Zooey wrote:

zn wrote:

He’s potentially better than any qb we’ve seen with the Rams, maybe even including Warner (he has a stronger arm and better movement skills than Kurt). ‘

Don’t forget that Warner had the luxury of playing during the Chris Massey Era.

If Massey had worn the glove, he would be the hero many of you make him out to be.

Though I admit it was an act of genius to get him from the Colts for just a 2nd round pick.

Leonard Floyd: Rams DC Raheem Morris talks ‘a little bit more junk’ than Brandon Staley

Rams LB Leonard Floyd on the coordinator transition from Brandon Staley to Raheem Morris: "They're both energy guys, but Coach Morris might have a tad more. He likes to talk a little bit more junk to you. They both get you going a lot."

— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) May 24, 2021

Rams OLB Leonard Floyd on this year's defensive rookies: "They came in well-coached. Don't struggle too much with drills." Floyd said makes a point to mentor both the pass-rushers and other defensive rookies.

— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) May 24, 2021

The history of the Tulsa Race Massacre needs to be remembered. On the 100th anniversary, The History Channel original documentary, Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre, premieres Sunday, May 30 at 8/7c. #RememberTulsa pic.twitter.com/pvswIubwes

— HISTORY (@HISTORY) May 24, 2021

Austin Corbett: Top 20 guard *and* center in the NFL? Pro Football Focus says yes. https://t.co/IMiVtTbYpw

— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) May 24, 2021

==

[link is above]]
.
Whether at center or guard, Corbett will be a starter. And in Pro Football Focus’ opinion, he’ll be one of the better players at either position. Corbett was ranked as the 19th-best center in the NFL by PFF’s Ben Linsey, as well as the 20th-best guard by Sam Monson.

Here’s what Linsey wrote about Corbett’s projection as a starting center for the Rams.

Corbett is another player expected to slide over from guard to center in 2021, where he’ll likely replace Austin Blythe. He has started there with the first team at OTAs. Center is where Corbett began his career in Cleveland, but he has split time over the past two seasons in Los Angeles as a starter at both left guard (2019) and right guard (2020). He’s coming off a career year this past season for the Rams, boosted by a 76.4 run-blocking grade.

A Rabbi has a message for @mtgreenee and @GOPLeader

Cc: @Acosta pic.twitter.com/GaKYc1euXq

— Wu-Tang Is For The Children (@WUTangKids) May 24, 2021

Watching 3:32 of @AaronDonald97’s 20.5-sack season on repeat in honor of his birthday 🤩 pic.twitter.com/rEm2ADFUfF

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) May 24, 2021

Sam Monson@PFF_Sam
When you start ranking the top 32 OGs in the NFL you get a greater appreciation of why the Jets were willing to trade up and get Vera-Tucker.

I’m not saying it’s the right move btw, I’m just saying that when you see there’s like 15 good Gs in the NFL you can understand a team thinking they have to make a move to secure one.

from PFF, Regrading the 2020 NFL Draft classes

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-regrading-2020-nfl-draft-classes-tampa-bay-buccaneers-minnesota-vikings#LAR

LOS ANGELES RAMS
Round 2 (52): RB Cam Akers, Florida State
Round 2 (57): WR Van Jefferson, Florida
Round 3 (84): EDGE Terrell Lewis, Alabama
Round 3 (104): S Terrell Burgess, Utah
Round 4 (136): TE Brycen Hopkins, Purdue
Round 6 (199): S Jordan Fuller, Ohio State
Round 7 (234): LB Clay Johnston, Baylor
Round 7 (248): K Sam Sloman, Miami (Ohio)
Round 7 (250): OT Tremayne Anchrum, Clemson

Then: C
Now: B-

There wasn’t a ton to write home about from the Rams’ rookie class, as they still want to see more from their top picks, but the play of Jordan Fuller certainly qualifies. He earned a 65.6 overall grade on 844 snaps with three picks and two pass breakups. He looks like he’ll be a mainstay in the starting lineup out for Los Angeles — a massive win for a sixth-rounder.

Chung didn’t reveal who said this, but the league office should do so after investigating the matter and disciplining the person. Completely unacceptable. https://t.co/SFEPIkBYke

— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) May 23, 2021

Jeff Pearlman@jeffpearlman
A billionaire, a working man, and an immigrant are all in a room with 100 cookies on the table. The billionaire takes 99 of them and then whispers to the working man, “That guy’s gonna steal your cookie.”

