The praise for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford continues to pour in from all over the football world
The 37-year-old is playing at both an MVP and Hall-of-Fame level in his 17th NFL season and has the Rams at 6-2 heading into Week 10. Stafford also leads the NFL with 21 touchdowns and has thrown just two interceptions in eight games.
Bill Belichick, perhaps the greatest coach in NFL history, joined the ranks of pundits lauding Stafford’s career. The former New England Patriots coach knows a thing or two about quarterbacks, too, after he won all six of his Super Bowls with future Hall-of-Fame star Tom Brady throughout their 20-year tenure together.
While Stafford doesn’t have the rings or the same stats as Brady, Belichick called Stafford’s career “reminiscent” of Brady’s on a recent episode of the “Let’s Go!” podcast.
I don’t want to put him in a class with Tom, but it’s reminiscent of Brady, where it keeps getting better and better and better,” Belichick said. “He’s gotten smarter. He understands more. He knows how to use his weapons maybe just a split second quicker. He’s harder to fool.”
Later in the episode, Stafford joined the podcast for his reaction to Belichick’s Brady comparison.
“I appreciate those words from Coach,” Stafford said. “This quarterback position is something where you’re learning every single day on the job. And if you’re not, you’re not going to make it.
While the comparison is nice, what Brady accomplished from after he turned 37 until his retirement at age 45 was nothing short of magnificent. From 2014 to 2022, Brady made six Pro Bowls, went 103-39, won three Super Bowls and threw for 40,065 passing yards and 290 touchdowns.
So when Belichick says he doesn’t want to put Stafford’s late-career numbers “in a class with Brady,” it makes sense. Stafford has a long way to go before he can be compared that closely to Brady. But the point still stands that even as Stafford has gotten older, his play has only gotten better as he’s understood how to play the position better with a great group of coaches and players around him in L.A.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Bill Belichick says Matthew Stafford’s late career is ‘reminiscent’ of Tom Brady
Reporting by Tyler Greenawalt, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
