wv wrote:

“..Curl, a team source said, was particularly vocal in his assessment of Forbes. Position coaches leaned on Curl’s analysis and endorsement when speaking with the pro scouting department about whether to make the claim. Curl also picked Forbes up en route to his first practice on Wednesday..”

This bit was a little mysterious out of context. I couldn’t tell if that was Curl speaking negatively about Forbes while they were both with Washington, or Curl speaking positively of Forbes after Curl became a Ram. Turns out it’s the latter. As a Ram, Curl apparently beat the drum for the Rams signing Forbes.

As a skinny guy, in Washington they had doubts about Forbes’ physicality and playing the run. I always saw it as a confidence issue. Confidence issues are interesting with pro players. It can look like they just lack the physical talent. After Goff lost his confidence in 2020, there were fans and analysts who swore he was just not an NFL caliber qb. They couldn’t distinguish confidence issues from seeing him as a “just plain ole bust.” I think the same happened with Forbes.

On the other hand, Quinn actually encouraged Forbes when they released him.

from https://commanderswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/commanders/2024/12/02/washington-commanders-release-emmanuel-forbes-dan-quinn-why-nfl/76699281007/

Quinn then said that he told Forbes a change of scenery could do him good.

“And I had a chance to visit with him, and I explained to him sometimes that the change of scenery is good, and I’ve seen other players go to other clubs, and it turns out differently, and sometimes that’s a good thing. And I said that that can happen with you too. And so, I wanted to make sure he heard that from me, and there was even guys on his own team here that had started somewhere else as a first-round player and all of a sudden, just a different scenery and different shift. The new system can help. And so, we wanted to wish him best on this football journey wherever that goes from here.”

…
The primary knock on Forbes coming out of the draft was his slight frame and inability to tackle consistently. That showed up repeatedly, but to make matters worse for Forbes, he struggled in coverage. He was never the same after Eagles star A.J. Brown beat him for multiple touchdowns in Week 4 of his rookie season.

…Rivera’s disastrous coaching staff last season didn’t help Forbes; they ruined his confidence and benched him. Quinn and his staff had their work cut out trying to rebuild Forbes’ confidence while also trying to scheme around the concerns about his size.

…

Among other things, Washington this year ranks 27th in pressure percentage. Rams rank 10th. That could be a huge difference too.

Panthers could be without half of their starting secondary Sunday against the Rams, depending on how Jaycee Horn progresses through concussion protocol. https://t.co/ZAhcs4StfR

— Joe Person (@josephperson) November 25, 2025

zn wrote:

[Forbes] allowed the lowest passer rating when targeted among qualified outside CBs (12.8) by over 20 points.

That’s just insane.

During the Rams' 6-game win streak, Emmanuel Forbes Jr. has played at an elite level.

He's either broken up or intercepted 10 of his 32 targets (31.3%) and allowed the lowest passer rating when targeted among qualified outside CBs (12.8) by over 20 points. pic.twitter.com/GNaNPbfWh5

— Wyatt Miller (@wymill07) November 25, 2025

Great breakdown in what Matthew Stafford is doing with his eyes to create space behind the defenders. Not many QBs EVER attempt or even approach this level of blind throw comfort but here we are! Watching history. 💪🏼 https://t.co/MxCBYwWO58

— JimEverett.eth (@Jim_Everett) November 25, 2025

.@Panthers @49ers the QB play was much to be desired last night. Some is play design and some is poor decisions with poor throws. Both players played great the week before. It's a week to week league. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/LVTmb9VolJ

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) November 25, 2025

RAMZILLA@elitster
Week 12

NFC West 28-17 62.2%
NFC South 18-27 40.0%
NFC North 26-17-1 60.2%
NFC East 18-26-1 41.1%

AFC West 24-20 54.5%
AFC South 22-22 50.0%
AFC North 18-26 40.9%
AFC East 23-22 51.1%

Dan Orlovsky@danorlovsky7
Offensive Lines I trust heading to playoff run:

NFC:
Rams
Dallas
Chicago
SF

AFC:
Colts
Buffalo
KC
Denver

52-yards out and good from Rams K Harrison Mevis.

The impressive part here is that Mevis as the Bucs get pressure off of the edge. That likely affects Karty.

Unphased and right through the middle. pic.twitter.com/x7n9P0NTqP

— Blaine Grisak 💭 (@bgrisakTST) November 25, 2025

Damn, back to back possessions ending in dreadful INT’s. Can’t really relate pic.twitter.com/BdMgXnHT95

— Rams Bros. (@RamsBrothers) November 25, 2025

In the last six weeks, there's one team that has separated into its own tier. pic.twitter.com/5cXZWHUJvG

— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) November 24, 2025

lots of dime, few blitzes and working great pic.twitter.com/zgK7JXoZzx

— Jim Youngblood 53 (@53_jim70721) November 24, 2025

jay__D@ProminentKingz
Warren McClendon is the future at RT for the #RAMS.

34 snaps & 0 Pressures

Matthew Stafford is playing with MVP chops — and something deeper, too

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6833030/2025/11/24/matthew-stafford-mvp-rams/?source=emp_shared_article

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The chants first rippled through the crowd after tight end Colby Parkinson’s second quarter touchdown catch, and they crescendoed after receiver Davante Adams followed suit a few minutes later.

M-V-P. M-V-P. M-V-P. M-V-P.

“That was cool, that was awesome,” said Matthew Stafford with a slightly sheepish grin.

“They’re just calling a spade a spade,” added Adams. He’s right. The crowd was right. The 37-year-old quarterback, who has led the Rams to the very top of the NFC standings and a 9-2 record, is inarguably, unquestionably playing with MVP chops.

