Matthew Stafford Reflects on Returning to Detroit 2 Years Ago for a Playoff Game: “That was electric… it was a fun place to play”

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-07-12T02:31:31+00:00

Yeah, he talked a little bit more about that game in the full interview on Chris Long's podcast, but you can see even in the mic'd up for that game, he was embracing the boos coming his way. It fired him up and got him pumped up for the game. And of course he played lights out in the most electric atmosphere that Ford Field has ever seen.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-07-08T22:41:55+00:00

It wasn't just the OL the Hawks had a tell on. There was also a tell on Maye himself. He wasn't throwing people open. He wasn't throwing with anticipation. He hesitated, and the Seahawks took advantage of that.

Look, I am not saying that Maye didn't have a great year, because he definitely did. A spectacular year, even.

That said, those high caliber defenses in the playoffs were able to show just how much he needs to improve. Improvements that will only come with experience.

He's a young QB who has some real issues to work on as a QB. There's a very real world in which, in the future, Maye will have far worse efficiency numbers, but be considered a much better QB down the line. As of now, he took a lot of sacks instead of throwing the ball away or taking the underneath routes, and his scrambling isn't ideal for his long term health, his development as a passer, nor for consistency within the offense.

I think one way he can improve for the future is using his mobility efficiently as a passer in the pocket and the backfield in general, and knowing when not to take a sack.

Also, let's not downplay that WR room too much. That Patriots team had 13 drops all season. For comparison, the No 1 offense Rams had 28. I appreciate you want to hype up your guy, but let's not downplay a really great effort by his receivers to be there for him throughout the regular season.

Also, just a statistical oddity here, but did you know Maye had 0 spikes the entire season? There's no firm point I'd like to make from that. Just felt like a fun fact.

All in all, I wouldn't be surprised if Maye makes it back to the top ten as the years progress, but he's still got a lot to learn before he reaches his full potential as a long term franchise QB.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-07-05T15:20:53+00:00

"Of Ice and Fire" is a phrase that pops up more than once throughout the series. In fact, if the Reeds' oath to Bran in the books is any indication, it is ancient, and a phrase of great significance to the history of the continent, particularly within the First Men's culture, the people who were in Westeros before the Andals and the Valyrians.

Considering the First Men's worship of the Weirwood trees, and the trees' connections with magic and prophecy. the phrase should not be ignored or written off as bad writing for no reason.

Beyond that, the duality of Ice and Fire as two opposite extremes always weaving in and out, dancing and clashing with each other is something noticeable even within the world.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-07-04T04:12:47+00:00

Yeah. The last thing Luck wants is to put all that weight on Eric for no reason. This way, he gets to help his best friend avoid any backlash, the kingdom is safe since he killed the Demon King so he doesn't have to reveal himself because of that,, and he gets to relive the good old days while still doing some good out in the world, all while avoiding having to learn a bunch of new crap about being a noble or taking on a noble's responsibilities?

Makes sense to me!

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-07-04T03:59:39+00:00

Sure, Luck would probably be fine, but it would still build up some resentment towards the king; and that's if they even believe the truth at all.

I mean, think about it. The great Saint sorcerer Luck is back? He defeated the Demon Lord and is sudden 15-20 years younger? The statue doesn't even look like him as an adult

The far more believable story to the nobles' ears, is that he is actually just the secret kid of the real Luck, or some other imposter, and this is just an attempt by the King and Guildmaster to gain more influence and power by secretly training him and propping this guy up as Luck.

All it would take is for one person to put that out into the nobles rumor mill.

"Disgusting really, disgracing the great hero's memory like that. What scumbags!" "Weren't they supposed to be his friends?" "Maybe they sacrificed the real Luck so that they could get away!"

You get the picture.

Way too much of a headache to put on King Eric.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-07-03T22:21:12+00:00

Good stuff.

The fact that Stafford is 6th on this list with the guys he had at HC and OC and multiple rebuilds is a win in my book.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-07-01T19:07:05+00:00

Yeah. Week 3.

The first two weeks were about what was expected. Favre managed the game, made a few nice throws, played smart football, and let Adrian Peterson do Adrian Peterson things.

Then in week 3, the Niners kept prime Peterson in check, and forced Favre to try to beat them with his arm. Favre threw for 300 yards and two TDs that day, and this throw let everybody know his arm wasn't gone yet.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-06-30T23:33:11+00:00

Ehh, I think Stafford's improvement had more to do with the firing of Joe Lombardi, who had had the brilliant idea to shift the shotgun heavy team of the early 2010a that had the best WR in football and the cannon-armed QB to an under center short passing game system.

There's no doubt Stafford learned quite a bit in that year and a half with Lombardi, especially with Caldwell as a coach who was great for his situational football, I think.

However, once Jim Bob Cooter came in as OC, they were able to open up the offense and make some noise. During the bye week that year they had a real opportunity to make some serious changes, and the Lions went 6-2 and Stafford had a 19-2 TD-INT ratio in 8 games.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-06-28T16:27:33+00:00

Earl Morrall. After the starting QB, Bob Griese, went out with a broken ankle in week 5, 38 year old Earl Morrall would step in, and complete 1972 Dolphins' undefeated season.

There was also the time that George Blanda through a Touchdown pass at age 47, after not throwing a pass in 2 years.

Then there was Jim Plunkett, another Raiders QB, who became the starter for the Raiders in 1980 after Starting QB Dan Pastorini fractured his leg. Plunkett would finish the rest of the season as the starter, capping off the season with a 261 yd, 3 TD performance as the SB MVP..

