Does Matthew Stafford Belong in the Hall of Fame?
An interesting conversation has emerged now that the Los Angeles Rams have won the Super Bowl.
Did Matthew Stafford lock up his spot in the Hall of Fame by winning a Super Bowl?
What People Are Saying
Some think so — Richard Sherman does not. He took to Twitter to explain why Stafford should not be voted into the Hall of Fame.
Sherman points out that Stafford has only been selected to 1 Pro Bowl (2014). Stafford has never been an All-Pro; he has never won an MVP award. He was the Comeback Player of the Year in 2011.
However, as Mike Sando points out, Stafford was on a bad Detriot Lions team for most of his career. Perhaps he would have an additional championship or two if he had played for some of those dominant Seattle Seahawks’ teams.
There are two arguments I’m hearing:
- Look at what Stafford has done up to this point. He’s not bad, but he’s not great. Because he isn’t great, he shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame.
- Look at what Stafford did despite being on some horrible Lions teams. If he continues to play well, he does deserve to get into the Hall of Fame.
Matthew Stafford’s Stats
Let’s think about Stafford's career stats compared with other quarterbacks. These stats come from Pro Football Reference.
- 12th All-Time in Career Passing Yards with 49,995.
- 12th All-Time in Career Passing Touchdowns with 323.
- 21st All-Time in Career Passer Rating with 91.1 (for comparison purposes, Brett Farve’s is 86.0 and Eli Manning’s is 84.1). Stafford is getting compared to Eli Manning a lot, but he is statistically a better quarterback.
- 4th All-Time in Career Passing Yards per Game with 274.7.
- 25th All-Time in Career Completion Percentage with 63.0%.
Matthew Stafford is 34 years old. If he can play four more seasons at a high level, he will finish inside the top six in most career passing categories.
What I Think About Matthew Stafford
If Matthew Stafford were to retire now, I don’t think he gets into the Hall of Fame.
If he continues to play well for another three or four seasons, I think he belongs in the Hall of Fame. To play as well as he has despite playing most of his career in Detriot is impressive.
While many people dismiss longevity, I do think it matters. Playing well over an extended period is not an easy thing to do.
If Stafford wins another Super Bowl before he retires, I think he becomes much easier to vote into the Hall of Fame.
What do you think? Should Matthew Stafford end up in the Hall of Fame?
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