NFL Network’s Kurt Warner breaks down LA Rams QB Stafford

The LA Rams have taken a bit of a risk by putting up draft picks and their own somewhat accomplished quarterback Jared Goff to acquire the Detroit Lions veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford. But in the exchange, there is a certain level of expectation. Forget the compensation required to remove a huge financial burden from the LA Rams books. Matthew Stafford is not cheap.

And so, the trade for Stafford was not financial in nature, but rather one motivated by what the new QB Stafford can deliver to the Rams offense. Will that upside justify the cost of the team’s former quarterback, a current year third-round draft pick, plus two future first-round picks?  Well, that remains to be seen. After all, the value of the picks can only be judged by what the Detroit Lions do with those picks, which could take years to fully understand.

So what we do have available to us today is the ability to assess the qualities of new quarterback Matthew Stafford. When Kurt Warner says Matthew Stafford is “special”.  Okay, solid pass deep to the pylon.

Warner is a solid analyst in this footage and his choices of Detroit Lions’ plays emulate the Rams offense in ways that are easily recognizable.

Okay, Kurt Warner likes the fit in the Rams offensive scheme. Stafford will find a lot to love in the LA Rams play-action pass offense. That sets up Stafford to play well for the Rams this year. Warner likes Stafford in the Rams offense. We do too. Next!

New and improved QB play

It doesn’t end there. As Kurt Warner breaks down the fit of Mattew Stafford in the LA Rams offense, this next video focuses upon the features of the offense that the team has not been able to exploit in the past. Stafford’s ability to diagnose the defense instantly is shown to be far superior to that of Jared Goff, and it’s incredibly obvious in this analysis.

The LA Rams offense seemed to fall into an unenviable rut of setting up Goff to make the throws. And as the offensive game planning seemed to fall into that predictable nature, so did Jared Goff. As NFL defenses learned how to dial up speedier pressure, it appeared that the Rams offense, and Goff especially, abandoned progression reads and devolved into a yes/no decision on the primary receiver only.

Stafford should reset that back to neutral in the LA Rams offense. As Waner explains in Part Two, Stafford shines in the drop-back game. Warner emphasized Stafford’s ability to make instant decisions.

It’s so great to have an LA Rams great quarterback like Kurt Warner breaking down Matthew Stafford and how his skillsets will translate into the Rams offense.

The rest of the story

And yet the Kurt Warner analysis doesn’t end there. Warner points out that Stafford will roll the dice, taking chances and let the random chance determine the outcome of the play.   It’s a risk factor that was clearly there in the Lions’ offensive playbook. In the Rams system, the offense typically has a greater window of separation.

But with confidence comes the risk of overconfidence. And thankfully, Kurt Warner is not just a marionette simply echoing a message from another source. He is a straight-shooter and spends part three in this three-part Study Ball series focusing on unnecessary risks taken by Stafford.

The Rams receivers will be pushed hard with Stafford under center. In the past, the Rams receivers could pretty much count on who would likely be targetted based upon the progression. That will absolutely change in the Rams offense this year.

All summed up, the Rams offense will be more dangerous and unpredictable. Stafford will clearly unlock all pages of the Sean McVay offensive playbook this year. Clearly, that will place a lot of pressure on the defense all over the field for the entire game.

But it will also place more pressure on the Rams receivers. All receivers are options on each play. Stafford makes instant decisions, which will force the receiver to be engaged on all offensive plays, and be ready to win contested catches. Matthew Stafford will find plenty of separation in the Rams offense. But the Rams receivers will need to up their game to ensure that the offense is getting all of the juice out of Stafford’s arm in the Rams offense.

Plenty to love, but it will take some time to gel. That will serve the LA Rams well, because Stafford should be getting red hot at the end of the 2021 NFL season, right when the Rams need to be playing their best.