LA Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford: It’s the little things (too)

All that time new LA Rams‘ QB Matthew Stafford played for a moribund franchise known as the  Detroit Lions, did you ever once hear him complain, grumble or gripe about his team, his fellow players, his receivers dropping passes, or his coach’s decision-making (or lack thereof)? Did you ever even once hear him whine like that petulant little spoiled quarterback up there in Seattle named Russell Wilson that he was tired of getting hit?

Or that his front office was, well, clueless?

Nope. Nary once. Where seldom was heard a discouraging word.

He always seemed to just cinch the chin strap a little tighter and soldier on. And that’s the kind of stuff that gets noticed in the locker room. That earns R-E-S-P-E-C-T, a tip of the hat.

That’s what they call football “intangibles.” But it goes by another name, too – character.

Football toughness. That’s the toughness the Rams sought. That’s what head coach Sean McVay saw, in addition to all the obvious strong-arm talents he possessed. And that’s what that other NFC West coach by the Bay saw in Stafford as well,  why Kyle Shanahan wanted him in a Niners’ uniform.

Los Angeles Rams

It’s the rocket-arm, of course, but it’s every bit as much about the little things, too. The simple, unseen characteristics that just, well, matter.

His character, his football IQ, his courage. Integrity.

We talk at length about how the Rams offensive front needs to keep Stafford upright. But it’s his own inner “uprightness” that’s the reason he’s been called The Comeback Kid. (He had led his guys to 31 – count ’em, 31!) 4th-quarter comebacks during his tenure in Detroit – more than any other QB has done since 2009 and he trails only the GOAT Tom Brady in Tampa Bay and Big Ben in Pittsburgh in that department).

But lest we under-sell that slingshot arm of his, here are some throws he makes into the tightest of NFL windows. The margin for error on some of these throws is the size of the holes in a screen window designed to keep the flies from coming into your house.

In case you needed a reminder, check out the 4:00 mark in this video. A ball is thrown over the linebacker’s out-stretched arms and between two defenders. That’s some sniper action right there.

Stafford’s thread-the-needle passes

Need a highlight reel? We gotcha’. Check out the 2:50 mark sidearm TD strike of a throw he makes as none other than the Rams’ own five-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald is barreling down on him.

Top 10 Stafford Pass Plays

There is something about a guy who scrambles, replants his feet, and tosses a bomb dead onto his receiver. Stafford is always looking downfield to make a play. He can throw on the run into tight coverages. Yes, he’s human. But there is no deer in the headlights in these videos. There is a predator, a quarterback always looking to strike.

The LA Rams have one of the most sophisticated and complex passing offenses in the NFL. Now, led by Stafford, that offense can go full throttle. Buckle up, cause here we go!