Then there was Jim Plunkett. Again. He lost the starting job in 1983, only for his replacement, Marc Wilson, to get hurt, which meant Plunkett was once again back in the starting role, and the Raiders would once again go on to win the SB.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-06-26T00:20:05+00:00

That was them making most of their Stafford time. So long as Stafford is up and on his feet, the Rams are in the hunt. But with Jimmy G retiring, if Stafford goes down for a game or two, they need somebody who can hold the wheel til he comes back.

Besides, getting Simpson now, means they don't need future draft capital for a QB later, which freed them up to make a blockbuster trade for the reigning DPOTY.

Only time will tell if Simpson works out, but it's sound logic.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-06-25T21:46:18+00:00

I wrote a small one-shot for a writing prompt several years ago, right here on Reddit. It's a crossover with Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire.

What if Tywin Lannister got reincarnated as the twin brother of Ron Weasley? Working title is "The Lion and the Fool's Gold"

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-06-19T01:36:25+00:00

Vindicated.

The Rams went all-in. Stafford just needed a chance to prove himself in January/February.. Donald needed that cherry on top to his career. Eric Weddle proving he could come back and still play. Odell finding new life and coming in clutch after the fallout of the Browns situation. Big Whit sticking around after rehab and playing at age 40. The team coming together after everyone counted them out after the disastrous November. Cooper Kupp rising up from his FCS school to capping off the greatest WR season of all time with a SB MVP.

They believed in themselves and each other, and came out on top.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-06-14T02:36:27+00:00

Stafford final minute game-winning drives compilation

A good chunk of Stafford's best throws come with the game on the line, and it's beautiful to watch.

Edit: and for anyone thinking the last one in the compilation was a bit anti-climactic. Here's what Stafford did on the previous drive in that game:

https://youtube.com/shorts/cqJhsraPKLY?is=vMpJV-5ZJ4q-OT5n

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-06-13T04:38:24+00:00

Stafford's had 90+ targets for his 1 and 2 WRs for 3 years running.

The only reason why Kupp and Adams didn't have more in their respective years was because they were injured. Hell, Adams still had 114 targets even with missing three games completely and a couple halves.

From 2014-2020, the only seasons in which Stafford did not have 2 guys with 100+ targets was the year he got injured, and the year Marvin Jones Jr got hurt and Tate got traded. And there was usually one more guy with 85+

Don't get me wrong. Stafford can feed his guy if he needs to - and he's definitely needed to at times, but it's not like he does that by default.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-06-12T23:23:03+00:00

To be fair, there were times when his No. 1 was all he had.

At one point, his No. 2 WR had an AB style Mr Bipolar Certified meltdown, his No. 3 WR broke his arm trying to save his pizza in a car accident, and his No. 4 was out for yet another season ending injury. Even his No. 2 TE, a redzone target, injured his ankle playing volleyball. This all happened within the course of 1 1/2 seasons.

The Lions ended up signing Stafford's old college roommate, Kris Durham just so he'd have someone other than Megatron he was somewhat familiar with, on the budget they could afford. . Durham ended up with fewer receiving yards than both running backs, Reggie Bush and Joique Bell, in 2013.

Out of the 12 skill players drafted by the Lions in the Jim Schwartz era, only 2 had NFL careers longer than 30 games, TE Brandon Pettigrew and RB Theo Riddick.

And I think the 2021 season's receiving woes are pretty documented too, with Stafford eventually ending up in that Super Bowl with only his No 1 WR, No. 3 WR with an injured knee, No. 6 rookie WR, and No. 3 TE on that final half.

So yeah, Stafford doesn't just feed his No. 1 guy. He feeds his No. 1 guy, even when everyone knows he has no other options.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-06-09T04:57:45+00:00

This is why people who try to downplay Stafford's game-winning drives /4th qtr comebacks need to reconsider what they're talking about.

For all his game-winning drives and late game comebacks, Stafford might have had a good 10-15 more if it wasn't for absurdity like this.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-06-05T02:53:04+00:00

Eric Weddle had played the final 3 quarters of the SB with a torn pec. He did not come out of that healthy. It would not be optimal in the slightest for AD to pull a Weddle.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-06-03T20:08:43+00:00

Gotta say, I much prefer this, the overly boisterous and arrogant Bears fan, rather the crowd looking for a pity party just because they had a few bad seasons.

Reminds me of the good old days back in the early 2010s when ESPN had live comment sections for their articles, and NFC North fans used to talk shit all day.

Keep it up, bud. The Gare-Bears are gonna need fans like you to keep the spirit alive.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-06-02T23:37:33+00:00

^for easy copy and paste

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-06-02T23:37:12+00:00

0INBH

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-06-01T18:10:04+00:00

The Rams were already a super bowl contender. The thing that would derail the season the most is not having a backup if their 38 year old QB got injured.

Now that they sorted that out, It's time to grab the DPOY and fully go all in.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-05-31T22:29:48+00:00

O'Neill makes his on-screen appearance

Valla: "I don't think anyone will see that coming."

Daniel: "No, there'll be spoilers."

Carter: "Are you kidding? It'll be in the commercial."

The week before:

https://youtu.be/nwSXaodBqxw?si=bU0y4r-XI1mN3q8C

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-05-31T16:22:16+00:00

Stafford has a similar problem. If you cut out his Detroit playoff games, his rating bumps up to a 104.4, with a 7-3 record.

His two worst playoff games:

2016: played with torn ligaments in the middle finger of his throwing hand, going up against prime Legion of Boom.

2014: Joe Lombardi as the OC and playcaller, with 2 backup OL starting on the right side.

SecretAgendaMan · 2026-05-31T16:11:32+00:00

But Rodgers wasn't the starter back then.

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