All Things Rams - Stafford Thread

[froot loops]

Here is one last look at the win. After reading that, all Ram fans should focus their full attention on the next task at hand, the Niners. They are the toughest opponent to date, we know this because of a losing streak that we can't talk about. Too painful. Sunday's game was an easier matchup, Tom Brady could never beat Stafford and I believe that is why he is contemplating retirement, he can't afford to have his soul snatched anymore. Handsome Jimmy is higher level boss to beat. The Rams traveling from all over the world need to be prepared to make SoFi Stadium a pit of vipers.

[CGVT]

Here is one last look at the win. After reading that, all Ram fans should focus their full attention on the next task at hand, the Niners. They are the toughest opponent to date, we know this because of a losing streak that we can't talk about. Too painful. Sunday's game was an easier matchup, Tom Brady could never beat Stafford and I believe that is why he is contemplating retirement, he can't afford to have his soul snatched anymore. Handsome Jimmy is higher level boss to beat. The Rams traveling from all over the world need to be prepared to make SoFi Stadium a pit of vipers.

Good Stuff. loops.

I have to say I was pretty excited to see Stafford doing Stafford things for our Rams the other day, but not as excited as that guy. Ha!

[froot loops]

I think all those fan videos are staged. I do know when he was back there in the pocket and threw that ball that someone was going to be open. Most Lion fans have that sixth sense. There was a regular season Ram game where he hit a bomb to Jackson, my son and I jumped up and started celebrating before they cut away to the receiver shot.

[Mainevent]

What's great is that's not a designed shot play to Kupp. He's supposed to be a distraction. Stafford saw the blitz and realized they had a chance for a big play.

We call the route that I ran, we call it a 'love of the game' route," Kupp said, "because you're really just trying to draw coverage."

To put it another way: Kupp wasn't supposed to get the ball on that play, so his job is to run his vertical route all out, for the love of the game and for the benefit of whatever teammate is left open underneath thanks to the defender he's occupying deep.

That was the idea anyway. The plan changed when the Bucs, who had the highest blitz rate in the NFL this season, sent what was supposed to be an all-out blitz that left Kupp and the Rams' other three pass-catchers with one-on-one matchups and no help from a deep safety, which is known as zero coverage.

"The route that Cooper's running there ... you're really never getting the ball," Stafford said. "You're just clearing out some area, working for some other routes. They decided to bring everybody and that's really the best option at that point. Felt it after the snap, kind of recognized it was going to be an all-out pressure and was able to put it to a good spot. Coop made a great catch, and then we just clocked it with enough time and Matt [Gay] came in and did his thing, which was awesome."

https://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/43224/from-love-of-the-game-to-rams-game-winner-inside-the-matthew-stafford-cooper-kupp-play

[Futureshock]

I think all those fan videos are staged. I do know when he was back there in the pocket and threw that ball that someone was going to be open. Most Lion fans have that sixth sense. There was a regular season Ram game where he hit a bomb to Jackson, my son and I jumped up and started celebrating before they cut away to the receiver shot.

When the Bucs left him 48 seconds I said, "Well, they lost." We've seen that man go down the field in MIN in 27 seconds and hang a TD on them. He does that in his sleep.

[froot loops]

In my mind, it is the greatest pass of all time by any quarterback who can't read defenses.

[TheLondonLion]

That was an abysmal piece of “analysis”.

[froot loops]

The best part about the analysis is it was used in here on Stafford's last game as a Lion.

[TheLondonLion]

Imagine thinking a 12 year NFL vet can’t read defenses.

[dpatnod]

[chemiclord]

What's great is that's not a designed shot play to Kupp. He's supposed to be a distraction. Stafford saw the blitz and realized they had a chance for a big play.

https://www.espn.com/blog/los-angele...oper-kupp-play

Regardless of how you feel about "prevent" strategies... I think everyone should be able to agree that betting the farm on an all-out blitz in a situation where only a single massive chunk play can hurt you was dumb as all hell.

[froot loops]

The Bucs were repeatedly getting burned by the blitz in that game, but Todd Bowles cannot help himself. When Gary Danielson has a talk show in Detroit he always said the older the quarterback, the more they want you to blitz because it makes their job easier.

[CGVT]

The Bucs were repeatedly getting burned by the blitz in that game, but Todd Bowles cannot help himself. When Gary Danielson has a talk show in Detroit he always said the older the quarterback, the more they want you to blitz because it makes their job easier.

Only if they can read defenses, though.

[froot loops]

Indeed. I think the mistake Bowles made was relying on a scouting report from Gonz.

[Mainevent]

It's not like Stafford was the highest rated passer against the blitz all year. Oh, wait a minute . . .

https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1486005667366420484?s=20

An interesting stat that I came across was that Stafford doesn't actually face a very high pressure rate when blitzed. He's much more prone to face pressure in non-blitz scenarios, and that's when the turnovers happen. So that says the Rams and Stafford are good at identifying the blitz and setting protections, making sure they are in a play that can take advantage of it, and Stafford is good at getting the ball out before pressure gets there. That's good coaching and smart QB play.