Stafford concerns have come full circle after the Vikings game

[I like Rams]

The Jets almost beat the Bucs today and GB only beat the Ravens by 1 pt as well. You can't assume every game should be a cakewalk.
I'm not excusing the recent pick sixes, he has to clean those up. But we wouldn't have the 2nd best record in the NFL and control of the two seed without him as well.

I think the main concern, at least it is with me, is that we believed we gave up Goff and 2 firsts for a qb who will not turn the ball over and make better decisions. Goff would turn the ball over when pressured or he would fumble. Stafford turns it over when he's forcing the big play or is pressured. It doesn't matter to me WHY or WHEN the ball is turned over, but the fact that it IS turned over at a high rate. This is not what we gave up so much for.

I personally don't care if we have a winning record, we had a winning record with Goff, it obviously wasn't enough, and I agree. We've also had a pretty cookie cutter schedule aside from a few games. And some of those easy games he struggled early but luckily figured it out. I don't understand why some don't hold Stafford to the same standards they held Goff to. Is it bc Stafford looks confident throwing an INT? lol

 

[Kupped]

The Jets almost beat the Bucs today and GB only beat the Ravens by 1 pt as well. You can't assume every game should be a cakewalk.
I'm not excusing the recent pick sixes, he has to clean those up. But we wouldn't have the 2nd best record in the NFL and control of the two seed without him as well.

Absolutely not.

This is a frustrating conversation to have.

You know.. you can be happy about trading for Matthew Stafford.. praise his great performances... AND YOU CAN STILL POINT OUT THAT HE'S MAKING SOME REALLY SERIOUS ERRORS AT AN ALARMING RATE.

That doesn't make me negative.. it doesn't make me a whiner.. it doesn't make me a Stafford "hater".. it doesn't make me say there's no way the Rams can win a Super Bowl.

What I, and several others are saying is that a performance like he had today and last week.. two FANTASTIC team wins.. will most likely mean losses in the playoffs. Teams that are heading to the playoffs have beat the Rams when Stafford has performed like this. The teams the Rams beat when he performed like this are not heading to the playoffs.

 

[Angry Ram]

The pick problem I noticed happens mostly on two different scenarios: pinned inside the 10, and those long deep shots. Yeah you're gonna toss a few when you chuck deep like that. Getting pinned over and over again has been a disaster. Ever notice the bad decisions don't happen when they start on the 25? Even on non scoring drives.

Today was his first lost fumble? In January after a playoff spot is locked up. Ehh.

Can we talk about 38 tuds?? 40 very likely.

Making O'Dell relevant again.

Cooper Kupp have a record setting year.

Without Robert Woods.

Constant changes and rotations in WRs and RBs.

Dude keeps on ticking.

Matthew goddamn Stafford.

 

[Tano]

I'm referring to game-winning situations, the final offensive possession or two.

In the Superbowl, he throw that INT at the end of the game.

Against the Bucs in 2019, Goff fumbled the ball when we had a chance to tie with just over 1 min left on the clock.

There were other situations similar to this where we gave up the ball during a chance for a game winning drive.

If we need 1 more possession to tie or win the game, I'm more optimistic that we can score with Stafford than with Goff. I'm sure others feel the same way too.

Goff was the only reason we were in that Bucs game and he had one bad play at the end where he loses a fumble.

And in the Superbowl they would have been at the two yard line if they called the PI (which the NFL admitted was PI)

And then they call the same exact play right after that, most QBs would probably do bad with that play call. I have seen it too often when the same play is called back to back.

And just two times in 4 years under McVay - ehh shit happens

 

[Mojo Ram]

Dear Matthew:

Clean it up!

 

[jrry32]

Whatever your thought on Stafford, he needs to play it safer in the playoffs. He's thrown too many deep balls into double and triple coverage when the underneath routes were there. He has to play more within himself in the playoffs. The turnover battle is too important.

