I still marvel that Rams were able to acquire Stafford…

[Rams43]

I think it’s the trade of the decade and that might be a bit conservative.

And to think that some thought we overpaid.

Stafford’s talent turbocharged everything on O from McVay’s new options, to Kupp’s record setting year, to resurrecting OBJ’s career, to that incredible drama filled playoff run that drained all of us, and on and on…

All due respect to Kupp and AD, but Stafford was the real SB MVP.

Snead has made a lot of great moves as a GM, no doubt, but the Stafford trade was his second most impactful.

Here’s my top 4 Snead moves:

Hiring McVay is his biggest HR move, by far (yeah, he had help with this decision, but it was basically his to make)

Stafford trade
Drafting AD at pick 13
Ramsey trade (at lest gets an honorable mention on this elite list)

And in that order. Is it too early to call Snead a savant or prodigy?

 

[A.J. Hicks]

Don't forget the haul he got for RG3 just didn't have a coach of Mcvay's level to bring it all to fruition.

 

[Merlin]

Yes it is incredible and there were only a few teams who saw his value and were after him. Reload that offseason again now and shit would probably be different. There would be much more competition.

Also what is worth discussion is that you can hit on more of these vet additions because of the strength of this staff and culture. In part because of the history of the Rams moving anyone who doesn't produce no matter who they are, and in addition McVay's excellent leadership to include the staff, you have a culture where the most is gotten from the players. Which is no easy feat when you see guys getting big money and putting their feet up elsewhere. Everyone knows you don't go to LA to collect the check. You go to LA to chase the hardware.

 

[den-the-coach]

Here’s my top 4 Snead moves:

Hiring McVay is his biggest HR move, by far (yeah, he had help with this decision, but it was basically his to make)

Disagree with here @Rams43 the Rams hired McVay and McVay signed off on working with Snead. The Rams were open to letting Snead go, but when McVay met with Les, they got along tremendously and McVay was fine with Les staying on.

The hiring of McVay was all Kevin Demoff as the guy they truly wanted and a big gulp here was Jon Gruden, but obviously Gruden wanted more control and money so Gruden recommended McVay and Kevin Demoff said "When you close your eyes and listen to McVay, he sounds like Jon Gruden." Thank Goodness the Rams went with McVay and not Gruden, but it was not Les Snead decision to make although he did agree with the decision.

 

[OntarioRam]

Stafford will be 35 in February.

It is hard to say how an athlete will age. Sometimes an athlete will drop off a cliff, seemingly out of nowhere.

But Aaron Rodgers is 38 and playing at an MVP level. Tom Brady is 44. Drew Brees was in his 40s when he retired. Roethlisberger was quite effective into his late 30s. In terms of pure arm ability, Stafford is widely regarded as being as good as anyone from that generation of QBs. He is not a QB that relies on his legs. Although he does have something of an injury history, and quietly is dinged up as we speak. Still, I am cautiously optimistic that Stafford can play at this level into his late 30s, if we wants to do so. He already won the Rams a Super Bowl. With any luck, he will be providing the Rams withs several years of elite QB play yet.

I was among the doubters of the trade when it happened. I suspected that Stafford would be an immediate upgrade at the league's most important position, QB. I always liked the player. But I was not sure if the price was right, as I was on the fence if Stafford was at least part of the problem in Detroit, and I saw/still see Goff as a very good QB with many more playing years left in him. I think Jared will surprise everyone as Detroit continues to make strides. I still think Jared got a raw deal here towards the end. But boy oh boy, was I wrong - Stafford worth every penny it took to acquire him. Plus more. Hats off to Snead/McVay for getting their guy!

The Rams' pro scouting really should never be doubted. It's absolutely unreal. Everyone they identity does reasonably well in horns, and in most cases, thrives. That is unheard of in the NFL. Even the best regime's sometimes swing and miss. It does not see the Rams ever do. Stafford. Ramsey. OBJ. Miller. Sony Michel. Floyd. Fowler. Whitworth. Corbett. Woods. Cooks. A'Shawn Robinson. Darious Williams. CJ Anderson. All of them performed amazing well, and in many cases, were steals for what the Rams paid to acquire them. Even the players that performed at a lower level would hardly be considered busts IMO. Watkins. Clay Matthews. Barwin. That must be close to 20 players (!). The draft has been more hit and miss. But pro scouting has been impeccable. Has there been a single bust post-McVay? I can't seem to recall one off the top of my head. It defies NFL reality. If someone was to do a historical analysis it would not surprise me to see this as the most impressive run in modern league history. The success rate - combined with how many players perform at an elite level - is that stunning.

EDIT - based on that list, I've got a hunch Bobby Wagner will give the Rams some elite ILB play...

 

[tomas]

Don't forget the haul he got for RG3 just didn't have a coach of Mcvay's level to bring it all to fruition.

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[HE WITH HORNS]

But here's the thing. If we hadn't traded for Stafford, the 69ers would have gotten him. And they would be the champs right now, without a doubt.

 

[Allen2McVay]

I think it’s the trade of the decade and that might be a bit conservative.

And to think that some thought we overpaid.

He's just a stat-compiler. Not a winner. He can't win in the playoffs. Furthermore ... ummm ... Oh ... Never Mind.

 

[CGI_Ram]

I am definitely going to enjoy the next few seasons of Franchise QB play.

