ENOUGH WITH THE COMPARISONS!
There were fourteen quarterbacks taken with the first overall pick in the draft since 1983. This includes names such as John Elway in 1983, Troy Aikman in 1989 and Drew Bledsoe in 1993 just to name a few. But there have only been two since the 1983 draft that have started all of the games during their rookie campaigns. Peyton Manning and David Carr. While all the players have started at some point during their rookie year except Carson Palmer, only these two have played them all. While David Carr’s career has not been the most productive and has made him a journeyman in the league. Peyton Manning has become one of the elite quarterback’s of his time. So how can analyst say that Matthew Stafford should not start his rookie year? I felt the need to dig into the number’s a little bit and just see how Peyton and David’s rookie seasons stack up. While Peyton completely out played Carr in every category from yards, (3,739 to 2,592) touchdowns (26 to 9) to passer rating (71.2 to 62.8). The Houston Texans with David Carr at Quarterback did win more games then Peyton’s Colts in their rookie seasons. Houston was also an expansion team that year.
With that being stated the point of interest to all the so-called experts has been the sack totals. One of the biggest complaints towards the Detroit Lions is that they are going to let Stafford get killed because of the weak line. Just a little fun fact here David Carr in his rookie year got sacked 76 times, Joey Harrington in Detroit during his four year career got sacked 77 times. Joey Harrington was not a great quarterback and did not have a great line but yet he made it four years with only one more sack then Carr in his rookie season. So again I think that making the comparison of Matthew Stafford and David Carr is very inaccurate. I am talking to you Trent Dilfer from “NFL live”.
Now I know that Detroit did give up 52 sacks last year but come on they had “FIVE” that’s right five different quarterback’s during the season. That would be tough for any team. Detroit did do a little remodeling of the O-line this year; of the 15 offensive linemen on the roster right now only 6 were on the team last year. The addition of Jon Jansen alone is going to help improve the line if only through leadership. The drafting of Brandon Pettigrew to give Stafford a short yardage outlet, along with his blocking ability makes it a possibility that this year’s line might not be as bad as predicted.
> Find Detroit Lions hats & Merchandise online through Pro Football Fans for all your team gear!
Now let’s look at the other side of the ball for a minute. The Lions gave up 6.4 yards per play last year and 22 points per game. Everyone knows that the Lions made some moves to get Julian Peterson and Larry Foote. But besides the great additions to the linebacker position, Detroit has made some moves on the front line and in the secondary. Adding Phillip Buchanon, Anthony Henry and Eric King in the DB positions. Grady Jackson up front and drafting Louis Delmas and Sammie Lee Hill should improve this defense. So what does this all mean? This year the lions might not be playing from behind the whole game. Which is going to help the Lions run the ball more on offense, decreasing the number of sacks. Making it a little easier on Matthew Stafford by controlling the clock.
When it comes to comparisons it is all about timing. I think that Matthew Stafford needs to play when he is ready to play. Any comparison will not make him a better or worse QB. The Detroit coaching staff and Stafford himself are the only ones that will know if he is ready or not. If every team knew exactly what kind of player they were getting in the draft, would Brady have fallen to the sixth round? The future is yet to be determined so let it play out and then make the comparisons when the season is over and the numbers are in. One last note David Carr is not Matthew Stafford!
By: Patrick Stone
ProFootball-fans.com Detroit Lions Correspondent