Tag: Matthew Stafford (Page 18 of 20)

      Athlete Profile: Matthew Stafford

      March 12, 2009 /

      What should you know about Matthew Stafford? Well according to him, “I can dunk.” Stafford’s calm, amiable demeanor on and off the field has played an important part in his rise to the upper echelons of college football. Now that he’s on the verge of becoming, at the very least, a top 10 draft pick, those easy-going manners will be put to the test. Stafford should be able to take it though, because he’s certainly had to adapt before.

      Born in Tampa, Florida, Stafford moved to Dunwoody, Georgia while his father completed a graduate degree at none other than Matthew’s own future college: The University of Georgia. But before he ever got there, his father finished school and the whole family moved to Dallas.

      Getting uprooted again and bustled into the big city, however, certainly had its advantages.

      In an odd stroke of coincidence, Stafford was childhood friends and little league teammates with, Clayton Kershaw, one baseball’s rising star pitchers (currently with the Dodgers). Up until high school, Stafford was pulling a solid Bo Jackson by playing baseball (as a shortstop) and football. Prior to starting his senior year though, Stafford gave up baseball in order to focus on football. Focus for Stafford being something we lesser mortals can only dream of.

      During his senior year at Highland Park High, Stafford led the team to its first 15-0 record while compiling more than 4,000 yards passing, 38 touchdowns, and only six interceptions over the course of the season. Naturally, Stafford’s team went on to win the state championship in their division, which was the school’s first title in nearly 50 years. Awards immediately followed: The 2005 Parade Magazine All-America Team, the USA Today Pre-Season Super 25, and the 2005 EA Sports National Player of the Year.

      Stafford was definitely on the fast track from there.

      Following his senior season, he graduated early and enrolled in his father’s alma mater, the University of Georgia. While not initially the starting quarterback, he was awarded the role before his freshman year was out and struggled a little before finding his rhythm the following season. As a sophomore, anyone who hadn’t been paying attention to the new powerhouse in the SEC woke up and heard the name Stafford. By the end of the year, Stafford had chalked up an average of 194.1 passing yards per game, 19 TDs, and a couple of rushing touchdowns just for good measure.

      Stafford’s final year of collegiate sports started with the University of Georgia Bulldogs finding themselves atop both the AP and USA Today polls for the first time in the school’s history. While the Bulldogs were unable to follow through on the consensus prediction, Stafford still had a stellar season, breaking his own records time and again. 2008 saw the star quarterback first throw for a then career-high 275 yards against Georgia Southern University. That performance was soon followed by 310 yards against the Volunteers, 376 against Kentucky, and 408 yards in a losing effort against Georgia Tech. Georgia went on to defeat Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl and Stafford was named the game’s MVP.

      Stafford’s stats do nothing to belie the fact that he is one of the great pocket passers in college football. While his ability to scramble has some room for improvement, he possesses reliable speed and can adapt when the play breaks. His long range passing, the cornerstone of his talent, helps make up for his faults as well, sending bullets in for first downs or bombs out to the end zone. Completing around 60 percent of his passers last year tells us of the accuracy of his artillery as well.

      After that great last season, sportswriters across the country began making predictions. What do you suppose would happen if Matthew Stafford dropped out and entered the draft? When would he be selected? It’d have to be #1 right? The rumor mill was in full swing. What teams would be interested in a quarterback with good decision-making abilities and a freakishly powerful arm? Rather than finish his degree, upon completion of his junior year Stafford opted to find out. Stafford’s been all over TV lately, getting asked the same questions over and over again, being told barely amusing anecdotes in the 10 minute preamble to the recitation of his own personal FAQ, and trying his best to be excited about whatever team it seems is interested in him at the time without possibly offending the others that might be his new best friend come April.

      Whether or not Stafford becomes the next mega-star quarterback in the NFL remains to be see. It could certainly be true. Besides, even if the fickle luck of the NFL changes on him, he made not have a degree to fall back on, but he can still dunk.

      Latest on Stafford

      The Lions, having the first pick in this year’s draft, are the favorites to get Stafford. He has even publicly stated his favorable opinion of working with the team from the ground up. However, recent comments by Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz indicate a distinct possibility that the Lions will be looking to reconstruct their team from the offensive and defensive lines first, rather than placing all their aspirations on a star quarterback. The scouting combine last week has done nothing to dissuade that opinion either, though nothing is as of yet confirmed.

      Career

      Matthew Stafford Bio at Georgiadogs.com
      Matthew Stafford Bio at Georgiadogs.com has season and career stats.

