Notes: Jay Cutler calls Matthew Stafford underrated, says he’ll ‘blow it up’ in LA

Some Stafford recognition from a former rival… now that he’s moved on, of course. 

Yet another divisional rival (well, former) is using one word often used when referring to former Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford — underrated.

(I almost polled the POD gang whether they think readers are over Stafford news, but then I remembered I’m not, and never will be, so here you are—more Stafford-is-underrated talk.)

Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler told podcast Pardon My Take on Wednesday that Stafford is due for a big year.

“Stafford’s underrated — he’s got a cannon,” he said at first.

He was then asked whether Stafford is skilled enough to bring the Los Angeles Rams back to the Super Bowl this season.

“I think so. I think he’s going to blow it up. Coaching staff’s good. He’s gonna have some of the best play calling he’s ever had in his life, he’s still talented so he can throw it. He’s competitive.”

One of the podcast hosts, Big Cat, called Stafford a future Hall of Famer.

“If he plays for another, I don’t know, four or five years, he will be, like numbers-wise, up there with everyone else,” he said.

“One hundred percent,” Cutler replied. “His numbers are going to be ridiculous … If he doesn’t win a playoff game the rest of his career, is he in?”

They agreed that it’ll take a playoff win or Super Bowl to get his recognition on a national scale.

“He needs that moment that everyone starts to kind of wake up to him like oh, yeah, he actually has had a nice career in bad situations,” Big Cat said.

I say another divisional rival is going on the record with Stafford accolades because as you might recall, Aaron Rodgers gave Matthew a nod of respect on “The Pat McAfee Show” back in November 2020.

“I will say this, a guy who probably doesn’t get anywhere near the credit for doing shit like that all the time: He wears number nine and plays in Detroit,” Rodgers said. “That dude, what he does with the ball is impressive. It’s really really impressive. I know Dan Orlovsky will highlight some stuff from time to time, because they played together and they’re good friends—which he should—but that dude is throwing crazy no-lookers all the time, and he can throw from any arm angle.”

You can listen to the rest of the Cutler interview here — the Stafford talk is about an hour and 15 minutes in.

And onto the rest of your notes.

• An emotional piece from the Detroit Free Press’s Dave Birkett on former Lions safety Tommy Vaughn, who passed away last year at the age of 77 and was later determined to have advanced Stage 3 CTE. His daughter Kristal explains how the disease impacted Tommy and his family late into his life, and what the diagnosis after his death meant. “I just fell to my knees and started crying even more cause I truly understand my daddy even more.” (Subscription required.)

• Penei Sewell getting some love from the Pistons:

• Detroit has long been a city of innovation, from the Mustang to Motown Records to the three-colored stoplight. But the previous Lions regime clearly lost its way — or should I say the Patriot Way?” NFL.com’s Adam Rank offers a State of the Franchise look at all 32 teams, including just recently the Lions.

• CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin ranks 2021 NFL offseason trades. Matthew Stafford tops the list, there’s a Lions addition on there too you might be excited about.

• Defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh replied to a Lions fan on Twitter with a couple of choice words on his former team’s defensive issues. All Lions’ John Maakaron has that story.