The Facts: The maturation of Stafford has been evident this offseason. Off the field, the ninth-year quarterback became a first-time father with the birth of his twin daughters. On the field, in an attempt to take the next step as a player and leader, Stafford sought out the help of an offseason quarterback coach for the first time in his career. "I put a ton of work in," Stafford said Saturday of his offseason work. "Did some extra stuff maybe I hadn't done in the past. Put some work in with some people that I feel like I'm going to benefit from."
Diehards Line:
Stafford declined to give details on who he worked with or what they focused on, other than to say those workouts took place in California, but he feels he’ll benefit from the sessions. "I'm pleased with the progress," head coach Jim Caldwell said of Stafford. "He's moving forward still and I still believe that you just have not seen the best of him yet. He's still heading in that direction." With 4,327 passing yards in 2016, Stafford joined Peyton Manning as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards in six of a player’s first eight seasons. Stafford completed 65.3 percent of his passes with 24 touchdowns and a career-low 10 interceptions (in full season), and was named a Pro Bowl alternate. But as Caldwell pointed out Saturday, there’s always room for improvement, and Stafford took the initiative this offseason to seek out a different perspective to try and help him take the next step and become one of the elite quarterbacks in this league. It's certainly worth noting.