There is palpable excitement around the Los Angeles Rams now that Matthew Stafford is the new quarterback to lead Sean McVay’s offense.
Stafford has spent most of the offseason integrating himself with the Rams and his new teammates after spending 13 years with the Detroit Lions. So far, Stafford has drawn rave reviews from McVay and his teammates for his veteran leadership and professionalism both on and off the field.
The offense is expected to take a leap with Stafford under center, but the quarterback is still learning the ins and outs of McVay’s schemes. According to Lindsey Thiry of ESPN, Robert Woods said that Stafford has really emphasized learning the offense because of the Super Bowl aspirations the organization has:
“He’s a vet quarterback [who’s] really honing in on picking up this offense very fast because we all got plans, we need him to learn it and be ready to go right away,” said Woods, who fell 64 yards shy in 2020 of a third-consecutive 1,000-receiving yard season. “I would say his attention to listen to receivers, wanting to still get better at his level and at his year is super big.”
It is no secret that the Rams are all-in on trying to win a Super Bowl and the addition of Stafford only adds more pressure to get there. Stafford has never won a playoff game, but now has all the weapons he could possibly ask for in Woods, Cooper Kupp and Cam Akers.
General manager Les Snead also made sure to add more dimensions to McVay’s offense by signing DeSean Jackson and drafting Tutu Atwell. Both are considered speedsters who will the vertical elements that were missing during the 2020 season.
Given Stafford’s talent and experience, he should be able to pick up on the play calls and scheme quickly and elevate an offense that has largely struggled in previous years. Los Angeles is going to be one of the most exciting squads to watch and it should be fun to see whether or not Stafford can live up to expectations.