Former NFL quarterbacks and experts explain what makes Rams’ Matthew Stafford great

By SAM FARMER

https://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/story/2021-05-21/former-nfl-quarterbacks-experts-explain-rams-matthew-stafford

In preparing this week for a Q&A with new Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, I talked to some of the people who know him and his position best.

These people did not comment in the Q&A, a Los Angeles Times exclusive — it was with Stafford alone — but their observations and insights are worth noting.

Thought it would be interesting to open the notebook and reveal some of the things they shared.

Documented are quotes from five former NFL quarterbacks: Rich Gannon, Troy Aikman, Archie Manning, as well as onetime Stafford backups Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton. Also quoted is Adam Dedeaux, Stafford’s throwing coach.

Rich Gannon

“I don’t think he gets enough credit for his arm talent. I mean he makes some ridiculous throws, especially out-breaking routes, ball’s outside the number from the far hash. He throws the deep ball really well, he’s very accurate. Can change the launch point, he’s got pretty good pocket presence. He can fly, he can reset, he can shuffle. He can extend plays, maybe not to the extent that you see from like a [Patrick] Mahomes or [Aaron] Rodgers with that explosiveness, but he’s certainly better than average when it comes to that.

“I think part of it with him, and I don’t want to be too critical of the Lions, but you go back and look at the times he’s been sacked in his career, like each season. It’s like in a 35, 40 range every year, you know what I mean? And that takes its toll, so the protection always hasn’t been good. The offensive line has been very inconsistent. They tried to address it in recent years, they go out and get

Ragnow, and they try and get a tackle a couple years ago. I mean they’re trying. But then who was the running back, and then who are the receivers? They went out and got a tight end. But I think Stafford has done more with less. And then at defense, it’s been never like they’ve had a dominant defense on that side of the ball. So it’s like you got to go out and score 30 points to be competitive each week.

“I look at his toughness and durability, that’s the other thing. I think he went through a stretch where it’s six or seven seasons where he played every game [eight, actually]. He’s a tough guy, doesn’t miss starts. He’ll sit in the pocket with a tough jaw, very accurate.

“And the knock on him is, when you look at what happened in Detroit, he just didn’t win. In our business, we get judged based on the wins and losses, and unfortunately for him, there’s been more losses than wins in his career. And so there’s a certain negativity that comes with that, but anyone who really looks and evaluates the position. … When I saw the Rams make that move, I’m like, they just got better, like a lot better.”

On the combination of Stafford and Rams coach Sean McVay:

“Matthew’s got someone that he can grow with, someone that’s going to help him, someone who’s going to put together a really good game plan, someone who’s going to support him with a good running game. They’re a good screen team. They get the ball out quick. I think it’s an offense that’ll fit his skill set. I think he’s going to have more weapons, more firepower, he’s going to have a better offensive line.

“You look at Sean and you look at Matthew. … I see some similarities to when I went to Oakland with Jon Gruden. I was at a point where I had bounced around a little bit and no one ever really. … I mean it’s different; he was the No. 1 draft pick and I kind of had to find my way. But he’s going to a situation where he’s a got a young head coach who’s a really good play caller, very innovative, really involved in coaching that position. And that’s where Jon was with me, and we just hit it off. We never looked back.

“I think Matthew is going to buy in and be all invested and be there and be that leader. It’s not going to take Matthew Stafford a season to take ownership of that team. The minute he walks in the building, that’s going to happen.”

On a fresh start for Stafford and the Rams:

“So I think it’s a really good situation. I think it’s a win-win situation for the Rams, I think it’s a win for Matthew. I think it was time for a change. At some point you get beaten down so long in a city where it’s almost like playing in Cleveland all those years or playing in Detroit and in Jacksonville, where he just … it’s hard to win eight games.

“And it’s hard to be competitive. Then you look at that division and you got the Vikings and you’ve got the Packers, and the Packers went from [Brett] Favre to Rodgers. If you’re Matthew Stafford, that’s who you’re competing against every couple weeks. And you got some good defenses in that division: Chicago and Minnesota. So I give the guy a lot of credit for surviving and for overcoming what was not an easy situation.”

