LA Rams QB Matthew Stafford – Consumer Report feature

What are the Rams getting?

In short, the goal is to try to pinpoint more precisely and zero in on answering the question:
Just exactly what are the Rams getting in Stafford? And what sort of objective “measurables” might exist for us to better answer that question?

So let’s break it down into four categories:  Arm, Pocket Presence, Team Leadership, and a rather nebulous grouping we will call Intangibles.  Why? Well, these are the four categories most quarterbacks are measured by. And the fourth, we just throw that one in as a catch-all grab-bag for all the stuff that doesn’t quite fit the first three headings.

The first places fans examine are yards passing, touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio, and accuracy. To get a clear picture, we turn to our statistical friends at Pro Football Reference. In 2020, Stafford was 12th in yards passing with 4,084 yards. He was ranked 11th in touchdown/interception with a 2.6 ratio. And finally, he was ranked just 28th in his accuracy with a 64.2 accuracy rate. Now, don’t fly off half-cocked.

You see, that is all misleading. Drew Brees was the second-most accurate quarterback for 2020, but he threw just 7.5 yards per attempt and 10.7 yards per completion.  Matthew Stafford threw for 12.0 yards per completion, fifth-best in the NFL. Longer distance passes are, by nature, far less likely to be completed. The Rams had their fill of short-passes in 2020.  In Stafford, the LA Rams are deliberately embracing his cannon-of-an-arm.