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What can the Rams expect with Matt Stafford?
If you ask his former Lions coach and QB guru Jim Caldwell – the sky’s the limit. And his own past history suggests he’s right.
When Deadspin asked him to share his thoughts on Stafford, Caldwell praised Stafford’s “mental and physical strength”, “intellectual prowess” and described Stafford’s character and leadership as much as his abilities.
“Matthew is responsible in every way and shows extreme ownership, accepting responsibility for his mistakes and diverting the credit from his teammates and coaches when they win. He has an extremely strong arm, underrated mobility and he can accurately throw the ball with speed or touch from different platforms and angles, ”Caldwell said.
No one would know better of what Stafford is capable of than Caldwell, as Stafford thrived with him, as part of a successful QB coaching resume on three different teams.
If you want to predict Stafford’s future with Rams head coach Sean McVay, the best evidence is in the past with Caldwell.
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The first thing Caldwell helped Stafford do is the same thing helped a young Peyton Manning, do, as his coach QB – reduce interceptions. Between the two, as Ravens offensive coordinator Caldwell called all the pieces Joe Flacco’s Magic Super Bowl Race in 2002 (11 TD / 0 INT).
Matt Stafford Record under Head Coaches
29-51 Jim Schwartz (2009-2013)
36-28 Jim Caldwell (2014-2017)
14-25-1 Matt Patricia / Bevell (2018-2020)
It’s important, and not a little.
Coaching questions
After the Lions ran 11-21 from 2012 to 2013, Stafford’s stretches of greatness were also associated with criticism of his fundamentals, footwork, arm movement, overreliance on l ‘respect to Lions Hall of Fame Calvin Johnson and his penchant for forcing cover. for interceptions. At the time, some asked “what to do when your star hits a wall? Others argued that if he was black he could be treated more like Jameis Winston or Vince Young.
Under Caldwell, Stafford’s passer rating rose from 83.1 in his first five seasons under Jim Schwartz to 93.7, and notably improved to 99.1 in Caldwell’s last 2.5 seasons after an adjustment period, and a new offensive coordinator that Caldwell had previously mentored (Jim Bob Cooter).
Those were significant odds punctuated by 20 winning records, a statistic Stafford led the NFL in three of those four seasons. Under Caldwell, Stafford was 22-15 in close one-scoring games, but 20-33-1 without Caldwell. “He’s a smart offensive coach,” Stafford told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “He puts our team in the right places to be successful, and that, in turn, helps me.”
Caldwell used faster shots, no blockades, and instead of forcing shots at Calvin Johnson in the middle of double / triple cover, he used Stafford in a more extended attack with several wide receivers where he was the more comfortable. Golden Tate would immediately become a Pro Bowler in 2014 and display his only three 1,000-yard seasons. Despite Johnson’s surprise retirement after the 2015 season, Stafford’s growth continued as Marvin Jones would join Tate as a 1,000-yard partner in 2017.
Pro Football Focus predicted Lions would win four games in 2016 and six games in 2017. By any objective measurement based on the talents on the list, Caldwell / Stafford’s 9-winning teams in 2016 and 2017 were minor miracles, hiding monster holes that included an invisible passing run, running backs as starters (Ameer Abdullah / Theo Riddick / Zach Zenner) , and a lack of Pro Bowl playmakers, a staple of playoff teams.
Well, these holes just got fixed. How will Stafford adapt to a new team?
“Matthew is extremely brilliant and he can adapt to any system or style of attack,” Caldwell says. “He demonstrated [that] in Detroit under the direction of several offensive coordinators and head coaches.
“He can do whatever Coach McVay needs. But Matthew is very self-aware and doesn’t hesitate to express different concepts that suit him or that accentuate his skills. They will love it in LA “
This is not excessive praise. A closer look at the Caldwell / Stafford Lions years supports his assessment.
Rams don’t need too many tweaks. Stafford can be an excellent successful QB under McVay as he was already under Caldwell with far less surrounding talent – except in previews.
