Aaron Rodgers speaks out: "It's never been about the draft pick, picking Jordan. … It's just kind of about a philosophy and maybe forgetting that it is about the people that make the thing go. … It's about doing things the right way."https://t.co/EJN94aohJW pic.twitter.com/3zzDvjwAC2

— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) May 25, 2021

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The full story from Aaron Rodgers’ chat with the great @Kenny_Mayne on his last @SportsCenter: https://t.co/C6SMD8RH13

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) May 25, 2021

L.A. Rams run the fly sweep to perfection here, they set it up with a lot of fly action off their inside and mid run game to conflict the linebacker pursuit. They leave the larger technique unblocked playside and off they go to the perimeter. #spreadoffense pic.twitter.com/o3KrBeLbbm

— SpreadOffense.com (@SpreadOffense) May 24, 2021

Zooey wrote:

I read somewhere that there was a good QB – forget who – who took a couple years to make this transition that Stafford is now making.

Zooey wrote:

. This bit I read (or heard) was in the trade aftermath, not recently. Couldn’t begin to search for it.

Well if it’s any consolation, Brady had trouble learning Arians’s offense last year.

…

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
Rams QB Matthew Stafford on getting on field w/ new teammates for first time:

“I feel (a sense of urgency) from those guys, I hope they feel it from me. Every time I drop back and throw the ball, I want it to be in the right spot, and when it’s not, I’m not happy with myself.”

Zooey wrote:

I am very much looking forward to seeing the Rams with Stafford. Some people say he isn’t any different from Goff, and some people think he’s a big upgrade. I think he will be more effective than Goff (which is different from “better”). It’s going to be a fun year if everyone’s joints remain in working order all season.

He’s a heady 13 year vet with a lot of physical talent still.

The Rams will be good for him because they have a running game and a defense that is ranked better than 32nd.

He will be good for the Rams not only because he has a very strong “been there, seen it all” quality to his game, but also because (IMO) McVay will learn some things from him and be better for it.

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). ‘

….

….

Zooey wrote:

Um…

19th best center is middle-of-the-pack. Slightly below average.

20th best guard is a respectable ranking.

It may well be that he is a better center than that, but that isn’t a ranking to cheer about exactly.

Yeah.

My bet btw is that Corbett will be better than that ranking (a ranking which frankly is not based on anything). I have nothing more to base my belief in Corbett on other than his character and leadership qualities. It’s a hunch on my part.

The guy I have doubts about is Evans, but then, if he doesn’t come through, it looks like there is depth behind him (Anchrum and Brewer, who also get very good buzz for good reasons).

There you have it. A hefty 2 cents from the Golden Prognosticator. 😎

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Big Whit at 15. Bigger concern is age and transition plan. https://t.co/kQKH56MWpc

— BTHRams (@BTH_Rams) May 24, 2021

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from the link above:

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15. ANDREW WHITWORTH, LOS ANGELES RAMS
After tearing his MCL during the 2020 season — and making a return in the postseason just a few months later — the 39-year-old Andrew Whitworth is coming back for Year 17 in 2021.

Whitworth was one of the five highest-graded tackles in the NFL through the first 10 weeks of the season after allowing just six total hurries and no sacks or hits in nine games. It was his 12th straight season in which he produced a top-10 pass-block grade among tackles.

*

27. ROB HAVENSTEIN, LOS ANGELES RAMS
Havenstein is an interesting case study. He broke out in 2018, his fourth NFL season, as the league’s highest-graded right tackle, completely fell apart in a 2019 season the ended up being cut short due to injury (fourth-to-last among RTs in PFF grade) and then bounced back to his old form in 2020 (seventh among RTs in PFF grade). His lowest-graded game of 2020 would have been his third-highest-graded performance of 2019. The moral of the story is: Havenstein could be 10 spots higher or lower on this by the end of 2021.

from Peter King, NFL Power Rankings: https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/05/23/nfl-power-rankings-peter-king-fmia/?cid=fmiatw

[Note: 1-5 are KC, Tampa, Buffalo, Cleveland, & SF]

6. L.A. Rams (10-6, lost divisional game to Green Bay)
Troy Aikman told Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times the other day that Matthew Stafford could be the NFL MVP this year on a Rams team with a very good defense and a smart play-designer and play-caller like Sean McVay. Aikman’s right. Someone could waste a lot of time on a doctoral thesis apportioning blame for the Lions’ postseason futility in Stafford’s 12 Detroit seasons, but the fact is, he was the most important player for the Lions for 12 years and the team never won a division title or a postseason game in his era. At 33, Stafford now has the offensive backing and a stout-enough defense to be great in January. Sean McVay wants to go back to the 2017-18 version of his offense, with the deep passing game opening everything up. In 2018, the Rams’ top three wideouts averaged 14.2, 15.1 and 14.2 yards per catch. When Jared Goff lost his fastball and McVay lost faith in him in 2020, the wideout leaders averaged 10.4, 10.6 and 11.9 per catch. Stafford’s going to have every chance to prove Aikman right.

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Lions assistant coach explains why Aaron Donald is the best cornerback ever

* https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/05/23/lions-assistant-coach-explains-why-aaron-donald-is-the-best-cornerback-ever/

A cornerback’s best friend is a pass rush, and Lions secondary coach Aubrey Pleasant spent the last four years with one of the best pass rushers of all time.

Pleasant, who for the last four years was the cornerbacks coach of the Rams, says that defensive tackle Aaron Donald did more to help the Rams’ cornerbacks than anyone else. As Pleasant sees it, the relentless pressure Donald put on opposing quarterbacks was an enormous boost to the Rams’ cornerbacks.

“I joke and tell people that the greatest corner I’ve ever played with is Aaron Donald,” Pleasant said, via the Detroit Free Press. “In order to be a successful football team, things have to marry and they have to collaborate. And I think the pass rush, as well as the ability to play sticky coverage no matter what your philosophy is, I think they go hand in hand and I think when those things work together, it makes it very difficult for opposing offenses.”

Unfortunately for the Lions, they don’t have an Aaron Donald-like pass rusher. Few teams do.

from Mike Sando: https://theathletic.com/2592764/?source=twitterhq

The Rams haven’t selected a player in the first round since 2016 and do not hold a first-round selection until 2024. To compensate, they have gotten a league-high 190 starts over the past four seasons from the third- and fourth-round picks they selected over that span — John Johnson, Cooper Kupp and Joe Noteboom among them.