Igrac na koga niko ne obraca paznju
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford became the fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach 40,000 passing yards. It's one of the greatest statistical achievements any athlete can have. And while Stafford's career is far more accomplished than you may know, it's also more complicated, too.
Stafford has thrown for more than 4,000 yards in seven of his last eight seasons and threw at least 20 touchdowns in all eight, yet he has not only failed to reach a Super Bowl, but he hasn't won a single playoff game.
Only 21 players have passed for at least 40,000 yards, and some of them are the biggest names in the history of the sport, including Johnny Unitas, Warren Moon, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Dan Marino, Joe Montana and John Elway. There are eight Hall of Famers in the 40K club, and Brady, Rodgers, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are sure to join them one day.
The 40,000-yard mark represents two of the greatest qualities of a professional football player: production and longevity. When Stafford passed the mark, one league official (not with the Lions) texted that he deserves more respect than he gets, and the fact that he can put up those numbers while playing for the Lions is remarkable.
Stafford is far from a perfect quarterback, but for a guy who hasn't missed a start since 2010 and has completed almost 63 percent of his passes over his career, a 68-78-1 mark as a starting QB indicates less about him than it does about the Lions. They have spent much of his career losing, losing some more and losing some more after that, too.
Now in his 11th season, Stafford has reached the playoffs only three times, and none of those stays were long.
In all of that time, Stafford has had the chance to throw to only one great wide receiver in Calvin Johnson, who retired early. He has never played with a great running back, offensive line or defense. That's a lot of not-great talent.
The receivers who've caught the most passes from Stafford other than Johnson are Golden Tate, Marvin Jones Jr., Brandon Pettigrew, Theo Riddick, Eric Ebron, Kenny Golladay, Nate Burleson, Joique Bell, Reggie Bush and Tony Scheffler. Not bad, but no one an opposing defensive coordinator is losing sleep over.
Митрополит Михаило у свом говору поводом 500. годишњице Косовске битке, молио је кнеза Лазара: „Да помогнете својим молитвама пред престолом Праведнога Бога, да се обнови Српска Царевина, да се уједини раскомадани народ српски“.
