Thank you @JaredGoff16 You were a huge piece in one of the biggest wins in franchise history. Down 13 points early in the most hostile territory and you never gave up, never wavered. NFC champions. Thank you for the great memories and efforts #16 pic.twitter.com/G8x5aFwezR

— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) February 3, 2021

BREAKING: The Bill to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from Committees will be voted on tomorrow. It’ll pass. Greene will be removed from both Committees.

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) February 3, 2021

wv wrote:

Gottleib claims his info came from a coupla sources inside
the rams….says goff’s work ethic wasnt as good as Wolford’s and he didnt take work-ethic cues from workaholic McVay, and Goff didnt take responsibility for bad games, etc.

You can’t take bait like that so easily.

I mean who is Gottlieb and who are his “sources”?

Meanwhile there are several beat reporters in LA and even national guys based in LA and across 5 years we heard none of this.

And of top of it no one knows Goff better than Holmes, the former Rams chief of scouting who is now the Detroit GM and just traded for him.

Do you trade for a guy with a questionable work ethic?

In fact Holmes turned down an offer for Stafford that included the 8th pick in the draft (from Carolina). If Detroit took that, they would have the 7th and 8th picks in the draft, which is plenty of ammo to go after a qb. Instead he took Goff.

…

"Matthew Stafford to the Rams is a Super Bowl move… I'm ready to declare LA as the team to beat in the NFC for Super Bowl LVI."@AdamSchein is pumped up for the Rams after they traded for Stafford. pic.twitter.com/pSLRXIen4L

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) February 2, 2021

.@RealTannenbaum explains why the Jared Goff trade was not Sean McVay’s finest hour on the @RossTuckerPod pic.twitter.com/sWocZCmYup

— Ross Tucker Podcast (@RossTuckerPod) February 2, 2021

#Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's key to Sunday? Don't let Tom Brady read your mail. pic.twitter.com/Bo0I4aErsf

— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) February 3, 2021

Last year, @BillieJeanKing sat down with Bruce Arians, Lori Locust, and Maral Javadifar to find out why an inclusive culture drives the @Buccaneers success. pic.twitter.com/8DotcBiedS

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) February 2, 2021

Rams WR Cooper Kupp with a goodbye note to former teammate Jared Goff. (via Kupp’s IG) pic.twitter.com/ff7km1fkBY

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) February 2, 2021

Multiple @NFL sources indicate to me that Derek Carr is a hot commodity. And it is expected that multiple teams will pursue him via trade That could lead to the @Raiders pursuing Deshaun Watson in a blockbuster trade. My story:https://t.co/rnxHJK9KC0

— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) February 3, 2021

Trade Talk: Lions expert breaks down what Rams are getting with Matthew Stafford

Cameron DaSilva

* https://theramswire.usatoday.com/lists/rams-lions-matthew-stafford-trade-analysis-breakdown/

The Los Angeles Rams kicked off the offseason with a massive trade, sending Jared Goff and draft picks to the Detroit Lions for Matthew Stafford. After Goff struggled in Sean McVay’s system the last two seasons, the Rams made it clear that they wanted to upgrade at the most important position in sports.

While Stafford is older, he brings a different style of play to the quarterback spot. It’s hard not to get excited about the prospect of Stafford teaming up with McVay, but is this a perfect match without flaws?

We talked to Lions Wire managing editor Jeff Risdon about Stafford and gathered some intel on the Rams’ new quarterback. While he doesn’t pin the Lions’ lack of wins in the last 12 years on Stafford, he did point out some weaknesses in the QB’s game.

1
Aside from clearly having a big arm, what would you say is Stafford’s best trait?

His willingness to trust both that arm and the receivers he’s throwing at to make plays that other QBs won’t consider trying. It never allows the defense to relent because he’s proven he will throw it into an impossibly tiny window, or at least try.

2
There’s been an argument made that a good portion of Stafford’s numbers come in garbage time when the Lions are getting blown out. Is there any truth to that?

He earned the “Stat Padford” nickname early in his career with a certain segment of the Detroit media and it stuck even though he proved it was largely bullcrap. The fact is, he played on a lot of teams that had very bad defenses, especially during the Matt Patricia era. He’s playing from behind a lot more than the average QB.

Having said that, Stafford has always been prone to cold starts and streaks in games where he’s just “off.” Lions fans got used to him going something like 2-for-8, 27 yards, 1 INT in the second quarter of a game; things like that happen more with Stafford than they should for any QB.

The flip side? Stafford has proven himself to be amazing at rallying in the fourth quarter. He’s 7th in NFL history in 4th-quarter comebacks, tied with John Elway. He’s consistently been at his best with the team down two scores in the fourth quarter.

