The Super Bowl is a great dream for every player on the NFL, and many athletes won't be able to touch that glory for the rest of their lives, especially for quarterbacks. When you are the soul of a team, it means that it is difficult for you to join a good team like a technical player, and you can only rely on your own efforts. Matthew Stafford was lucky that after 12 years of waiting, he finally waited for an opportunity, and it took him only one year to make a qualitative leap forward, leading the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl.
How was the champion born?
Stafford was born in Tampa, Florida, in 1988, but for family reasons, he spent the same year in Georgia and then moved to Texas. From high school onwards, Stafford showed great talent, and he was considered the best high school quarterback in the country at that time. And the guy who kicked him off, many baseball fans are also very familiar with it - Dodgers ace pitcher Corretton Kershaw. In 2005, he led the team to 15 victories, winning state championships and winning major awards. At that time, some people predicted that he would become the future champion.
When it came to the college game, Stafford chose to join the University of Georgia, and in the freshman season, due to the injury of the main quarterback, Stafford was given the opportunity to take the right place and helped the team achieve a record of 9 wins and 4 losses. By his sophomore season, Stafford had become a core member of the team, leading the team to defeat the University of Alabama and the University of Florida to achieve an 11-2 record. In the third year, Stafford passed 3459 yards and 25 touchdowns, although the team only had 9 wins and 3 losses, but he was still optimistic about directly participating in the draft.
Save the team at the first signs
However, leading a bad team is the fate of Yuanxiu, and Stafford's task is particularly difficult, because he is facing the worst team in history last season' 0-16 losses. The Detroit Lions, the team that set a new league record for a season loss and still shares that brown still shares that record is simply terrible, except for a very talented team to take over, and he later became Stafford's most reliable partner - Calvin Johnson.
Fortunately, Stafford missed the worst two seasons, due to injury, he only played 13 games in two years, although facing the "glass physique" question, but Stafford got two years of the team's talent reserve period, you know that in 2010 the Lions used the leader to select the defensive interceptor N damkun Su. Two years of recuperation gave the Lions a 2011 comeback, with Stafford passing more than 5,000 yards in his first full season, becoming the fourth quarterback in history to achieve that feat. Also led the team to the playoffs, you know, this team was still a super bad team that couldn't win a game 3 years ago!
Is it so hard to win for the first time in the playoffs?
However, the first round of the playoffs was a hurdle that Stafford had never been able to cross, and the 2011 season was so strong that he reached the playoffs, but he lost to the saints who were also at the same time. The scramble in the North Side of the League of Nations was tantamount to licking blood, the division boss packer had long occupied the top position in the division, the Vikings were often a bit bright under the leadership of star running guard Adrian Peterson, and although the Bears were in decline at the time, veteran quarterback Jay Cutler launched a fierce attack to enough people to drink a pot. In such a division, Stafford led the young lions and could not keep the record stable.
In 2014, the Lions finally caught the opportunity to reach the playoffs again, but that year, they met the cowboys led by Tony Romo, who is now the gold medal commentator, and the two teams played brilliantly, and finally Stafford had to accept the harsh reality of 4 points. Ironically, the Cowboys were out of the National League semi-finals because Dez Bryant's touchdown was ruled to have failed to finish, and this rule is the infamous "Calvin Johnson rule". In 2016, the Lions, who were involved in the playoffs, had no way to fight back against the Seahawks, and a crisp defeat became Stafford's last playoff game for the Lions.
The team's lackluster strength has been questioned
Then, the male lion was just as we saw, "Guobei background board, Dragon Brother ATM". In 2017, there were still 9 wins and 7 losses in the account, but the team was dissatisfied with the status quo and chose to change the coach, and the arrival of Matt Patricia put the Lions on a steady slippery slope! In the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Stafford was able to play full attendance, and in the 2019 season, Stafford was removed from the starting line with an injury in the half, and the team only won 3 games. In the 2020 season, although he played some good games after his comeback, the team still only had 5 wins.
