Addition to the Sleeper Report: Matt Stafford - written by Tenny Stegman - July 12th, 2010

Matthew Stafford’s Profile at Pro-Football-Reference

These link to the industry's best IRs. These are the sites that Stegman goes to, in order, if/when he's obsessing about data on the status of an injury.

• Rotoworld IR (most up to date – the Cadillac of NFL injury reports)
• CBS Sports IR  (a close 2^nd)
• ESPN IR 
• Yahoo IR
• Fanball IR
• Foxsports IR
• The Huddle.com IR
• NFL.com IR  
• NFLInjury.com IR  (decent independent blog for injury data)

Here is a quick look at how QBs selected among the first 5 picks have fared over the last 10 or so years.   About a 50% bust-factor. 

The Lions have not won enough games for Stafford to have a twitter, but it looks like some fans put together a decent facebook page

Click here to follow FFArmory on twitter

Click here to become a fan of FFArmory on facebook

College Stats

Combine Results

Fast Layne

Quick, what do Matthew Stafford and Bobby Layne have in common?  No, they both haven't been acquitted of a drunk driving charge, and then thrown a party after the case was over (that was only Layne).  They both don't like to spoon with other guys (Stafford's all alone in that category).

But they both went to the same high school and have played (or in Stafford's case, will play) quarterback for the Detroit Lions. And the Lions are hoping that by the end of his time in Detroit, Stafford and Layne become as synonymous as Clinton and Lewinsky.

See, the Hall-of-Fame QB Layne led Detroit to back-to-back NFL championships in 1952 and '53. He was the QB for the 1^st half of the '57 season until he got hurt. That happened to be the last season he played for the Lions. It also was the last season they won an NFL championship. Legend has it that when he was traded, he cursed the Lions, saying they wouldn't win another title for 50 years (yes, there is even a website www.curseofbobbylayne.com). Well that 50 years is up (Layne's curse went out with a bang, as the Lions had a franchise worst 0-16 season last year), and Stafford could either be the next Layne, or the next Joey Harrington.

His Game

Stafford is the most NFL ready quarterback in the class of 2009. He started 34 games for the Bulldogs (which is 21 more than the next best QB in the '09 class, Mark Sanchez) and he is a drop-back passer with a quick delivery and tremendous arm strength. He is very competitive, a leader, and has never lost a bowl game.

The last one will be legacy at least in college ball. Against Michigan State in the 2009 Capital One Bowl, Stafford went 6-for-14 with an interception in the first half and his team trailed 6-3. He tried to force throws using his tremendous arm strength, and that got him into trouble. That is one of his most glaring weaknesses, in that he sometimes can get overconfident in his abilities. He also uncharacteristically missed a few open receivers and threw off his back foot.

But he came back in the 2^nd half and was more perfect than four feet of snow on a school day.  He went 14-for-17 and threw three TDs as he rallied his team for the victory in his final collegiate game. It was a tale of two halves for the quarterback, and he showed in the 2^nd half why he deserved to be the overall #1 pick.

2009 Fantasy Outlook

Stafford cannot do more damage in Detroit than has already been done.  The Lions didn't win a game last year and one of their quarterbacks even stepped out the back of the end zone for a safety!  They were more hapless than Harry and Marv from Home Alone.

The Lions overhauled their franchise from top down, but kept the valuable pieces- Kevin Smith and Calvin Johnson.  Other than that, expect a lot of new faces.  The five  QBs that did start for the Lions threw 18 TDs, and if Stafford does that, he'd rank 13^th based on 2008 QB TD rankings.    

Teams will continue to pound the ball against the defense, limiting Stafford's time on the field. The Lions ranked 31^st (for the record there are 32 teams in the NFL incase you've lived in a Pineapple under the sea since 1995) in time of possession last year, and that probably won't change much.

The Lions should and probably will take note of the Ravens and Falcons successes last season with rookie signal callers.  They were  1^st and 2^nd in rush attempts in '08 and both teams made the playoffs.  Kevin Smith is as versatile as they come.  One of the few every-down RBs in the league and he's only in his second year.  He can run in-between the tackles, break the corner, and has sure hands out of the backfield. 

Stafford (assuming he beats out Daunte Culpepper) is actually draft worthy late this season.  We point to the obvious - Matt Ryan - when we think of Stafford's potential.  He could be a low-end fantasy backup and plug-in guy - with upside.