      News and Commentary

      ’09 NFL Draft: Top 10 QB Prospects
      Matthew Stafford named one of the top 10 QB prospects by Sports Illustrated.

      Stafford Named To Davey O’Brien Award Watch List
      Stafford Named Semifinalist For 2008 O’Brien Quarterback Award

      Stafford nominated for the award for best quarterback of 2008.

      UGA Sports Player of the Week – Matthew Stafford

      Matthew Stafford named player of the week for 8/31/08.

      Stafford Says

      On becoming a Detroit Lion
      “I’d love to be a part of something like that. I’m a competitive guy and love a challenge, and that would definitely be a fun situation for me.”

      Sources and links:

      About.com
      Online Athens Blogs
      Wikipedia

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Don Banks Mock Draft 3.0

      March 12, 2009 /

      SI.com’s Don Banks has the Lions taking Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith with the first overall pick in April’s draft.

      1. Lions – Jason Smith, Baylor
      With six weeks and two days remaining before the draft, I’m still not buying that the Lions are going to take their $30 million-plus gamble on Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, a junior who looks like anything but a sure thing. I reserve the right to read the tea leaves differently at some point, but the Lions’ smart play to me would be to play it safe at No. 1 with either Smith or linebacker Aaron Curry, and then explore getting a quarterback like Kansas State’s Josh Freeman with a slight trade down from No. 20, or with their second-rounder at 33.

      2. Rams – Eugene Monroe, Virginia
      No Orlando Pace in Rams horns any more should make this the biggest no-brainer of the top five. St. Louis badly needs an offensive tackle, and it picked the right year to be in that position.

      3. Chiefs – Aaron Curry, Wake Forest
      The Chiefs can’t possibly miss in this slot. If the Lions go quarterback at the top, K.C. will have their pick between Curry, the draft’s cleanest prospect, and one of the top two offensive tackles. If Detroit goes for Curry, the Chiefs still get the tackle they need in either Smith or Monroe. And if the Lions and Rams both go offensive tackle, Kansas City winds up with the defensive play-maker it lacks in Curry.

      4. Seahawks – B.J. Raji, Boston College
      This is how free agency and the draft are supposed to work in tandem. The Seahawks signed T.J. Houshmandzadeh this month, so they don’t have to take Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree any more. And they added ex-Packers defensive tackle Colin Cole to replace the departed Rocky Bernard, so Raji isn’t a must-have either. But quality defensive tackles are always prized and much tougher to find than starting receivers.

      5. Browns – Everette Brown, Florida State
      This is much higher than I had Brown going in my last mock (to Miami at No. 25), but Cleveland’s need is for an edge pass-rusher at outside linebacker in the 3-4 defense, and there just aren’t that many choices to be had in that department. Plenty of mocks have the Browns going for Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo, but I hear the Browns don’t like him all that much.

      That’s a pretty solid top 5, although Brown is a major reach at No. 5. Still, as Banks notes, the Browns are in desperate need of a pass rusher and need one, if not two starting linebackers for next season.

      Banks has Michael Crabtree falling to the Raiders at No. 7, which certainly makes sense given Al Davis’s desire to land the flashy pick. Banks also has Mark Sanchez (No. 8 to Jacksonville) being selected before Matthew Stafford (No. 10 to San Francisco), which is sure a trend that other mock drafts will surely to follow if they haven’t already. (If you’re looking for my two cents, I don’t think there’s any way Sanchez goes ahead of Stafford, but crazier things have happened.)


      Click here to check out the rest of Banks’ mock      .

      College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

      Lions meet with Baylor OT Jason Smith

      March 10, 2009 /

      The Lions recently sat down and talked with Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith.

      Jason SmithThe Lions took a break from free-agent visits Monday to meet with college prospect Jason Smith, an offensive tackle from Baylor who’s among a handful of players vying to be the No. 1 overall selection in April’s draft.

      Smith arrived in Detroit on Sunday and spent most of Monday in Allen Park meeting with front-office officials and coaches.

      Teams are limited to 30 private visits at their own facilities before the draft. So the Lions, with five picks among the first 82, including two first-rounders, figure to host other top candidates the coming weeks. Most draft prospects have yet to take part in pro-day workouts at their college campuses.

      Despite popular belief, if a team meets with a prospect before the draft it usually is a red flag that they won’t be selecting that player. Obviously that’s not the case every single time, but teams usually don’t like to tip their hand as to which prospects they have their eyes on, so they’ll avoid those players like the plague.