 

[RAMSinLA]

Stafford is a winner. He came from behind to win back to back road games. He takes chances and sometimes it will cost him but when he connects, well, that's what the Rams got him for. Big plays that Goff for whatever reason wasn't making anymore.

 

[RamsOfCastamere]

I think the main concern, at least it is with me, is that we believed we gave up Goff and 2 firsts for a qb who will not turn the ball over and make better decisions. Goff would turn the ball over when pressured or he would fumble. Stafford turns it over when he's forcing the big play or is pressured. It doesn't matter to me WHY or WHEN the ball is turned over, but the fact that it IS turned over at a high rate. This is not what we gave up so much for.

I personally don't care if we have a winning record, we had a winning record with Goff, it obviously wasn't enough, and I agree. We've also had a pretty cookie cutter schedule aside from a few games. And some of those easy games he struggled early but luckily figured it out. I don't understand why some don't hold Stafford to the same standards they held Goff to. Is it bc Stafford looks confident throwing an INT? lol

Stafford's ceiling is higher than the late Goff. I don't think anyone denies that. The accuracy of some of those balls, he moves better in the pocket, and he looks off defenders (or attempts lol) and gets through his progressions quicker.

Downside - the recent turnovers. We have to see what he does in the playoffs and if they continue. Including today's TOs, he's still top 3 in QB rating. I'm hoping the pick sixes are an anomaly but we have to wait and see.

I am pissed off at the TOs too. I just hope that a reduction of them is the true norm and the 9TD-1 INT Stafford is the guy we'll see in the playoffs. His ceiling is beautiful.

 

[808RAMS]

The Rams are sandbagging. Making our opponents feel over-confident when they play us. Yeah, that’s it! And I’m sticking with it. Lol

 

[RamsOfCastamere]

Goff was the only reason we were in that Bucs game and he had one bad play at the end where he loses a fumble.

And in the Superbowl they would have been at the two yard line if they called the PI (which the NFL admitted was PI)

And then they call the same exact play right after that, most QBs would probably do bad with that play call. I have seen it too often when the same play is called back to back.

And just two times in 4 years under McVay - ehh shit happens

The play before has nothing to do with the play after. He could have thrown the ball away on that blitz instead of throwing it up. It has been more than two games, those are just the ones I remember from the top of my head.

Goff had his comebacks too. I won't forget the NFCC win against the Saints. Stafford has more comeback wins. Maybe because the Lions were down most of the time, but regardless it's more.

 

[hotanez]

Whatever your thought on Stafford, he needs to play it safer in the playoffs. He's thrown too many deep balls into double and triple coverage when the underneath routes were there. He has to play more within himself in the playoffs. The turnover battle is too important.

very true but I thought that in the 2nd half he played so much better because he was taking the underneath stuff the D was giving him. Hopefully he can continue doing this, especially against the 9ers.

 

[FrantikRam]

I think the main concern, at least it is with me, is that we believed we gave up Goff and 2 firsts for a qb who will not turn the ball over and make better decisions. Goff would turn the ball over when pressured or he would fumble. Stafford turns it over when he's forcing the big play or is pressured. It doesn't matter to me WHY or WHEN the ball is turned over, but the fact that it IS turned over at a high rate. This is not what we gave up so much for.

I personally don't care if we have a winning record, we had a winning record with Goff, it obviously wasn't enough, and I agree. We've also had a pretty cookie cutter schedule aside from a few games. And some of those easy games he struggled early but luckily figured it out. I don't understand why some don't hold Stafford to the same standards they held Goff to. Is it bc Stafford looks confident throwing an INT? lol

He is turning it over as much as Goff did, but the offense is also better than it has been since 2018.

You can look at it in a lot of different ways, but the simplest is this:

When Gurley was the best player on offense - meaning Goff didnt need to be - he was good. When that changed, our offense suffered.

Today our offense is significantly better than it was in 2019 or 2020.

