 2009
10:13 am
Mark, your backhanded compliment sounds more like a cheap shot.
rob
November 24th, 2009
10:24 am
Rome Dawg, I must agree. Just because Georgia blew it last year, when Bradley predicted they would win it all, does not mean he should take cheap shots at a tough gritty kid playing hard in a city with a terrible track record. He gave a city with little to happy about something to make them smile Sunday, so don’t be a prick, Mr. Bradley.
AdMan
November 24th, 2009
10:29 am
Bradley…You are a pompous no talent sports writer (I was going to use journalist but thats way above your pay scale)I remember when you thought CMR was the best thing to ever happen to UGA…guess you just hop on what ever band wagon comes your way. The Tech fans love you..why don’t you go tell them how great they are. Just remember when UGA gets it straighten out…and they will …we don’t want you back on our side. Go have fun playing with the nerds they need all the friends they can get.
MAD-DONNA
November 24th, 2009
10:33 am
rob, he can’t help but be a prick! It’ a job requirement!
Bob
November 24th, 2009
10:43 am
Meanwhile, Nesbitt puts up big passing stats against Miss State, vandy, and Duke and Schultz declares Johnson the better quarterback coach than Richt. Schultz apparently has the attention span of a 5 year old and probably can’t remember his wife’s name. Is there a bigger pair of shameless bandwagon hacks in all of sports journalism than Schultz and Bradley? I submit that there is not. There’s a blog topic for everyone to discuss.
Don’t play dumb Tech fans. It wasn’t that long ago that the tables were turned. Don’t act like you don’t remember. Don’t act like these clowns won’t turn on you the second you stumble. They’ll build you up and tear you down. That’s what gets the mouses clicking on their stupid blogs. You’ve been warned.
sh
November 24th, 2009
10:53 am
Stafford always had “heart”. The big difference is that now he finally has coaches that have “football heart”
EnjoyFootball
November 24th, 2009
12:20 pm
Look at College football and tell me how many Redshirt freshman are out there that are 20 or 221 years old. Stafford is a first round draft choice at 21. He has a lot of upside
EnjoyFootball
November 24th, 2009
12:22 pm
Why mention Shultz at all. Your are talking about a guy who just found out about website media matters. That says it all.
Matthew Stafford Is A Man - Wirro
November 24th, 2009
12:47 pm
[...] Mark Bradley of the AJC admits he was taken aback by the brave performance of former Georgia Bulldog Matthew Stafford in an epic rally against Cleveland. …and for $1.75 I can take MARTA to Perimeter Mall or the Airport. while I do not dispute the toughness Stafford demonstrated on Sunday, let’s not go nominating him for the Medal of Honor just yet. and let us not forget, this is a man who will earn a guaranteed $40 million over the next 5 years, with the opportunity .. read more [...]
techie on the coast
November 24th, 2009
12:55 pm
I like men!
sh
November 24th, 2009
1:02 pm
I love em too techie!
SnuffySmith
November 24th, 2009
1:03 pm
I dont care how good Stafford is. Stafford will NEVER, EVER be anywhere close to as good as Matty “ICE” Ryan. Ice is about the BEST quarterback and the most intelligent quarterback to come into the league in decades. Many people look at ICE and consider him a bust like Ryan Leaf or JaMarcus Russell, but Matty will become one of the all-time greats when his playing days are over. I know this because I know that he took a team last year that was decimated in chaos and disarray (following the Mike Vick and Bobby Petrino debacles) and guided them to an impressive and steller 11-5 record, winning rookie of the year honors.Whats sad is that most fans have forgotten that. They keep judging and evaluating Ryan as if he is a rookie. Matt has 1 1/2 years NFL experience and he will be as good as Peyton Manning by next year. Ice has already developed a legendary standing in the national football league. ICE will never melt as long as he stays grounded.
gdawginkalamzoo
November 24th, 2009
2:04 pm
Yes Stafford had one whale of a game Sunday. Being a Lions fan it was a great game down to the last play. Stafford has always been a team leader and he had a few games at Georgia where he displayed it. Once he gets a solid O-line i front of him he will be even better, count on it. Even though the game was against Cleveland it still counts as a W. Part of his problem this year besides being a rookie is his injury which held him out of a few practices. Same with CJ. That’s why Stafford had that 5 INT game, everybody’s timing was off. Stafford will have a good career in Detroit. Better than any of the previous QB’s there.
drunk guy
November 24th, 2009
2:59 pm
As good as manning by next year? What chu drinkin? He may end up being a good qb- even a star- but he regressed this year-so far.
