Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford are the LA Rams bread and butter

The LA Rams are counting on veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford to connect with veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp. And despite their intermittent availability due to various injuries, when they took to the football field, it was as though no time had passed whatsoever.

They are the bread and butter of the LA Rams offense.

If you never had parents who lived through WWII or the Great Depression, you may have no clue what the heck I am talking about. Long ago, bread was a very affordable starch. In fact, it was one of the few foods that all families could afford to eat. So a stack of sliced bread and a stick of butter was a staple at each and every family meal. If you were still hungry after the entree was served, you were instructed to fill up on bread and butter.

Some experts tracked the meaning all the way to the Middle Ages, with the same meaning. But over time, the usage of that phrase turned to what becomes the money maker for the family. Phrases like bread winner, which side your bread is buttered on, and even referring to currency as bread all has ties back to the connection between feeding a family, and the basic food of bread and butter.

Can Rams win on the Stafford Kupp chemistry alone?

It was only two years ago that found LA Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp kicking down many of the Rams All-Time Single Season receiving records. For his first year playing for the LA Rams, quarterback Matthew Stafford worked his own brand of NFL mystical magic, setting the Rams All-Time Single Season Passing Record along the way to win Super Bowl LVI.

And from what we are seeing so far, the Stafford-to-Kupp connection is every bit as effective as it was in 2021. Okay, so if the Stafford-to-Kupp connection and chemistry are so amazing, where is the usual preseason overhyping? In short, why is nobody talking about it?

Well, NFL hype only works if there is a change of expectations. For young celebrated rookies, preseason hype sets unattainable expectations, and then drives volumes throughout the season as those young players fall short.

But for the LA Rams, Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp missed a significant number of games in 2022. So this year, they are more likely to exceed expectations than fall short. And the LA Rams have done their homework, as the Rams have invested in several ways to improve their protection of Matthew Stafford.

Protect Stafford

The Rams have a robust group of running backs this season, and effective running is critical to slowing down a pass rush against Matthew Stafford. But beyond that, the Rams invested in blocking tight ends, and rookie TE Davis Allen already looks like the real deal to make the Rams roster.

But the true marvel so far is how well the LA Rams appear to be pass blocking already. While it's only preseason, keep in mind that the best of the bunch have yet to see any action so far. So the news is quite refreshing:

With the onus on the LA Rams offensive line to do a far better job this year than 2022, it would seem that the group is already making great strides to getting the job done this year. That will not end once the 2023 NFL season starts. In fact, as long as the Rams remain relatively healthy, the offense will develop quite rapidly over the course of the season.

Are Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford the LA Rams bread and butter this season? Unfortunately, yes. But thankfully, there is a great deal more on the Rams offensive menu this season.