A rubric is a guideline that a professor uses to grade projects of work. The good thing about a rubric however is that it at least gives a guideline of what is to be expected for a high mark.
Hall of Fame is the highest mark one can receive in sports, but it has no rubric. Accolades can do so much for one athletes case but it can hurt another's case.
I am one of the few who believes that whenever Matthew Stafford chooses to retire he should become a Hall of Famer. The only question is will he be first ballot or not.
You can look at his resume and say oh well one pro bowl, no all pro no all decade team no mvp or Super Bowl mvp and right away say no. The thing with Stafford is you have to look beyond the awards.
Stafford has only been to one pro bowl but it is a popularity contest if we are being honest. Fans hold one-third of the vote needed to make the pro bowl. He was never all pro either but that could be biased towards certain players as well. Quarterbacks in the NFL are fighting for two All Pro spots. Since entering the league in 2009 his all pro competition has been Drew Brees, Peyton Manning Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers just to name a few.
Stafford is one of nine quarterbacks to throw for 5,000 yards in a season. In his 5,000 yard season he was not named all pro or a pro bowler. In that season he led the Lions to their first playoff matchup in 11 seasons. Eli Manning was named a pro bowler that year even though he was statically worse while holding the same regular season record (10-6). His lone set back was he was in Detroit and nobody besides Calvin Johnson received praise on those teams.
Since entering the league Stafford has had the most 4th quarter comebacks (31). The 2015 season he became the first player to throw at least 60% in every game and in 2016 he led the league in 4th quarter comebacks (8).
Stafford was the fastest quarterback to 20,000 to 40,000 passing yards and will be the fastest to 50,000. He is 12th in passing touchdowns,11th in passes completed and 3rd in passing yards a game amongst quarterbacks who have played at least five seasons.
Stafford has one championship same as Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Brett Farve. There are also five quarterbacks in the Hall of Fame with zero championships.
Stafford record as of now is 86-95-1 yes it is a losing, but not as bad as a lot would have assumed.
Voters and viewers alike will try to use his Detroit tenure as a definite no against him. Certain things in a person's career you have to look past, and surviving 12 years in Detroit should be a bonus.
Numbers should be in Stafford’s favor and I hope the voters are on his side as well when he retires.
