I have been following the Rams since well before the Hadl trade, which was a huge benefit to the Rams. There are several major differences in the Stafford trade. First of all, Stafford is about two years younger than Hadl at the time of the trade. Stafford's career TD-to-INT ratio is 282-to-144. Hadl's is 244-to-268. Hadl had some good seasons, including 1973 with the Rams, but he was up and down throughout his career. Stafford has produced at a high level throughout his career. The Packers were a mediocre team during that period. They weren't a QB short of being a contender. The QB position was holding the Rams back. With a good QB, they are now in a good position to get back to the Super Bowl. There were signs that Hadl was on the descent before the trade in 1974. Stafford still appears to be going strong in an era when many QBs, with greater protection by the rules, manage to be productive to their late 30s. The Packers gave up more in the Hadl trade than the Rams gave up in the Stafford trade. Another huge difference is that the Rams unloaded a major salary cap issue in this trade. There is a strong seller's market for a good QB right now. I commend the Rams for aggressively doing what they needed to do to get Stafford. The Rams had James Harris and Ron Jaworski on their roster in 1974. I doubt that the Packers had to give up nearly so much to get Hadl.
