Matthew Stafford is not having as strong of a 2020 season as anyone hoped. The veteran QB has shown a decline in completion percentage, yards per attempt, air yards per attempt and an uptick in interceptions from his past two seasons in offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell’s system in Detroit.
Could it be an injury that is causing some of the issues? Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield believes it could be. Schofield, a former college QB and an expert at mechanics, doesn’t like what he’s seeing from Stafford’s throwing motion.
From this week’s Touchdown Wire podcast with Doug Farrar, Schofield offered this assessment,
“I’m starting to wonder if there’s an injury problem yet again. He’s had two successive seasons with a back injury, and it seems like upper body rotation and release point are off right now. Whenever I see that, especially with a quarterback with a back injury history, that’s where my mind goes first.”
Schofield notes the tangible decline and change in Stafford’s throwing motion and mechanics since the Week 7 comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons.
“When you look at the comeback against the Atlanta Falcons, for example. He was hindered on those throws, and the body rotation seemed okay. But in the weeks since, it’s been off.”
Schofield does note that it’s just his take from afar and “I hope I’m dead wrong.”
You can listen to the full breakdown on the podcast here. The Stafford discussion begins at around the 13-minute mark.