OK, you may argue if you wish. With the wall.

Would you like some simple (awesome) statistics? Stafford leads the NFL with 30 touchdown passes and has just two interceptions — in fact, he hasn’t thrown an interception in 308 pass attempts, which is the longest streak in franchise history and in the league this season. He has thrown 27 consecutive touchdowns without an interception, the longest streak technology can track. He’s the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw 30 touchdowns with five or fewer interceptions in an 11-game start, joining the hallowed company of Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. He’s completing 66.5 percent of his passes despite averaging 7.6 yards per throw, with 37 passes of 20-plus yards (fourth-most in the league) so he’s accurate and aggressive.

Would you like some more advanced (but also awesome) statistics? Stafford has the No. 1 passer rating (113.7) and is No. 4 in expected points added per attempt (EPA), has the ninth-best EPA/dropback against the blitz and the seventh-best EPA/dropback against a four-man rush.

Would you like to just forget all of that noise and use your eyeballs? This is, in my experience, the finest way to enjoy the specific brand of chaotic-good quarterback that Stafford plays.

His sidewinder sling to rookie receiver Konata Mumpfield on third down was oomph-inducing. His go-ball to Adams for the receiver’s NFL-leading 12th touchdown catch was a thing of beauty. All season he’s made every throw, from any alignment. Sunday night, he operated out of shotgun, from under center and in the pistol, which keeps the Rams’ entire playbook wide open, but no quarterback has thrown more touchdowns this season from under center than Stafford, according to Next Gen Stats (19). Any arm angle, any personnel grouping, anything is possible. He doesn’t even always need to look where he’s throwing.

“Best quarterback I’ve ever seen,” said cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. “He got crazy arm talent, the best ever in my opinion. … Anytime you’ve got him back there, you got a feeling you can win any game at any moment.”

The Rams embarrassed the NFC South-leading Buccaneers, 34-7, on Sunday night, a game that was over before halftime and unfortunately included a shoulder injury to Tampa Bay’s own quarterback, Baker Mayfield. The timelines between these two teams have intersected in profound ways in recent years. Mayfield was the quarterback who sparked life and brought joy back into a spiraling franchise and its burned-out coach, Sean McVay, back in 2022 after Mayfield was claimed off waivers in Week 14 and led the Rams to a wild “Thursday Night Football” win over the Raiders.

More impactful for Stafford, though, was the divisional round game between the Bucs and the Rams after the 2021 season. Back then, it was Brady at quarterback for Tampa Bay while Stafford, long buried under the radar in Detroit and its 1 p.m. kickoffs, showed his nature to a prime-time audience. In the fourth quarter, Stafford hit receiver Cooper Kupp on a route no quarterback ever plans to throw that the Rams aptly called “for the love of the game” — because the receiver essentially runs it to clear out the defenders from the underneath concepts, putting his back into it for nothing but the love of the game. But Stafford hit Kupp while getting clobbered by Ndamukong Suh, the offense ran downfield to snap the ball and Stafford spiked it with a primal scream to set up the game-winning field goal. The “soul stealer” was born. If you know, you know.

Stafford is still that guy. Teammates and coaches still feel that anything is possible when he has the ball in his hands; opponents still feel dread.

But there’s some other quality to the old gunslinger these days that careful observers have noticed all season.

Once again, a piece of Stafford’s truer nature emerged to the rest of the world in a prime-time game against Tampa Bay. Stafford isn’t just the intimidator, or the captain. He also has this joy that can’t quite be described so much as it is felt.

And it is felt by everyone. Team sources have said this year Stafford often pops his head into front office meetings, scouting meetings and beyond just to say hello or crack a joke. Teammates know he’ll celebrate their plays before his own, even going out of his way to point out small successes by defensive players as a game unfolds. He’s still got his signature finger-guns out and blazing from time to time, but Stafford is also shimmying after a particularly slick throw-and-catch or putting a hand as a shark fin on top of his head to hype up a younger teammate like Cobie Durant, the “land shark,” who returned an interception for a touchdown and also saved a touchdown with a pass breakup on Sunday night. He says bad practices still “eat him up,” but others in the building say they would never know it because his mood is always good, lifting any room he’s in.

“He’s the leader and the heartbeat of this team,” said Adams. “As he goes, we kind of go. I can feel how happy he is, shimmying and doing all of that stuff. Those are signs of somebody that is really enjoying what they’re doing.”

McVay’s connectedness with the offense ebbs and flows with Stafford’s because he is the play caller, and the only voice the quarterback can hear inside his helmet before every snap. McVay feels how immersed in each moment Stafford truly is.

“It feels like he’s in total command,” McVay said. “… There is a true ownership, and I think he’s just totally and completely present and he’s really just enjoying the opportunity to compete week in and week out. Even when he does the (pregame) breakdown with the team, you can tell he loves being a part of this team — you can feel that. He instills a belief every time that we go out on the field; we feel like good things are going to happen because he’s leading the way.”

Stafford said that getting a recent chance to really miss football brought him some fresh perspective. He couldn’t throw during training camp or the preseason because of an aggravated disc in his back, and only returned fully to practice about two weeks before the regular season began.

“Sometimes being without something lets you know how much you really love doing it,” said Stafford. “And I love playing this game. I appreciate it.”

The soul stealer lives on. Don’t mistake happiness for weakness. “That other guy’s still there,” Stafford cracked — maybe as a warning to upcoming opponents. This season, that quarterback plays in concert with this free, grateful, joyful person.

Together, they’re the MVP.