Don Drysdale
If there is one Detroit Lion who absolutely deserves a Pro Bowl selection, it’s cornerback Darius Slay. With seven interceptions and 20 passes defended, Slay leads the entire National Football League in both categories as he has made good on his nickname of “Big Play.”
After leading all NFC cornerbacks in the fan vote, Slay was passed in the final week by Xavier Rhodes of the Minnesota Vikings. Despite finishing second, Slay is likely to get a Pro Bowl nod as the players and coaches will likely give him their vote.
http://gty.im/873349388
But one Lions player who is getting very little love (at least from the fans) for his performance in 2017 is quarterback Matthew Stafford. In fact, when the final fan vote was tallied, Stafford did not even finish among the top 10 quarterbacks in the league.
When Slay found out the news, his reaction was absolute perfection.
"That shit is crazy. Shit be so crazy." — Darius Slay, on Matthew Stafford not being among the top 10 QBs in Pro Bowl voting
— kyle meinke (@kmeinke) December 18, 2017
Prior to the start of the 2017 campaign, Stafford became the highest paid player in NFL history when he agreed to a 5-year deal which will pay him an average of $27 per season.
In 14 games this season, Stafford has led the Lions to an 8-6 record while throwing for 3,920 yards. He has completed 66.3% of his passes while throwing 25 touchdowns and just nine interceptions all while being sacked more than any quarterback in the league not named Jacoby Brissett.
Matthew Stafford:
Accuracy: 6th
Yards: 3rd
Yards/attempt: 7th
TDs: 5th
Rating: 6th
Deep ball QB rating: 1stAnd he's done it while being sacked more than everyone except Jacoby Brissett, plus a running game that averages the fewest yards per attempt.
— kyle meinke (@kmeinke) December 18, 2017
On Monday, Kyle Meinke of MLive posed an interesting question on Twitter. “Is there a contender more reliant on one player than Detroit is with Matthew Stafford.”
Is there a contender more reliant on one player than Detroit is with Matthew Stafford? https://t.co/MikEp00gii
— kyle meinke (@kmeinke) December 18, 2017
Other than Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks, it is VERY tough to argue that any one player in the NFL is as important to his team as Matthew Stafford is to the Lions.
The fans let Stafford down when it comes to Pro Bowl love, it will be interesting to see how he finishes in the coaches and players vote.
NFL Pro Bowl rosters will be announced on Tuesday after the fan vote, player vote, and coaches vote are combined.
2 Comments