Troy Aikman

On the first time he’d heard of Stafford:

“When he was going into his senior year at Highland Park, I happened to be at Starbucks here in Highland Park Village right where I live and where he grew up. Someone said to me, ‘Hey, have you seen Matthew Stafford? Have you seen him play?’ I said, ‘No, I don’t. Who’s Matthew Stafford?’ I had just kind of moved down to this area, and they said, ‘Well, he’s the No. 1 quarterback and the No. 1 recruit out of high school. He’s a senior at Highland Park.’ And I said, ‘Really? I haven’t heard of him. I need to let UCLA know.’ And they said, ‘Oh, he’s already committed to Georgia.’ I said, “Georgia?’ and thought, ‘Wow.’ ”

On a meal with him before the draft:

“I was having dinner and I asked him, ‘So how do you feel about going to Detroit? I mean, if Detroit takes you with the No. 1 pick, which in all likelihood, that’s what’s going to happen, how do you feel about that?’ It’s always something I’ve remembered because he really wanted to go to Detroit. It wasn’t one of those things where he was thinking, ‘I mean, not ideal, but they have the No. 1 pick.’ I know they’ve had their problems because they weren’t very good and they hadn’t been very good, and it’d been such a long time. But he was just totally locked in that he wanted to go to Detroit and really create, I don’t want to say a legacy, but he wanted to be a big reason as to why that franchise got good again.

“He went there for all the right reasons. He gave it everything he had. And I’m disappointed for him that with all the success that he did enjoy personally, that the team didn’t enjoy more success around him, because I know it was really important to him.”

Does scar tissue build up after all that losing?:

“Yeah. I certainly lost my share in Dallas on the front end and the back end, but I didn’t go through it for an extremely long stretch like he has. I can only imagine how difficult it would become as you get older, to be optimistic and positive going into each season. And so I would say yes.

“This will be a different experience for him. I mean, I think there has been years where there have been expectations for Detroit, but by and large, there hasn’t been. By and large, the Lions have not been a factor in our league. I mean, it’s just what it is. And there’s been a lot of coaching changes as we know, and it hasn’t gone as well as Matthew would like, or that anyone would like. And that’s why there has been so much turnover.

“Now you’re going to an organization that it’s not about being a winning football team, it’s about winning a Super Bowl. This will be the first time Matthew’s felt that. I mean, he hasn’t been on a team that’s gone into the season expecting to be in the Super Bowl or to be a contender in the Super Bowl. He won’t cower to that.”

On his expectations for Stafford and the Rams this season:

“I know Matthew well. I love the guy. I think he’s terrific. And I think he’s going to play his best football this year. I really do. I think for him to get to work with Sean McVay and that offense, I really expect Matthew to have his best season of his career. Wouldn’t shock me at all if he’s the MVP of the league.

“But with that being said, there are expectations … and he knows it. And that’s what he wants. I mean, that’s what he’s been dreaming of. That’s what he’s wanted the whole time he’s been in Detroit: he’s wanted to be on a contender. And at the end of the day, that’s how you make your mark. And so I’m excited for him and this opportunity that he has.”

Adam Dedeaux

“In my conversations with him, there’s no doubt that he is an intellect. I think he enjoys being challenged in that way and challenged with thought process, and he never makes anything seem too difficult when it comes to that stuff. I think he has a way of simplifying things. I think that’s his Texas brain, being very bright, but being able to look at things and just seeing it in its simplest form. I don’t think he gets overwhelmed easily.

“He’s able to break things down pretty quickly. He’s had multiple coordinators over the years. I’ve watched him take on new challenges of, we changed this footwork a couple of years ago before the ’19 season, and that was a fun challenge for him. And it was like, within a day or two, he was already making it look comfortable as if he had been doing it forever, and that’s not normal. Sometimes, it takes guys longer, but he’s able to be like, ‘All right. Feel it. Got it. I understand it. Give me the why’s, and I’m in.’ ”

Dan Orlovsky

“Matthew has this ability in every single room that he enters, every situation that he’s in, he’s completely aware that he’s the guy, he is the man in that room, that airplane, that hotel. But then he’s got this great ability to be just a guy, one of the crew. That’s a very unique perspective to have, the ability to be two people at once.”

Drew Stanton

“He has this quiet confidence about him, that he doesn’t need to tell people how good he is, he doesn’t need to tweet out anything, he doesn’t need to be on Instagram, he doesn’t need to do any of that. He’s very confident and comfortable in his own skin and people sometimes misconstrue that confidence and comfort as being complacent or too laid back or not a leader or all these things. And I think strategically he is so good.

“That’s one thing that I’ve always tried to take away from people and watch people how they operate are like, okay, you only lead if people follow you. In the truest definition, the most important part about leadership is ‘followship.’ If nobody’s following you, you’re not a leader even if you think you are. You can beat your chest all you want, but people follow Matthew into the fire.”