People keep trying to compare Stafford to 2018 Goff which is disingenuous because Todd Gurley had 1800 total yards and 21 TDs in 14 games.

So just simply look to last year. Go find the posts claiming our WRs weren't explosive - and compare last year's offense to this year's.

That is why we gave up those picks. Simplifying it to "we had a winning record with Goff" does not tell the whole story.

 

[Spider2YB]

Legit almost all of Stafford’s picks have come on short routes to the flat/curl area backed up deep in Rams territory.

He needs to be better, but I think McVay also needs to help him out more with some of these play calls. A lot of these picks have come from empty sets. He should call more boots, roll outs, and screens when backed up like that.

 

[RAMSinLA]

View: https://youtu.be/DqObXgD-aKA

 

[AppeasFBlGods]

I do think the offense is far from a well oiled machine right now. I think Stafford is not seeing the field well, and I think our recievers outside of Kupp are also not doing a great job with their option routes and spacing. In the post game, mcvay said the pick six was due to a wrong route allowing the safety to key on Higbee. It's also seemed like there have been too many plays where recievers are occupying the same space. With all the moving pieces and lack of practice.. they just aren't sharp. A positive sign though.. is there's still time to tighten up and improve. If they can become more efficient but keep the explosives.. they can beat anybody.

 

[Tano]

The play before has nothing to do with the play after. He could have thrown the ball away on that blitz instead of throwing it up. It has been more than two games, those are just the ones I remember from the top of my head.

Goff had his comebacks too. I won't forget the NFCC win against the Saints. Stafford has more comeback wins. Maybe because the Lions were down most of the time, but regardless it's more.

But you have to admit it was a terrible play call. I couldn't believe that McVay called it.

 

[Steve808]

I just finished watching the game on DVR. One minor issue I saw was that we could have run the clock down and scored right before halftime. Stafford snapped the ball with I think 26 seconds on the play clock and we scored (Yes!), but the Ravens had almost a full minute and got a FG with 7 seconds left. They might not have scored at all if we ran the clock down before snapping it. Not taking anything away from a great win but I've seen this happen in other games and it has costed us points.

 

[Ramhusker]

I didn't mind the 3rd and 19 INT at their 4 yd line, better than our punter has been doing lately. I don't even consider ones like that a turnover, just an early punt. I didn't notice the other open WRs. Were they 20 yds down field for a possible 1st down? YES, it seems all of his pick sixes are when we are inside our own 10 yd line. They all look alike. It's strange. Not sure what he is or is not seeing on those plays. It's like he feels he is in a desperate stage of the game and absolutely has to have that completion. Throw it away please! But anybody that doesn't see we are better off with Stafford now has a disconnect. He's got the moxie needed. He just needs the ball to bounce the right way and so do we!

 

[RamsOfCastamere]

But you have to admit it was a terrible play call. I couldn't believe that McVay called it.

Same formation but trips to the left did something slightly different. Was Cooks the primary receiver or did Goff want to go to him pre-snap? Cooks did not turn around at all as if he wasn't the first option. If he went left, it looks like he could have had Reynolds on a short pass.

 

[Ramhusker]

I just finished watching the game on DVR. One minor issue I saw was that we could have run the clock down and scored right before halftime. Stafford snapped the ball with I think 26 seconds on the play clock and we scored (Yes!), but the Ravens had almost a full minute and got a FG with 7 seconds left. They might not have scored at all if we ran the clock down before snapping it. Not taking anything away from a great win but I've seen this happen in other games and it has costed us points.

I know what you mean. I thought the same thing when OBJ scored the game winner. I was thinking maybe he should have gone out of bounds at the 1/2 yd line but you never know what might happen the next play. I guess the rule is if you are behind, you score when you can score or you might get a holding call the next play. Time management is a tricky thing. I actually think it is easier to do from our couches rather than from the time chaos that the live sideline environment must be. Like I was thinking way ahead when we were on that last drive about we needed to go for two but I don't know if the person making the play calls can even think about that until after the score.