Diehard
November 24th, 2009
3:41 pm
That’s an asinine headline. Stafford is proving you all wrong. Good for him.
Clayton
November 24th, 2009
4:11 pm
You people are honesty bought by this gosh i hope he gets out to try to win a 2nd game of his uselss career this has shown me nothing
Clayton
November 24th, 2009
4:13 pm
i mean realy you sit there and say gosh he had a great game threw for 420 yards AGAINST THE WORST DEFENSE in the league point is he should have been out there thats his job not a volunteer
bigclaude
November 24th, 2009
4:21 pm
Can we ever have blog comments without someome proclaming that they are first!!! Who cares?????? And even is worse is those proclaming first who aren’t even first!!! What is the fascination with this? Someone please explain it to me because I don’t get it. These must be the same people who trample other fans in the stands to get their hands on a $3 t-shirt just because some mascot shot it out of a cannon.
Guys, are you gonna go crow to your buddies at the bar tonight, “that you were the first to comment on Mark Bradley’s blog?” Somehow I doubt it. Your buddies would probably tell you to GET A LIFE!!!
TurkWindom
November 24th, 2009
4:27 pm
Stafford is having the kind of career that David Greene should have had. David Greene was a CANT MISS prospect and one of the most prolific passers in college football history!! David Greene STILL holds the record for most touchdown passes in a college football career, with one more than Peyton Manning over a 4-year college career. Greene like Shockley came out at the WRONG TIMES, when nobody needed their services. Right now there are a ton of poor teams, like Tampa at 1-9, Detroit and the Cleveland Browns and several other pitiful franchises. If Greene or Shockley were coming out now they would feast at opportunities that are sitting there. Shockley should still get a job because its not that long ago that he was kicked off the Falcons team. Shock SHOULD shock us all and shock the world by landing a starting pro quarterback nfl job. It beats bagging groceries at Kroger or Publix.
Jroc
November 24th, 2009
5:29 pm
I am more interested in seeing your debut on Cleveland television than I am watching this again. Any REAL Georgia fan knew he had heart.
Bawney Fwank
November 24th, 2009
6:50 pm
I knew Stafford had “IT” when he was workin’out at the race track during the summer pressing empty beer kegs over his head to impress the women, while Tebow was back at Gainesville benchpressing 450lbs.
Seriously, Stafford has a wonderfully strong and accurate arm reminiscent of Grossman’s, but like Grossman, he continues to suck if there is much of a pass rush, because he presses and tries to “arm it” off his back foot instead of learning to throw it away.
grid_Fe
November 24th, 2009
7:15 pm
Hey DirtyDawg, playing every down doesn’t mean that the coaches don’t hold you back. With Mark Richt and his staff is always playing it safe, punting or kicking field goals. Rarely taking chances. That’s what I was talking about holding him back. Stafford is not a game manager. He’s a playmaker. At Georgia, the coaches philosophy with Stafford was throw the ball away or let’s punt instead of going for it. The Lions suck, but at least the coaches let Stafford try to make plays instead of playing it safe and holding him back.
Starring Peter Graves as Capt. Clarence Over
November 24th, 2009
9:49 pm
TurkWindom: If Shockley was so great, then why are teams not clamoring to sign him? He was on the practice squad-anybody could have signed him at that point.
College Footbal Fan
November 25th, 2009
1:07 am
We’ll he did beat the Rainbows in HIS and M.R.’s signature win.
And on a night when we black’s em out too. Man that was what being a Dawg was all about
College Footbal Fan
November 25th, 2009
1:11 am
M. S. was the man. The way he beat the Rainbows in his signature win was incredible. I remember when he beat Vandy too. OMG!
Recruitnik
November 25th, 2009
12:40 pm
Turns out Mark Bradley does have a brain. Fooled me.
Paul Johnson
November 25th, 2009
6:32 pm
Stafford’s always been tough. Don’t know why he didn’t go to the Longhorns. He would had a ring or two.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 25th, 2009
7:07 pm
A Dawg QB throwing TDs to two Tech receivers in that game… that’s a performance any college football fan in the state of Georgia can be proud to see.
Najeh Davenpoop
November 25th, 2009
7:09 pm
As far as Stafford’s NFL future, I always liked him as a pro prospect (a lot more than Bradley apparently), but he kinda started regressing after his early-season injury. Hopefully this game is the one that gets him back on track. The long bomb TD he threw to Calvin about halfway through that Youtube video, where he was bootlegging to his left and threw on the run, was a thing of beauty that maybe five NFL quarterbacks could have completed.
Brooking 56
November 25th, 2009
7:47 pm
If he has a heart what happened to his brain? The guy reeks of low IQ.