Why settle for grievances when Rams Matthew Stafford can still airs out passes?

Do the LA Rams have something special to celebrate in 2024? Of course they do. But it's not Festivus. Hmm, you don't know what Festivus is?

You have all seen or heard about the fictitious celebration of Festivus, the holiday birthed in the comedy television of Seinfeld, the brainchild of George Constanza's father, Frank Costanza. It's a humorous tale that is worth checking out, if for nothing more than adding a moment of laughter to your day:

But Rams fans needn't rush to air out their grievances. In fact, quite the opposite is true. You see, the Rams have bolstered the offense to allow a greater part of the plays to be handled by running backs grinding it out behind powerful offensive linemen. And it's that perceived transformation that prompted us to consider how airstrike plays can remain in the LA Rams 2024 offensive plan.

Now we know the answer. Those big plays never left the offense. Well, at least not as long as veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford is under center. How do I know? This little tidbit showed up on social media yesterday, illustrating that Stafford continues to master the big play. In fact, he was the runner up at attempting to sling the football 30+ yards downfield in 2023:

While the Rams offense may appear to be better prepared to fun the football in 2024, I wouldn't lower estimates of how many passing and receiving yards this team can generate this year just yet. The team may actually be more productive through the air than ever before.

With a stronger and more powerful offensive line, Matthew Stafford will have more time to throw. That will give this offense opportunities to run deeper routes, the kind that take longer to develop. With deeper routes come longer pass plays.

As the offense runs more effectively, defensive backs will load up the box to stuff the run. That will, in turn, reduce the number of defensive backs playing back in pass coverage. With fewer defenders, receivers will have a much greater chance of creating separation and turning normal pass plays into big gains.

With bigger offensive linemen, opposing defenses will be tempted to field bigger defenders, and opt for linebackers over defensive backs, The team's receivers match up favorably to slower bigger defenders, and the race is on again.

Ultimately, the offense has created more opportunities for QB Matthew Stafford to air out the football by getting stronger up front. Will the Rams have fewer explosive plays in 2024? As of right now, this offense could prove to be even more explosive than ever before.

Thanks for reading.