Defense issues
Stafford is leaving the Lions’ last-place defense to join last year’s No.1 defense, backed by superstars Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey. The only year Stafford has played with a top defense was Caldwell’s first year in 2014 when the Lions went 11-5 with a No.3-ranked defense over the No.15 the year before. .
This Lions defense was anchored by the closest thing to Donald in 2014 – Ndamukong Suh. But the Lions failed to re-sign Suh the following year and have not had a rush since. Stafford has since had to pull the Lions to victory. No more.
“Caldwell was the answer,” Ndamukong Suh tweeted in October, “And did not have the opportunity to fully put his fingerprints on the team.”
No, he didn’t. But McVay will.
The Rams adding a 2017-level Stafford to his 2014 Lions defense may be a Super Bowl recipe.
The importance of rushing yards
The Rams will have the kind of support for Stafford he’s never had in his Lions career – a rushed attack. The Rams rushed into committee very quietly over 2,000 yards last year, a mark the Lions haven’t even sniffed since Barry Sanders.
The running back was the Lions’ biggest need in the 2017 draft, but general manager Bob Quinn picked Florida linebacker Jarrad Davis and Florida corner Teez Tabor in the first two rounds against Dalvin Cook and Alvin. Kamara – the next two backs after those picks. Davis was no longer a regular starter in 2020 and Tabor is out of the NFL.
Instead of writing better, Bob Quinn fired Caldwell despite mass support from his players.
GM Support Questions
Quinn has now said: “9 wins are not enoughBefore hiring his mate Matt Patricia. Under Patricia, the Lions also got just nine wins – except it took her two years.
The answer should be obvious. When a coach with a 6-game winning talent wins nine games, you give him more talent to reach the Super Bowl – a place Caldwell visited as a head coach, Asst. Three-time head coach and offensive coordinator.
If Quinn’s hiring of Patricia was classic NFL nepotism, Caldwell being snubbed by the rest of the NFL for four hiring cycles is classic NFL racism. Caldwell’s success with Peyton Manning, Flacco and Stafford tripled the kind of success that awards white QB guru coaches indelible labels of “genius” by the media and a lifetime job in the league.
In contrast, the Rams’ front office is ready to move all-in and trade for playmakers, as they did when acquiring Jalen Ramsey, and swapping two first-round picks at Lions for Stafford, a likely win-win for both teams.
Leadership issues
Yesterday a Detroit Free Press article was titled “Matthew Stafford Never Showed His Desire For Greatness.”
Jim Caldwell disagrees.
“Matthew is a great leader with an insatiable desire to win,” Caldwell says (preceding the article). “Insatiable” is a strong word. Caldwell added, “The Rams have an extraordinarily selfless father, husband and teammate who serve the community in which he lives and works.”
That leadership was on display in 2020, as Stafford became the most prominent white player to take a knee in solidarity with his black teammates in multiple games. Stafford wrote an article in The Players’ Tribune called: “We can’t just stick to football”.
“Police brutality, white privilege, racism – it’s all real. Stafford wrote. “It’s time we stopped pretending, or defending, or just turning a blind eye to what’s right in front of us. And it’s not like it’s just our story. It’s now.
“These are not political issues. These are human problems. This should not be taken as a political statement to honestly discuss this topic.
Either way, Stafford is showing what leadership looks like, and despite the ‘media distraction’ lies about Colin Kaepernick supposedly dividing the locker room, his own 49ers teammates voted him a leadership award as best teammate in 2016. Did the media consider Jared Goff to be standing surrounded by his Kneeling Black Rams teammates to be more divisive for his team?
Upon arrival, Caldwell said Stafford had the skills to be awesome, and in 2016, Stafford was already be discussed as an MVP candidate. At the time, Caldwell said Peyton Manning “will definitely wear a Hall of Fame jacket, and one that’s on the right track.” The other was Stafford.
If the Rams return to the Super Bowl, Sean McVay won’t have to adjust much except let Stafford be the quarterback he already was. And he might want to call Jim Caldwell first.
Who knows, if they become friends, an NFL team might even hire him.
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