On how Stafford compares to another No. 1 pick, Carson Palmer, backed up by Stanton in Arizona:

“He is very much like Carson. You know Carson. Carson doesn’t care what other people say about him. He’s going to operate how he operates. There’s a little bit different dynamic and components, but they are guys that you want leading your organization because they’re leading from within. They’ll step out front, they take the blame when they need to, they’re not going to give you any soundbites that you’re going to be sitting up there writing about doing anything. There’s a sense of professionalism that goes along with both of them, without a doubt.”

Archie Manning

On Manning Passing Academy:

People ask me about the college quarterbacks I bring in. They’re coaching mostly, but they work out. They’re not throwing against coverage, they’re just throw it to receivers, throw it around. To me, Matthew had the most impressive arm of anybody we’ve ever had.

“Yep. I thought so. I mean, he just, he can really sling it. JaMarcus Russell threw some, well he kind of stood out. It looked like a Jugs machine when he’d throw a deep ball, coming out of there.

“We have a little quarterback challenge every year where they’re throwing it at targets and throwing some deep stuff. We get some rain during a camp where they usually had lightning, so I have to get them off the field. Well it’s raining like crazy before the quarterback challenge, but it wasn’t lightning, and they all said, that’s when Mahomes was there. It was a good class up, and they said, ‘Oh, Mr. Manning, let’s go. It’s raining, it’s not lightning’ So it was, `OK, go.’

“And Josh Allen threw to the deep, a wet ball, better than anybody I’ve ever seen. Threw a wet ball 75 yards. But anyway, Matthew was the most impressive. He’s a great kid.”

John Wolford went through the same grueling workout that Ben Affleck used to bulk up before playing Batman.​ https://t.co/fs4JucOI5o

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) May 21, 2021

from Can Matthew Stafford ignite Rams? Will Seahawks keep Russell Wilson happy?

The major questions that will define the NFC West in 2021

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfc-west-burning-questions-can-matthew-stafford-ignite-rams-will-seahawks-keep-russell-wilson-happy/

The NFC West can state its case as football’s toughest division, as all four teams have a golden opportunity to reach the postseason. While no NFC West team advanced past the divisional round of the playoffs in 2020, the division beat up each other through a grueling regular season — and housed two of the last three Super Bowl representatives in the NFC.

Leave it to the NFC West to get even better into 2021. The Los Angeles Rams acquired Matthew Stafford in the offseason, catapulting them to Super Bowl contenders in the conference, while the Seattle Seahawks were able to keep Russell Wilson on the roster. The San Francisco 49ers have a talented roster back after injuries derailed their chances to repeat as NFC champions and the Arizona Cardinals loaded up in free agency to take the next step from a .500 team to a playoff regular.

Whatever team wins the NFC West is anyone’s guess, which makes the division race all the more intriguing in this 17-game season. There are plenty of questions that need to be solved in the NFC West, and we’ll do our best to answer them.

Los Angeles Rams: Can Matthew Stafford make this an elite offense again?

Since Sean McVay took over as the Rams’ head coach, the Rams are ranked fourth in the league in points scored and fifth in the league in point differential. Los Angeles was also third in the league in total yards during that stretch. In McVay’s first two years, the Rams scored the most points in the league and had the third-most yards.

Over the last two years, the Rams have been slightly above average offensively (depending on the category). The Rams are just 15th in scoring and sixth in total yards, but they are sixth in passing yards and 18th in rushing yards. That’s not the innovative offense McVay is known for or why he’s known as an offensive guru around the league.

McVay believed the problem lied within Jared Goff, who the Rams traded to the Lions — along with two first-round picks — in order to acquire Matthew Stafford. The Rams have the quarterback with the most passing yards through a player’s first 165 games (45,109) in NFL history and tied for the seventh-most touchdowns (282) in that stretch. Stafford is a significant upgrade over Goff and the Rams are pairing him with Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, DeSean Jackson, and Van Jefferson at wide receiver — along with Tyler Higbee at tight end. The Rams also saw the emergence of Cam Akers at running back last season, forming a 1-2 punch at running back with Darrell Henderson.

It’s no secret the Rams are all-in on making the Super Bowl, but their offense needs to be close to the level of their defense for that to happen. Los Angeles is banking on Stafford (and the offensive line to remain healthy) in order to take them over the top.

Had to grab this and post from yesterday’s pre game. Marlins Manager Don Mattingly on all of the no-hitters being thrown. Candid. pic.twitter.com/TFo8Um04pf

— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) May 21, 2021