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Gonz writing for Deadspin these days?
Why did anyone think an ex-Lion would help?
Matthew Stafford was never going to fix himself, let alone the Rams
In some ways, NFL teams and fanbases can be a lot like that friend you have who makes terrible romantic choices. No matter how many times you explain to them that no, they can’t “fix” that person, or “save” them, they still try. And it always ends in tears when said romantic prospect turns out to be what they’ve always been. But you’re still there to watch them ugly cry into their IPA.
You can’t say the Rams and their fans didn’t think they couldn’t “save” Matthew Stafford when they gave up the boat to pry him out of Detroit. And it’s easy to think that every player who puts on the Honolulu Blue of the Lions needs saving. That if they’re given just the right care, shown the right love, shown what is possible outside of Ford Field, that they’ll unveil buried treasure.
But there’s a reason that Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson just up and retired instead of trying to go somewhere else, their souls broken by just being a Lion. There is no salvation. They can’t be good to anyone else. There is no partnership that will wash away the scars and psychoses. Best to just steal themselves away from everyone. No more heartache.
Sure, there are far worse places for the Rams to be than 7-4, two wins behind first-place Arizona. The inept Jaguars and struggling Seahawks are still on the schedule for L.A. And the NFC is still wide open. The Vikings are always capable of falling over into a trash can, kicking their legs cartoonishly in the air while upside down and blinded. So maybe 10 or 11 wins are still in the cards. Maybe a playoff berth. The rest of the NFC, beneath the division winners, seem intent on treating the wild-card spots like someone vomiting in the middle of a party.
But this is what Stafford is. It’s empty calories. The numbers always look good, because he always seems to find himself in the spot to have to “eff it, chuck it, FOOOBAWWWW” a lot. Sometimes he can do that just enough to author a comeback win, which erases anyone’s urge to ask why he found himself in that hole in the first place.
Sure, he got three playoff berths out of the Lions, which in Detroit is a Cortez Gold amount. Though he didn’t win any of them and only played well in one of them. And only won more than 10 games twice in 12 seasons. Sure, it was the Lions, and the conclusion was always that no one could carry them out of the morass. Just been hanging out in the wrong crowd, the next team says.
https://deadspin.com/why-did-anyone-...YW2l9MComv9gzo
Why did anyone think an ex-Lion would help?
Matthew Stafford was never going to fix himself, let alone the Rams
In some ways, NFL teams and fanbases can be a lot like that friend you have who makes terrible romantic choices. No matter how many times you explain to them that no, they can’t “fix” that person, or “save” them, they still try. And it always ends in tears when said romantic prospect turns out to be what they’ve always been. But you’re still there to watch them ugly cry into their IPA.
You can’t say the Rams and their fans didn’t think they couldn’t “save” Matthew Stafford when they gave up the boat to pry him out of Detroit. And it’s easy to think that every player who puts on the Honolulu Blue of the Lions needs saving. That if they’re given just the right care, shown the right love, shown what is possible outside of Ford Field, that they’ll unveil buried treasure.
But there’s a reason that Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson just up and retired instead of trying to go somewhere else, their souls broken by just being a Lion. There is no salvation. They can’t be good to anyone else. There is no partnership that will wash away the scars and psychoses. Best to just steal themselves away from everyone. No more heartache.
Sure, there are far worse places for the Rams to be than 7-4, two wins behind first-place Arizona. The inept Jaguars and struggling Seahawks are still on the schedule for L.A. And the NFC is still wide open. The Vikings are always capable of falling over into a trash can, kicking their legs cartoonishly in the air while upside down and blinded. So maybe 10 or 11 wins are still in the cards. Maybe a playoff berth. The rest of the NFC, beneath the division winners, seem intent on treating the wild-card spots like someone vomiting in the middle of a party.
But this is what Stafford is. It’s empty calories. The numbers always look good, because he always seems to find himself in the spot to have to “eff it, chuck it, FOOOBAWWWW” a lot. Sometimes he can do that just enough to author a comeback win, which erases anyone’s urge to ask why he found himself in that hole in the first place.
Sure, he got three playoff berths out of the Lions, which in Detroit is a Cortez Gold amount. Though he didn’t win any of them and only played well in one of them. And only won more than 10 games twice in 12 seasons. Sure, it was the Lions, and the conclusion was always that no one could carry them out of the morass. Just been hanging out in the wrong crowd, the next team says.
https://deadspin.com/why-did-anyone-...YW2l9MComv9gzo
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