Analyst’s Take: Matthew Stafford’s Postseason Play Still a Question Mark

Analyst’s Take: Matthew Stafford’s Postseason Play Still a Question Mark

Former Detroit QB an upgrade, but has to prove it in the playoffs

ERIC D. WILLIAMS
UPDATED:JUN 7, 2021

Brian Baldinger, an analyst for the NFL Network, believes Matthew Stafford is an upgrade over Jared Goff at the quarterback position for the Los Angeles Rams.

Stafford’s strong arm and downfield accuracy allows him to create more explosive plays in head coach Sean McVay’s offense.

“These guys with strong arms, it’s not like they are out there to show it off, but they feel they can thread the ball through the eye of a needle from 30 yards away,” Baldinger said. “They are just wired that way.”

While Stafford will assuredly make his plays and post big numbers during the regular season, there’s still a question about his postseason success, having gone 0-3 and never winning a playoff game during his 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions.

And for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, Baldinger says that’s something to watch for in the upcoming year.

“We don’t know what Matt’s going to be like if they get to the postseason,” Baldinger said. “Does he have big-game genes? You don’t know until they’re there. It’s a different level. I live in Philly and Donovan McNabb was a great regular-season quarterback, but not particularly great in the postseason and in the Super Bowl he was awful.

“So, you don’t know how these guys are going to play -- if they are going to play tight, or if they are going to play loose. You just don’t really know, and they’ve got to go through it.”

While how Stafford plays in the postseason remains to be season, he likely will take the easy check downs, unlike Goff failed to do at times as Baldinger points out in the video below.


While busy preparing for the upcoming NFL season, Baldinger also is working with CoachTube.com, a portal that provides coaching courses for a variety of sports.

Baldinger has several football coaching and evaluation videos on CoachTube, including an offensive line series with legendary coach Bob Wylie as well as several positional breakdowns as part of his football coaching course.

While his postseason play is a concern, Baldinger said Stafford has two things in Los Angeles he did not have in Detroit -- a top-ranked defense and a running game.


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[www.si.com]