Stoney's He-Man Steeler Haters NFL Playoff Thread ... No Yinzers allowed

“But the one thing I don’t see, I just don’t see big time NFL throws. I don’t care what anybody says. I’ve watched a lot of him. He never takes it and rips it in there. And you can say what you want but, man, you’ve got to be able to crease that ball every once in a while. We see it every week in these games. Hey, he can develop it but even in the USC game, you know, he’s very careful with it, guides it a lot, Rich. That’s what I see. There’s not a lot of rotation on the ball and there’s not a tremendous amount of power. Not that you need to have that power arm. I’m not saying you’ve got to have that exclusively but, man, it sure helps when you can do that because there’s four or five plays a game it is about arm strength. And sometimes quarterbacks who don’t have it, they pass those plays up. Why? Well, they go, ‘I don’t know if I can make that throw,’ so they throw it short. That’s why I’m a little more reserved in my judgment than everybody else.”

--Phil Simms, in 2011, on Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck

 

This should be the most discouraging part for Detroit.

Stafford is through six years in the NFL. Usually if you haven't made a deep run by Year 5 as a starter, that's it. Body gets more beat up, a QB gets a little less hungry to get better. Go back over the last 30 years -- nearly every elite QB was in the SB (or damn close) in that sweet spot from age 27 to 29.

Stafford is almost 27. After watching this, does anything think he will lead the Lions to a Super Bowl? That he navigates past Aaron Rodgers and gets through Seattle or even Dallas or Philly in future years?

My issues are more with Caldwell because I've seen this from him before.

He is coaching an NFL game like it's 2001. Trying to "hang on" instead of taking risks.

I think when Stafford threw the tipped ball for a pick (up 17-7), it changed how Detroit was going to do business. Dallas botched it with a sack and a missed FG so it was still 17-7 but Caldwell must have slammed the breaks. Detroit played it safe, with runs and short passes.

If you have a lousy QB with a lead, do this. That's your best play.

Not when you can go for the kill shot when you have Stafford.

It's 2014. In the NFL, no game that is within 21 points with more than five minutes left in the 4th is truly decided. You don't get to just hang on unless you're up against Ryan Lindley. You have to take it.

Instead of coaching on a drive-by-drive basis depending on the score, when it was 17-7, Caldwell should have taken the macro view, "okay, Romo will get some yards late and probably some points and we can't count on him throwing interceptions. We're going to need 27, probably 31 points to win this game." Ten points, maybe fourteen.

He went from having a Top 10 QB (which I believe Stafford to be) to coaching like he was at Wake Forest back in 1995. Oooh... we have a three-point lead at Florida State. Let's just run the wishbone and punt and maybe our defense will hold.

I admit to being befuddled by Caldwell's hiring a year ago. He was OC with the Ravens for two years but has mostly been a QB or WR coach for most of his career.

He isn't the boorish on-field antagonist of Jim Schwartz, I get that. I see Caldwell as the 26-63 coach at Wake who blew the 2010 WC Game for Indy by calling an extra time out against the Jets, giving them time for the GW field goal.

When they hired Caldwell a year ago, did any of us say "that's a brilliant hire"? He is Tony Dungy's "Gayle King".

 

I think Stafford is in the "good enough" QB category, with guys like Flacco, Romo and Ryan Tannehill, who could win or have won a Super Bowl with the right system. However, when you have a guy like that, the margin of error is small - You need good protection, good skill position players, a good head coach, etc. Jim Caldwell ain't that guy. And like Romo, with Stafford, he's had so many poor coaches and rosters with obvious holes, it's hard for me to get a feel for what his true talent level is.

 

I think Flacco belongs above those other guys, simply because he has been the quarterback for a Super Bowl champion and he was a big reason they won it that year. He is erratic, but he has shown he can play his best when it matters the most. Stafford still has to prove that. Romo does as well.

 

Just saw another segment about the pass interference call being waved off in Dallas. Now I see why some have said it was also holding on the defense, because the linebacker did hold Pettigrew's jersey before the ball arrived, then made contact as the receiver was reaching for the ball.

 

Great points !

 

Let's be honest about this controversial call. Most people either think the Lions deserved this or just don't care because it's the Lions. This will all be forgotten about three plays into next week's games.

 

It will be forgotten because the NFL machine will work their magic on their broadcast partners and story will go away. In all my
years of watching The NFL that was the worst sequence ever for NFL officials when you add in the non call on Dex Bryant out on field
screaming at official. A HC would have gotten flagged for less standing on sideline.

Those officials completely lost control of that situation.

 

That's my feeling about Stafford, too. Though more than anything I'd add that you need a few good bounces.

 

Yeah, I saw quite a few people on Twitter saying this was Karma for Suh not being suspended.

 

As Howie Long said yesterday "Anyone who played the game 20 years ago and is critical of Suh is
being disingenuous."

 

This isn't 20 years ago.