A photographer took an ugly fall while trying to take a picture of Matthew Stafford during the Los Angeles Rams’ Super Bowl parade on Wednesday, and she unfortunately suffered a significant injury.
The photographer, Kelly Smiley, fell backwards off a high stage when she was looking down at her camera. The video of the incident went viral in large part because of Stafford’s reaction. Stafford appeared to say “oh my God” before immediately turning and walking away. The quarterback’s wife Kelly looked concerned and walked toward Smiley.
Smiley’s friend has started a GoFundMe page to help raise money to cover the photographer’s medical expenses. The fundraiser also says Smiley “severely damaged” her equipment and will need to replace it.
Stafford has faced some criticism for the way he reacted, but he had been drinking with his teammates all day. He wasn’t exactly in position to help a person who fell off a 10-foot stage, and he probably realized that.
Matthew Stafford says he still has not watched the end of the Super Bowl when the game was on the line.
Stafford threw a touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp with 1:25 left to put his Los Angeles Rams up 23-20 against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals got the ball back with a chance to tie or win the game.
Nerves were tight with the championship on the line, and Stafford said he decided not to watch. He says the reason is because he is superstitious.
“I’m kind of a guy if I’m sitting down and not watching and we’re playing good on defense, I’m going to keep doing that. We were playing good when I was not watching on defense. So I sat down, I looked at the ground and said ‘I know the defense will make a play,'” Stafford explained at the Rams’ championship parade on Wednesday.
Stafford threw for 283 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in the win. He went from being a guy some said couldn’t win in the postseason to winning the Super Bowl in his first season with the Rams.
Photo: Dec 13, 2021; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Matthew Stafford and his teammates continued to celebrate their Super Bowl win with a parade in Los Angeles on Wednesday, and Tom Brady had some very valuable advice for the Rams quarterback.
Stafford was shown at the start of the parade smoking a cigar and cracking open a Bud Light. Brady shared the video on Twitter and encouraged Stafford to “mix in a water.”
Brady, of course, was poking fun at himself for the way he went viral after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl last year. The seven-time champion got absolutely bundled during the Bucs’ boat parade. He was so intoxicated that he needed help disembarking (video here). Brady also tossed the Lombardi Trophy in a manner that could have resulted in disaster.
Stafford would have a tough time matching Brady’s performance, but Brady’s right — mixing in a water is always a good idea.
Matthew Stafford put himself in the Hall of Fame discussion by leading the Los Angeles Rams to a win in Super Bowl LVI, but Richard Sherman has already made it clear that he does not think the quarterback deserves a gold jacket. You can probably guess how Stafford’s wife feels Sherman’s opinion.
Sherman criticized Stafford’s Hall of Fame resume on Monday. He said the Hall of Fame bar seems “incredibly low now” and noted that Stafford has only made one Pro Bowl and has never been an All-Pro or league MVP.
Stafford’s wife, Kelly, responded to Sherman with a message on her Instagram story. She tagged Sherman in a clip of Stafford waving that is captioned “HI HATERS.”
Matthew Stafford’s wife Kelly had a response for Richard Sherman after Sherman said the Rams QB is not a Hall of Famer pic.twitter.com/IhmxRAU66C
Stafford currently ranks 12th all time with 49,995 passing yards. However, Sherman makes a good point that the quarterback only has one Pro Bowl appearance and has never really been viewed as one of the best players at his position. A lot of the stats Stafford has racked up are the result of playing in a passing era for a lot of terrible Detroit Lions teams.
Of course, Stafford is just 34. If he wins another Super Bowl with the Rams, his legacy would become that much stronger. His story is still being written.
It’s no surprise Kelly came to the defense of her husband so quickly. She is always outspoken in defending Matthew, which we were reminded of when she took a vicious shot at Ndamukong Suh earlier in the postseason.
Photo: Nov 17, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford with wife Kelly Stafford during the game between the Detroit Pistons and the Cleveland Cavaliers at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
One question that arose in some circles following Super Bowl LVI is whether Matthew Stafford is worthy of Pro Football Hall of Fame consideration.
Stafford has posted gaudy stats throughout his career, and on Sunday he added to his resume by leading the Los Angeles Rams to a Super Bowl title. This was enough for some to anoint him as worthy of a gold jacket, though plenty disagreed.
Among the dissenters was Richard Sherman, who criticized the debate in its entirety. Sherman contended that the bar for Hall of Fame consideration has become too low, and pointed out that Stafford has none of the accolades that typically define the best careers.
