How equipped are LA Rams receivers to make contested catches?

Okay, the LA Rams know that they will be welcoming a new quarterback whose longstanding history in the NFL is a pattern of throwing into tight coverage. Meanwhile, the Rams receivers have made it a point to create lots of separation on their route running.  So now the question is, what gives?

The NFL advanced statistics term is throwing into a tight window. Stafford threw there. Goff didn’t. On paper, it reads as though Stafford will find much easier pickings with the Rams offense. But will it truly work that way? It could backfire, with the Rams receivers so familiar with no defender in their vicinity, that they haven’t the ability to come out with a contested catch. So the question becomes, can they?

There are three basic characteristics of receivers: rote speed, precise route running, ability to catch the ball. To this point, the Rams have emphasized receivers who excel at route running. That crisp ability to be in the exact spot on schedule translates into lots of separation. That in term gives those receivers plenty of free space to work in.

Now, how do the Rams work if there is a defender nearby? That is a completely different skill set, an ability to focus on their hands, to reach out, and sometimes over a defender to complete the catch. The Rams have not had to perform that very often because Jared Goff simply did not throw into a tight window.  But the new guy, Stafford, he does. And he does so without hesitation or pause.

Perhaps that is why Jay Blucher lobbies so hard for the LA Rams to trade for Atlanta Falcons star wide receiver Julio Jones. He is not confident that the Rams offense has that type of receiver who can wrestle the ball away from a defender. I see it from the other side. I see Stafford no longer forcing the ball into tight windows because the Rams pass plays and route runners are superior to that of the Lions. I don’t think the Rams need Julio Jones, because Stafford will adjust to the Rams playbook.

We’ll soon learn how this all shakes out soon enough. Either the Rams receivers will adjust, the Rams quarterback will adjust, or the team will rework the roster to synch up the two sides of the pass.