In 61 career starts with the Lions, Matthew Stafford has thrown for 17,457 yards. (David Bergman/SI)
In the past, we have heard talking heads knock some of the top quarterbacks in the league for a number of reasons. One of the most controversial discussions came when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was compared to prison inmates because of his tattoos, and Hall of Famer Mike Ditka also knocked a player for his appearance.
When discussing Detroit Lions signal-caller Matthew Stafford, Ditka criticized the quarterback because he wears his hat backwards.
Instead of getting worked up about it, Stafford plans on laughing things off and throwing some friendly verbal jabs of his own back in Ditka’s direction.
“I’ll bust his [chops] a little bit,” Stafford said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “No point [talking to Ditka about it], I don’t think. I don’t really pay attention to it.”
Ditka, meanwhile, doesn’t want the fact that he doesn’t like the way Stafford wears his cap to make others think he doesn’t respect him as a player because there is no doubt that he does.
“Great talent,” Ditka said. “Love him. I love the things he does. He’s smart, he knows what he’s doing with the ball, he’s capable of getting it out in a hurry and he does a lot of good things. And he’s a hell of a football player, don’t get me wrong. Somebody asked me my opinion, and my opinion is put the hat on straight, that’s all.”
