Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions have agreed to separate this off-season, something the 49ers can (should?) Matter a lot if they are looking for possible upgrades over Jimmy Garoppolo. An association between Stafford and San Francisco could ultimately benefit both parties.
Consider where Stafford’s career sits. He is 32 years old, a 12-year veteran, has a record of less than 0.500 and is 0-3 in the post-season. All of this comes despite the fact that he is already number 16 in passing. Stafford is a better player than his record and a lack of success after the season suggests that. While he wants to turn his career around while he still has the best years left, a team like the 49ers can help him shed some of the monkeys settled on his back.
A healthy version of the San Francisco 49ers is the best team Stafford has ever played, and head coach Kyle Shanahan will be the best attacking coach.
The impact Shanahan has had on a few other full-backs indicates a huge potential for Stafford within the 49ers offense.
This is not an apple-to-apple comparison, as the offensive weapons differ, but it’s worth noting what Matt Ryan’s numbers looked like before Shanahan’s arrival in Atlanta and how they compare to Stafford. s during 12 seasons. Since Stafford played 55 games more than Ryan did before Shanahan, we mostly keep the average.
Ryan, through his first seven seasons, was completing 64 percent of his throws for 256.1 yards per game, 7.2 yards per attempt, a touchdown rate of 4.5 percent and an interception rate of 2.4 percent. He achieved a pass rate of 91.1.
Stafford’s first twelve years are strikingly similar. He completed 62.6 percent of his passes for 273.4 yards per game and 7.2 yards per attempt. His touch rate is 4.5 percent and his interception rate is 2.3 percent. Stafford’s pass rate after 12 years is 89.9.
Both players also struggled in the national season. Stafford are 0-3 in their first three tries. Ryan was just 1-4 before Shanahan showed up and helped the Hawks get to the Super Bowl.
Ryan’s first season under Shanahan in 2015 was relatively similar to his first seven years, but his second season in that offense was his MVP year, where he scored 4,994 yards, a 7.1 TD rate, 1.3 INT rate and 9.3 yards. per attempt inflated. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that a player so talented will see Stafford see a similar increase in production, especially since he already has a 5,000-yard season on hand and a few TD seasons of more. as 30 plus.
One reason for silence may come when looking at Stafford’s career percentage .448. Ordinary backs usually do not lose more than half of their games, but it’s worth pointing out how bad the Lions were during that time.
Since setting up Stafford in 2009, the Lions have scored a defense in the top half of the league by scoring three times – the same number of times they have had a defense in the top half in yards.
Their offensive grids were not great either. While Stafford has benefited from some good weapons that succeed in succeeding, there has been no talk in Detroit yet. Since 2009, they have rushed one player in a season for 1,000 meters. That was in 2013 when 28-year-old Reggie Bush posted 1,006 hunting farms.
The 49ers have a bump to overcome on their own. They have not won a Super Bowl victory since the 1994 season, and their last trip to Super Bowl LIV fell partly short due to the quarterback game. Garoppolo was not the reason they lost, but it’s hard to imagine what the 49ers attack would look like with a quarterback stretching the field more effectively. Stafford will do so while providing some financial relief in a year in which the salary cap could be a problem for a talented San Francisco club that has to pay players.
The 49ers will use a quarterback that on paper is an upgrade from Garoppolo. Not to mention Stafford’s endurance was better during his 12 seasons. The only time he missed outside of his first two seasons was when he broke his legs and missed eight games in 2019.
Perhaps Shanahan Stafford does not consider enough of an upgrade from Garoppolo. If the 49ers believe there is going to be a better, healthier version of Garoppolo, or if the draft capital needed to get Stafford gets too high, they might be keeping up with him. However, given what we’ve seen as Matt Ryan in the offense of Shanahan, it’s hard to imagine that at least they will not kick the tires to see if they can get Stafford elevated to get themselves back on top of the NFL. not. mountain.