How will LA Rams Matthew Stafford work w rumored OC Mike LaFleur?

Protection, Play-Action, and keeping Matthew Stafford upright

So what does Mike LaFleur do for the LA Rams, and most importantly, for veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford? After all, the LA Rams’ future rests entirely on the ability to keep quarterback Matthew Stafford healthy and upright. I think that he helps Stafford in three distinct areas.

First and foremost, I suspect that LaFleur will lobby for a stronger offensive line for the LA Rams. Perhaps he will need to compromise a bit, but he will surely point out the need to ensure that in order to get the optimal value out of Stafford, the offensive line will need to get intense scrutiny. I’m not of the opinion that the LA Rams offensive line is rubbish. But I am convinced that the team cannot expect different results if the starting five are the same players who started in 2022.

Offensive balance is everything in 2023

The second area of improvement for the Rams’ offense is returning to a more balanced offense. That not only means more running plays throughout the course of the game but more evenly distributed passing plays as well. The team was completely predictable and stuck in an offensive rut in 2022, and did not make use of many of the team’s offensive weapons until the option to have Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp or Tyler Higbee was impossible.

Finally, the team has to ensure that Stafford uses all of his weapons. The LA Rams’ offense was loaded despite the injuries that ravaged the team. But it was not until the team did not have alternatives to throwing to Tutu Atwell or handing the ball off to Cam Akers that we truly had the chance to witness what they were capable of.