 

[Tano]

I was among the doubters of the trade when it happened. I suspected that Stafford would be an immediate upgrade at the league's most important position, QB. I always liked the player. But I was not sure if the price was right, as I was on the fence if Stafford was at least part of the problem in Detroit, and I saw/still see Goff as a very good QB with many more playing years left in him. I think Jared will surprise everyone as Detroit continues to make strides. I still think Jared got a raw deal here towards the end. But boy oh boy, was I wrong - Stafford worth every penny it took to acquire him. Plus more. Hats off to Snead/McVay for getting their guy!

Me too.

I just felt at the time that if McVay wouldn't have downplayed Goff's play in the GB game, we wouldn't have had to give up 2 1sts and a 3rd and Goff. Detroit knew from both Snead's and McVay's comments that Goff was no longer their guy. I am just glad that Detroit didn't get even more greedy and asked for our seconds as well.

But the trade has been well worth it although I am worried about Stafford's health in the coming years.

He wasn't the same at the end of last year as he was in the first 8 games. But damn he is clutch in the 4th qtr.

 

[Jacobarch]

I think Matt can give us what we saw this year for the next 4. It's hard to imagine anything beyond that because everyone's body is different and father time always gets us in the end. I'm however going to enjoy the next 4 years and here's to hoping we bring home some more Lombardi's. Cheers!

 

[Kupped]

I think Matt can give us what we saw this year for the next 4. It's hard to imagine anything beyond that because everyone's body is different and father time always gets us in the end. I'm however going to enjoy the next 4 years and here's to hoping we bring home some more Lombardi's. Cheers!

Same.
I'm kind of fascinated with what happens with the Rams after this current iteration.
Will McVay stick around for the reboot? The Rams approach was boosted by having a cheat code on their roster already in Donald. How will they build the next roster? I'm excited to watch Snead do that.

 

[Merlin]

I think he will win MVP this season. Year two plus better weapons. Only concern would be injuries, OL quality, defense, etc.

 

[tempests]

Snead has never won Executive of the Year with all his big trades. I thought he should've gotten this last one for the Stafford trade alone.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

Snead has never won Executive of the Year with all his big trades. I thought he should've gotten this last one for the Stafford trade alone.

I agree but as long as we keep getting SBs, it'll be a lot better for everyone's legacy that is a Ram or in the Rams FO. Think we are shocking the NFL so much with our approach that they can't think straight and just give Snead the award he deserves.

 

[FrantikRam]

Pretty crazy to reconcile how much of a steal it was for us to the initial reactions from quite a few posters on this site

 

[RamFan503]

I'd give another honorable mention on the Big Whit acquisition. Without him I don't know that we make either SB under McVay. Though I think McVay himself had a lot to do with that.

 

[RamFan503]

But yeah... Stafford was the key that unlocked the door to the championship.

 

[FrantikRam]

Me too.

I just felt at the time that if McVay wouldn't have downplayed Goff's play in the GB game, we wouldn't have had to give up 2 1sts and a 3rd and Goff. Detroit knew from both Snead's and McVay's comments that Goff was no longer their guy. I am just glad that Detroit didn't get even more greedy and asked for our seconds as well.

But the trade has been well worth it although I am worried about Stafford's health in the coming years.

He wasn't the same at the end of last year as he was in the first 8 games. But damn he is clutch in the 4th qtr.

I think it comes down to how fans view first round picks.

I view ours as LATE, and as such I have never once cared about trading them. Not for Cooks, Ramsey or Stafford.


But nobody likes to talk about what they actually turn into, which is hilarious. The Broncos traded pick 9 this year AND quite a bit more.

Well pick 9 alone might be worth the entire package we gave up for Stafford, they're the same age and it turns out Stafford might actually be the better player.

 

[Tano]

I think it comes down to how fans view first round picks.

I view ours as LATE, and as such I have never once cared about trading them. Not for Cooks, Ramsey or Stafford.


But nobody likes to talk about what they actually turn into, which is hilarious. The Broncos traded pick 9 this year AND quite a bit more.

Well pick 9 alone might be worth the entire package we gave up for Stafford, they're the same age and it turns out Stafford might actually be the better player.

Well the thing is - you are not including the value of Goff in this trade.

You may say giving up Goff for his salary is a wash but Detroit only paid him his salary for those 3 seasons - 25M per year for 3 years

So basically you are trading Goff for nothing as long as you don't have to incur his additional cap hit for 3 seasons at 25M per

I on the other hand value Goff at a much higher value than you.

I really don't want to get into a discussion of Goff's value with you. I am just letting you see where I am coming from initially from the trade stand point.

If I was a fan of a team without a QB, I could see us giving up 2 firsts and a second for Goff alone. Maybe I am crazy but that is the value I saw of Goff at the time of the trade. I believe San Francisco said they could have gotten 2 firsts or so for a healthy Crapola and I think Goff is much better than Crapola.

So basically we gave 4 firsts a second and a third for Stafford. This is my opinion only. Laugh at it as you will but it is just my opinion. Let's not argue on that please.

So at the time of the trade, I felt that was too high for Stafford. Well we won a Superbowl so it is all good now.

Just a friendly reminder - once I reviewed Stafford's play at Detroit, I did state Stafford was a better QB than Goff.

But again please do not argue any of my points, this is just to let you know how I felt at the time of the trade. It was just my opinion. I do not want to start another Goff argument.