Matthew Stafford’s 25 Total TDs in 2014
1-10-MIA 49 (Q1, 4:06) 9-M.Stafford pass deep middle to 81-C.Johnson for 49 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Matthew Stafford likes to throw the ball deep. That statement should surprise no one; it’s easy when you have Calvin Johnson on your team. On this play, the Dolphins are running a Cover 3, but the safety in the middle of the field gets caught up trying to jump Tate’s route. So, it ends up just being a one-on-one between Johnson and Brent Grimes. Grimes can leap with the best of them, but he’s 8 inches shorter than Calvin and loses to the big receiver in this case.
3-4-MIA 11 (Q4, :36) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass short left to 25-T.Riddick for 11 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
This is another good example of Stafford’s improvisational skill. He escapes the collapsing pocket, and fits the ball in to Riddick, which he is able to do because the LB is turned around and in no position to make the play. Riddick also does a good job of turning his flat route into a wheel route.
3-7-CHI 25 (Q2, 13:01) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass deep left to 81-C.Johnson for 25 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
If Stafford didn’t have Calvin Johnson on his team, I might be talking about this in the interception article I have upcoming on Stafford. But, he does have Calvin Johnson on his team so that point is moot. Stafford does a great job standing in the pocket and firing the pass right before being hit. Johnson does a great job making the catch sandwiched between two defenders. Touchdown Lions.
1-6-CHI 6 (Q2, :28) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass short left to 81-C.Johnson for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
When Calvin has single coverage on a fade route, Stafford is going to throw the ball to him. Here that results in a TD.
2-6-TB 6 (Q1, 3:02) 9-M.Stafford pass short right to 81-C.Johnson for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Same as the previous play. I almost feel bad because this article is about Stafford yet I’m spending a lot of it talking up Calvin Johnson’s ability to make contested catches.
3-10-TB 10 (Q3, :20) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass short middle to 80-J.Fauria for 10 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
The Bucs’ MLB simply does not drop deep enough into coverage on this play. He should probably be following Fauria up the seam, but he stays in a shallower zone and Stafford slots the throw over his head for a TD pass.
1-5-TB 5 (Q4, 5:08) 9-M.Stafford pass short middle to 35-J.Bell for 5 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
On this play, Stafford is looking to throw to Johnson on a slant. However, the pass gets batted down at the line. Bell makes a heads-up play here and catches the batted pass, taking it in for the TD.
2-6-MIN 7 (Q2, 3:48) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass short left to 15-G.Tate for 7 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
For Stafford, this bubble screen to Tate is a simple throw. Tate does a good job of avoiding Greenway’s diving tackle and taking the ball into the endzone.
1-10-GB 20 (Q2, :29) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass deep middle to 81-C.Johnson for 20 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Johnson is lined up in the slot on this play, and he runs a seam route, which is designed to exploit the “seam” between the underneath coverage and safeties in a zone defense. Stafford makes a good throw, and Johnson holds on after the hit to catch another TD.
1-4-GB 4 (Q3, 7:39) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass short right to 81-C.Johnson for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
It’s yet another fade route to Johnson who makes another great catch for the TD.
2-3-GB 6 (Q4, 1:50) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford pass short middle to 25-T.Riddick for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
This play design is kind of like in hockey where an offensive player will position himself in front of the goalie to block his view. Ebron shields the Mike’s vision, and Stafford subsequently throws to Riddick, who ran a curl route close to the TE. Because Ebron was in the way, the defender couldn’t react quickly enough to make the stop.
2-10-DET 49 (Q1, 11:34) 9-M.Stafford pass deep middle to 15-G.Tate for 51 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Golden Tate is a good route runner, and you probably shouldn’t put a safety on him in coverage. The Cowboys learned this the hard way, as Barry Church slipped trying to keep up with Tate’s double move, and Tate was open for an easy catch. JJ Wilcox, who went to help cover Calvin deep, was not in position to make the tackle and Tate was able to reverse field and outrun everyone else to the endzone. Stafford did a great job of avoiding pressure on this play as well, and his stepping up in the pocket made the throw possible.
3-5-NYG 5 (Q3, 3:58) (Shotgun) 9-M.Stafford scrambles right tackle for 5 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
While Stafford isn’t the fastest QB in the NFL, he can still use his legs. Here, he sees nothing open downfield and also spies a big gap in the defense, so he takes off and is able to juke a defender and get into the endzone.
2-1-NYJ 1 (Q4, 15:00) 9-M.Stafford scrambles right end for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN.
This time, Stafford takes the ball on a rollout, but none of his receivers are open. He’s just barely able to outrun Leger Douzable into the endzone, and he gets the score.
Watching these plays, three aspects of Stafford’s game really jump to the forefront in my mind. The first is his rapport with his receivers (Johnson in particular) and ability to work with them outside of the structure of the play. There are a number of examples where the play breaks down but he is able to know where his receiver is going to go (usually deep) and deliver the ball to him, often in places where only the receiver can make a play on the ball. The second aspect is just how much he trusts Calvin Johnson to make plays, and that’s for good reason. The third thing is how much he likes to throw the ball deep. He can throw the deep ball well and he has the targets to do it, so on these TD passes you often see him bombing away at opposing defenses. He’s a gunslinger, and while the Lions’ offense wasn’t always great in 2014, Stafford and Co. were good enough to make the playoffs. The Lions hope to improve on that success in the 2015 season, and they’ll have their chance to soon enough.