3
The Rams use a lot of play-action and rollouts. How does Stafford typically perform on those two play types?

He is not a good rollout passer. His ability to throw a strike to a moving target greatly diminishes if he’s also moving. If he can roll, stop and set himself to throw, he’s fine. He also tends to make the big mistake when he’s on the move, like he doesn’t see the field nearly as well. He is not a guy who will win with his legs on designed runs but he got better at tucking and running in the last few years, especially before the second broken back. He’s smart about it.

Play action, he’s phenomenal. When his RBs sell it well (and that hasn’t been the case often enough), Stafford is great at concealing the ball and then quickly identifying where the hole in the defense emerges. The Lions offense didn’t use it nearly enough.

One other quick quirk: He doesn’t like pre-snap motion, and he’s always had a preference to let the play clock drain way down before calling for the snap. It persisted through all his coaches. He made a comment when Darrell Bevell took over as the OC that he hoped “we’re not motioning guys everywhere” (paraphrased) and he meant it.

4
There’s about a 6% difference in Stafford’s completion rate from his first 6 seasons to his last 6 seasons. Has there been a notable change in his style of play?

It’s an oversimplification to say he played those first years with Calvin Johnson and then without him. As fabulous as Johnson was – he belongs in the Hall of Fame – he still led the NFL in drops in the decade from 2010-2019 two years after he retired, and he never had a good No. 2 receiver to pair him with. Stafford got more accurate and the confidence in his receivers spiked up when he had several capable receivers on any one play – guys like Golden Tate, Marvin Jones, Theo Riddick out of the backfield, Danny Amendola and T.J. Hockenson the last couple of years.

5
How worried should the Rams be about Stafford’s 0-3 postseason record, and the fact that he only made the playoffs three times in 12 seasons?

Stafford played well enough to win in the 2014 season loss to the Cowboys, a game the Lions had absolutely stolen from them by an officiating controversy. He did not play well in the other playoff games.

As for the lack of team success, it’s very difficult to blame Stafford. He never had a good run game. Detroit had one 1,000-yard rusher in his 12-year career and finished in the bottom five in rushing yards per game and rushing yards per carry more often than they didn’t. The defenses were often just as bad; I’ve been covering the NFL since 2004 and there is zero doubt in my mind the 2020 Lions were the worst-coordinated defense I’ve ever seen. The one year everything really came together for the team (2014) ironically was probably Stafford’s worst – not as good as his numbers might indicate.

His contract was an issue earlier on, that’s perhaps the most valid criticism or finger-pointing at Stafford. When the team had him, Ndamukong Suh and Calvin Johnson all together from 2012-2014, there was very little money to pay anyone else to help them. But that’s irrelevant to the Rams now.

PARAM

The Rams have acquired established quarterbacks in their 30’s many times over the years. Starting way back in 1961, they got Zeke Bratkowski but he was primarily a backup before they got him, then a backup to Bart Starr after he left. He went 4-2 as a Ram starter.

Hadl 33 years old in 73. Namath 34 years old in 1977 (3-5 as a Ram), Bert Jones 31 in 1982 (2-4), Steve Bartkowski, 34 in 1986 (4-2). Dieter Brock wasn’t an established NFL QB but he was 34 in 1985 and went 11-4.

But Hadl was the one that compares most to Matt Stafford. He was 33, just like Stafford will be when he goes under center as a Ram for the first time. He started 122 games prior to his arrival. Stafford has started 165. He has 201 TD passes before he suited up for the Rams. Stafford has 282. And he had almost 27,000 yards passing leading the league (AFL) 3 times in that catagory. Stafford has 45109. But those numbers are aided by the changes in the NFL since 1973. Hadl was a prolific passer and so is Stafford. It will be interesting to see how he does in what is believed to be a good offensive system.[

Gregg Bell@gbellseattle
Rams now have over $40 million in cap space going to QBs this year. The cap numbers for Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey will be just over $50 million combined.

That’s more than half the expected cap number for LA’s entire team in 2021 for just 3 guys, plus 1 who will play for DET

NFL Update@MySportsUpdate
Another wrinkle in the Matthew Stafford trade: At one point on Saturday, the #Lions and #Panthers were so close that Carolina was in the process of obtaining Stafford’s medicals from Detroit, per @AlbertBreer. The #Rams came in with a more aggressive offer, and that got it done.

Bucky Brooks@BuckyBrooks
The hit rate on 1st round picks is around 50%, per an annual study from @CharleyCasserly. The #Rams are opting for the sure thing over the unproven commodity. Time will tell if their gambles are correct but I’m not mad at them for daring to be different

Torrey Smith@TorreySmithWR
Let me give you some advice. If you are having a conversation with someone about Matthew Stafford’s talent and they say he sucks, stop the conversation and don’t talk to that person about football ever again.