I’m gonna talk about it on the podcast but the HOF bar is incredibly low now. Like a participation trophy. No all decade team. No All pro. No MVP. 1 Pro bowl. Not even MVP of the SB. Never considered the best in any year he played. At least M. Ryan has an MVP https://t.co/TDQn8sJZfO
Sherman has a point. Stafford has never really been recognized as one of the best of his era at the quarterback position. Perhaps he was overlooked, or perhaps he simply hasn’t done enough to deserve it. Stafford has also gotten a bit lucky at times, even during the Rams’ title run.
On the other hand, Stafford could change some minds if he wins more titles. He just turned 34, so he could still have a few more good seasons in him.
You might not have been able to fully appreciate the degree of difficulty on Matthew Stafford’s clutch Super Bowl pass in real time. But that will likely change once you see the incredible angle that is going viral of the pass.
The Los Angeles Rams quarterback had a gutsy throw on 2nd-and-7 with the Rams trailing 20-16 in the final minutes of Super Bowl LVI. Stafford threw a no-look pass to Cooper Kupp that ended up going for 22 yards to jump-start the Rams’ scoring drive. They would find the end zone for the game-winning touchdown several plays later.
On Monday, the Rams’ official Twitter account shared an amazing angle of Stafford’s pass. In the video, you can see Stafford looking off Bengals safety Vonn Bell before throwing the other way to Kupp, catching Bell flat-footed.
It takes a lot of courage to throw a no-look pass like that in the final minutes of the Super Bowl with your team trailing and in need of a touchdown. But Stafford, in his 13th NFL season, definitely rose to the occasion.
Stafford was also playing with a heavily-taped ankle in the second half after suffering a nasty-looking injury on a sack. As such, his performance may ultimately go down as one of the gutsiest in Super Bowl history.
Matthew Stafford spent many years with a losing franchise before finally winning a Super Bowl, and there were many reasons that the Los Angeles Rams quarterback felt it was worth the wait. Being able to celebrate with all four of his daughters was surely among them.
Stafford’s family stole the show after the Rams’ 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night. The 34-year-old, his wife Kelly and the couple’s young daughters had a blast showering each other in the blue and gold confetti that fell after the final whistle.
Stafford spent 12 incredibly difficult seasons with the Detroit Lions before being traded to Los Angeles last offseason. He never complained about playing for a bad organization, and he continued to suit up even while battling significant injuries. Stafford fought through another nasty-looking injury in the Super Bowl, which was a reminder of why he is so highly respected around the NFL.
The moment Stafford shared with his daughters must have made all the pain that much more worthwhile.
Matthew Stafford appeared to suffer an ankle injury during the second half of the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Stafford was sacked on third down with the Los Angeles Rams trailing the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16 late in the third quarter. He immediately grabbed his left ankle, which got caught awkwardly underneath him as he was being dragged to the turf.
here's why Matthew Stafford's gonna play the second half with that heavy tape on his ankle pic.twitter.com/naYjKkvUO5
— Christian D'Andrea, 2021 PAC champion (@TrainIsland) February 14, 2022
Stafford was able to limp off the field, but he appeared to be in significant pain.
Stafford didn’t miss any time, which isn’t a surprise. He has a reputation for being one of the toughest players in the NFL and has played through numerous injuries. His mobility was almost certainly impacted afterword, though.
Detroit Lions fans will be cheering for Matthew Stafford, their longtime former quarterback, in the Super Bowl this year. But one local store may have taken it a step too far.
A video went viral on Friday of Pro Sports Zone, a store in Detroit, proudly selling “Detroit Rams” gear ahead of Super Bowl LVI. The two teams’ logos were spliced together on shirts with a Rams head on a Lions body.
The Lions faithful will definitely be happy for Stafford, who was their QB for the previous 12 seasons, if he manages to win a ring this season. But it is a stretch to say that they will suddenly be identifying as Rams fans this year, especially since Stafford is the only former Lion of note on the Rams.
Matthew Stafford’s journey from the bottom of the standings in Detroit to making the Super Bowl in Los Angeles is probably worthy of a Hollywood film. It turns out that Stafford has one particular actor in mind to portray him if the movie ever gets made.
During Super Bowl media day this week, the Los Angeles Rams quarterback was asked whom he would like to play him in a potential film about his life.
“I’ll say Leonardo DiCaprio,” he replied, via Brad Galli of WXYZ in Detroit. “He’s one of my favorites. Big-time actor. Special actor. I don’t know how he is at throwing the football. But modern technology, I’m sure we could make it look good.”
DiCaprio obviously has wide range and an extensive filmography. But he does not really have too much experience with sports movies, other than playing the lead role in “The Basketball Diaries” back in 1995.