In the blink of an eye, Stafford is 32 years old, the Lions fired the bearded manager in the middle of the 2020 season, and the rumors that Stafford will leave the team are not far away. But the long-term downturn has made many people uninterested in him, and many even think that Stafford no longer has the peak level of 5,000 yard passes in a single season - he has been a bad team to be scrapped! This was what most people thought of him at the time.
Come to the ram to change his life against the sky
However, the Management of the Rams did not think so, and they paid For Gauff plus two future first-round picks in order to bring in Stafford, which far exceeded other competitors, especially the two future first-round picks made the Lions particularly excited, and they quickly confirmed the deal. This puts the Rams under intense pressure in the offseason, as Stafford is no longer young, and his two future first-round picks in order to trade him are tantamount to a big gamble, and the only way to win that bet is to win the Super Bowl.
But Stafford, who was used to seeing the wind and waves, naturally knew that this was a great opportunity for him! The Rams' configuration in all aspects, the strength of the defensive team, the weapon configuration of the offensive group, coupled with the richness of the head coach's tactical system, I can show my strengths here! So we saw a rather surprised but so familiar Stafford, fake running real pass, accurate reading, pocket pace, long pass arm strength are so good. The Rams also chose a more aggressive reinforcement strategy because of his wonderful performance, von Miller, Xiaobei, and the Rams formed the Cosmic Sheep Luxury Lineup after a gap of 3 years!
Two key battles show the big heart
Although they lost 5 games in the regular season, the overall toughness of the Rams has been recognized by many fans, and they also showed this toughness in the outer card round, taking the Cardinals 34-11 without bloodshed, the wonderful performance of the defensive group made the game spend early, and Stafford clocked in with only 202 yards. But he also knew that the hard battle was still to come; but to his surprise, this game was so hard! Facing defending champion Pirates, the Rams opened with full firepower and won the big score 27-3 early.
But who is Tom Brady? With 42 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Pirates stubbornly tied the score! And in the Rams' first attack, Stafford was tackled at the 24-yard line of his own half, causing the team to burn the last timeout! Continue to play or overtime? Once there is a interception or drop of the ball, the consequences are unimaginable. At the crucial moment, Stafford found his golden partner Cooper Karp, and two passes were pushed to the Pirates half-time 12-yard line, a 30-yard free-kick, and the position could not be better. Stafford dropped the ball to stop the watch, he had done all his work, and kicker Guy did not disappoint him!
The National League Final faced the 49ers, who lost twice in the regular season, Stafford did not trip on the same stone three times, and the team's offense was also quite iron, they believed that the 49ers offense would eventually lose power, and in the fourth quarter, they still believed in Stafford! Chase, level, lead! Although Stafford did not pass the ball, he led the team to a magnificent reversal through steady organizational advancement, and finally entered the coveted Super Bowl stage.
Super Bowl dedication passion reversal
The Super Bowl finally struck, and Stafford played quite steadily at the beginning of the game, but everything changed significantly after Bey Jr.'s injury, losing a strong catch point and Stafford's passing errors were increasing. And due to the lack of ability of the receiver, he sent the second interception of the game. The Rams' score was also falling behind quickly!
Sheep into the mouth of the tiger! The Rams look precarious, and they don't have many weapons to use, Robert Woods is reimbursed for the season, Sigbi is missing due to injury, and now That Bey is out, stafford has only Cap left in his arsenal! However, he firmly grasped this life-saving straw, and finally frequently completed the connection with Karp, a gear score 1 yard to advance, he almost used a one-yard arch to become the hero of the team, but after being defended, he steadily passed the ball to Karp, hiding his merit and fame!
The Rams eventually won the title, a reversal he's done in so many career games, but this time is especially different! This tragic champion has finally proved himself after 12 years, and this championship trophy is the biggest reward for his unremitting efforts and pursuit!
Congratulations! Stafford!