Can LA Rams veteran QB Matthew Stafford have an MVP season?

Does history repeat itself? If so, then the LA Rams may have some great news in the course of the 2021 NFL season. You see, the team’s head coach Sean McVay has worked with a number of NFL quarterbacks this year. But he’s never had the type of savvy veteran like Matthew Stafford will bring to the Rams offense.

On a similar line of thought, Matthew Stafford has been through a number of NFL head coaches and offensive coordinators before. And while he has had some success at times, the success of the Detroit Lions has eluded him. The quarterback continues to seek the right scheme to unlock his optimal potential.

Could Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford resonate this year?

Before you get too locked into a fit of laughter, chortles, or guffaws, this is not my idea. It is a thought shared by former NFL MVP quarterback Rich Gannon. He put those thoughts into the public forum in a ProFootballTalk article by Michael David Smith.

Gannon sees himself in Stafford

Gannon sees a lot of situational similarities between himself and Rams veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford. Gannon played 11 seasons in the NFL before uniting with the Las Vegas Raiders and head coach Jon Gruden. He did not have a particularly successful nor statistically prominent career prior to joining the Raiders. But from the moment he joined the Raiders, he was a four-time Pro-Bowler, two-time All-Pro, and one-time MVP.

Stafford has played 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions. and Gannon believes Stafford will rejuvenate his career in McVay’s offense.

"“He’s going to a situation where he’s a got a young head coach who’s a really good play caller, very innovative, really involved in coaching that position. And that’s where Jon was with me, and we just hit it off. We never looked back.” – Rich Gannon per Michael David Smith"

The similarities are striking.

Perhaps the most curious alignment for both Gannon and Stafford is the point in their careers where they suddenly found themselves in a new offense on a new team. Rather than be resistant to change, or to find themselves limited, the pairing of the head coach and quarterback immediately harmonized into great play on the field, and great heroics for the team.

This is certainly one occasion where it’s okay to follow the path of another NFL great coach/quarterback combination. Let’s hope that the Stafford/McVay pair finds similar success.