LA Rams Matthew Stafford: How deep is your throw?

The LA Rams have found that no matter how livid the head coach becomes with the starting quarterback, a quarterback will throw where the quarterback will throw. Now the LA Rams believe that they have aligned the offensive strategy with the natural center of gravity of their newest addition, veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford.

We’ve hinted that one of the problems with the Jared Goff-Sean Mcvay union over the years is the fact that Jared Goff’s natural instincts were to fire the ball out quickly to the receiver and let the yards pile up after the catch.  Well, that’s great, if the defenses play their coverage back and give free rein to those short pass routes. Defenses, unfortunately, have a way of tracking those tendencies, and soon discovered that they could disrupt the LA Rams passing game if they upped the tempo and forced the Rams to pass out of sequence.

And then along came Matt. Tall, thin Matt. Deep-throwin’ Matt. Comeback-winnin’ Matt. Along came long, lean, lanky Matt. (reworded lyrics to Along Came Jones by the Coasters).

Los Angeles Rams

The LA Rams jumped at the chance to trade for the veteran quarterback because head coach Sean McVay believes in his offense, Matthew Stafford can run that offense to its maximum potential. And he may very likely be right. While all we have so far is Stafford’s production in other offensive schemes, they seem to align with the Rams’ needs.

Stafford can throw a deep ball, Stafford can process what he sees developing on the football field quickly, and he can put the ball in the hands of his receiver. There were no records kept in 2020, but quite frequently the ball intended to an open receiver streaking down the field fell short. If the Rams can do better on those plays alone, this is a very much improved offense.

If the Rams can score more touchdowns via the air, while cutting down on interceptions, suddenly this team is a true contender. Too much hype? Hardly. The Rams have to connect on those deep routes that have historically been open for the team. The Rams have to cut turnovers significantly. And the Rams must break the plane and learn how to convert possessions into scores. That’s a lot of work ahead. But as data trickles in piece-by-piece, the picture is coming into focus.

The Rams, and Matthew Stafford, are on the right track.