      But the Lions realistically have their eye on their players: Smith, Matthew Stafford and Aaron Curry. Now, there could be a sleeper prospect that people are overlooking (Eugene Monroe maybe?), but those appear to be the three players that Detroit is focusing on. That said, it would behoove them to meet with all of those players since they have the No. 1 pick. Nobody selects in front of them in the first round, so it doesn’t make sense to try and throw other teams off. Plus, the Lions have said this entire time that they will negotiate a deal with the player that they will select before the draft. So who knows – maybe Smith is the pick.

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Lions to take Matthew Stafford with first pick?

      March 9, 2009 /

      Lions’ beat writer Nicholas J. Cotsonika believes that Detroit will select Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford with the first overall pick in April’s draft.

      I don’t think they have settled on Stafford by any means. He didn’t throw at the NFL scouting combine, and he hasn’t had his pro day yet. It also might come down to contract talks. The Lions want to get something done before the draft and plan to negotiate with at least three top candidates.

      But I think Stafford could fit and the Lions are set up to take him. He has a big arm to get the ball to the Lions’ best player, wide receiver Calvin Johnson. He is compared to Jay Cutler. And for whom did the Lions just try to trade? Jay Cutler. Stafford could sit behind Daunte Culpepper for a while. He doesn’t have to be thrown into the fire the way Joey Harrington was.

      When I talk to writers from other cities, they are amazed that Curry or a left tackle would be a more popular choice than Stafford for the first pick. They assume the fans would go ga-ga over a quarterback. They don’t understand how Lions fans have been burned by huge draft misses at offensive skill positions.

      Still, I’m amazed at how afraid some Lions fans are of taking a quarterback. You have to learn from the past, but you can’t let past failures paralyze you. The Lions can’t force it. They can’t just take a quarterback for the sake of taking a quarterback. But I don’t think they will.

      This is a long-term project, and quarterback is a good place to start when you’re starting from scratch. I think if they think Stafford has what it takes to lead this franchise to a championship, they will take him and groom him as carefully as they can.

      One thing everyone has to remember is that the Lions have to believe that Stafford (specifically) is their long-term fix at quarterback. It’s not about taking a quarterback because you need a quarterback or taking an offensive lineman because you need an offensive lineman. That player obviously has to fit a team’s scheme, philosophy and overall makeup. That may seem like an obvious statement, but the more and more I listen to fans and some media members, you’d think that drafting a quarterback is as easy as shopping for toilet paper.

      Curry will give Stafford a run at the No. 1 pick – I guarantee you. He’s arguably the best overall player in the draft, can play multiple linebacker positions and seems to have a good head on his shoulders. He would be a great new defensive toy for new head coach Jim Schwartz.

      NFL

      Lions to cut Kitna – are they making room for Stafford?

      February 20, 2009 /

      Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com reports that the Lions are likely to release quarterback Jon Kitna soon.

      Jon KitnaIt has been confirmed that Kitna will be owed a $1 million roster bonus shortly after the opening of free agency on Feb. 27. The source said the team, barring any unforeseen circumstances, has already decided not to pay the bonus and will release Kitna.

      The Lions are still in the process of trying to find a trade partner for Kitna and that’s why Schwartz kept up appearances today when asked about him. Still, Schwartz indicated there could be some changes at the quarterback position.

      If — when? — Kitna is released, the Lions will have three quarterbacks on the roster — Daunte Culpepper, Drew Stanton and Drew Henson. Lions president Tom Lewand said on Tuesday the Lions are still trying to work out a deal to sign Dan Orlovsky, who becomes an unrestricted free agent Feb. 27.

      It’s highly doubtful the Lions find a suitor to take Kitna, so he’ll likely be cut over the next week or so. That means Detroit essentially plans on Culpepper being the starter and Stanton as a developmental backup. I highly doubt Henson makes it to the 2009 season on the roster.

      This is just speculation, but cutting Kitna could mean that the Lions are preparing to select Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford with the first overall pick in the draft. Stafford, who has the best physical tools in the draft outside of Kansas State’s Josh Freeman, could sit behind Culpepper for a season until the offensive line is rebuilt. I know some Lion fans would love to see the team draft one of the top offensive tackles (Virginia’s Eugene Monroe or Baylor’s Jason Smith) or Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry, but if new GM Martin Mayhew sees a franchise-type signal caller in Stafford, he’ll likely bite.

      NFL, NFL Draft, Rumors & Gossip

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