[AvengerRam]

When I'm right, I'm not shy about saying I was right. When I'm wrong, I'm not too proud to say I was wrong.

I was wrong about Matthew Stafford.

When the subject of trading for Stafford first came up, I was, in a word, apathetic. I viewed Stafford the prospect of acquiring Stafford as a lateral move that would not be worth the expense of draft choices, and I said as much.

Then the trade happened, and I was compelled to take a closer look. What I found is that I really didn't know that much about Stafford.

Sure, I knew his background, had a general idea of his stats and his winning percentage, and I had seen him play a handful of times over the years (including the Rams last trip to Detroit, which I attended). But I really didn't focus on him in great detail until after the Rams made the deal.

When I started looking at his film, I saw a QB who is clearly superior to Jared Goff in terms of pocket awareness, footwork/resetting the pocket, release speed and arm strength. I also was overwhelmed by praise he received from former teammates and talent evaluators, who lauded his football IQ, his work ethic, his team approach and his community involvement. This was echoed in the sentiments of Sean McVay, who is reportedly ecstatic about his new QB, and oddsmakers, who have put the Rams near the top of the list of Super Bowl contenders for 2021.

I then started looking more carefully at the context of his career. I was amazed a just how poor his run support has been over his career (the average leading rusher for the Lions during his tenure had around 600 yards). I confirmed that he has played on some very poor defensive teams, which forced him to play catch-up far too often.

So, in the end, I realized that I was wrong about Stafford. He is a much better QB than I realized, and there is a lot of reason to be excited about this trade.

Sorry it took me so long to get with the program!

[NJRAMFAN1]

It's tough to get to know players too well when they don't play for "your" team. I got to know Stafford when I had him on my fantasy teams a couple of years.

[HopHead Ram]

The only thing I really ever knew about Stafford was the video game numbers he was able to consistently put up when he had Megatron to throw to. I always respected his toughness though, One of those throwback type of gritty gunslingers. Its been a long time since we had a QB like this. Warner? I am looking forward to watching how his next chapter unfolds. I'm not running out to buy that Stafford jersey quite yet but maybe I'll save a dollar here or there to save for a future purchase.

[PARAM]

"Sorry it took me so long to get with the program"?????

I think a lot of us felt the same way, or very similar. I knew Stafford was an excellent QB on a shitty team but where I was wrong was the idea they were so desperate to get rid of JG, they gave away 2 future first round picks and a 3rd AND Goff. That's the only part of the deal I don't agree. If they weren't so desperate, they probably could have got away with less than that in draft capital. But I guess somebody knew how unhappy they were with JG. As far as Stafford, now that the deal is done and I've had a chance (like you) to dig a little deeper, I like the upgrade.......for now.

[Elvis]

Most of us have been pretty invested in Goff, him having played his whole career here. His departure was swift and somewhat unexpected.

It was kind of shocking. And now we're getting used to it.

Still, in the end, it's gonna come down to results. I'm excited and optimistic about Stafford but he hasn't done anything yet. The trade isn't even official...

[safer]

When the surprising trade was made i went and looked at his stats. Yikes! He had thrown a lot of picks! Then I looked at many of those were in his first few years, and his int's have dropped by a bunch. I'm also hoping he will give us a hometown discount when we go to extend him.....so that he can stay and play with his great friend Clayton!
Bruce Arians isn't one to give much or false praise--he is quoted a saying Matt is a top FOUR QB! That shocked me. And then Aaron Rodgers has said he really admires the guy's play too.

[69RamFan]

My only problem with this trade,
If we don't fix the middle of this OL...
Then I don't see Stafford improving this team... IMO

Is Stafford a better athlete than Goff?
Yes I see some better physicals traits,
He as a quicker reaction time to escape from the pocket
and a stronger arm... but its not the much off a difference if we dont fix the OL....

Once again, Stafford had a better middle OL than Goff had,
so that helps for Stafford to escape the pocket if needed and the OL could hold their blocks for deeper routes... IMO

Their numbers are about the same if you take the average percentage stat numbers vs time in the league...

The big difference is the winning percentage, even playing against good to great teams. Goff beats Stafford by miles...

To say that Stafford never had weapons or a running game during his career is a false narrative... because in 2014, Detroit had good RB and a excellent WR/TE corp... and a great defense that held teams to 17pts/gm...
but still had problems winning against good teams... and once again, no playoff wins...

If we don't fix the middle of the OL,,, Stafford will not have that pocket to step up into and he won't have the same escape holes to run out the pocket... IMO

Then to top it off, Stafford past injuries worry me... especially his back...

If we dont fix the OL,,,, what is McVay going to do to protect Stafford from being injured..

Is McVay going to protect our OL by going the short routes again to compensate against our OL weakness in pass protection for the deeper routes?

That what worries me, because I feel that Stafford's mindset will be that he has to prove he is a better QB and will take chances even with a weaker OL,,, so that's going to put him in a position to get injured again... IMO

So my hope is we fix that OL,,,
and yes I'm pulling for Stafford....

[safer]

And I'm oping we go after a big OG in the 2nd round this year

[snackdaddy]

I never viewed Stafford as a lateral. I always viewed him as a better quarterback than Goff. I just never thought we'd get a deal done. I thought we didn't have enough resources to compete with other teams who were interested in Stafford. I have a feeling the connection with Holmes is what gave us the edge. Other teams could have offered this year's first round pick. Maybe it helped that they viewed Goff as a stop gap until they find their franchise guy?

[PARAM]

I never viewed Stafford as a lateral. I always viewed him as a better quarterback than Goff. I just never thought we'd get a deal done. I thought we didn't have enough resources to compete with other teams who were interested in Stafford. I have a feeling the connection with Holmes is what gave us the edge. Other teams could have offered this year's first round pick. Maybe it helped that they viewed Goff as a stop gap until they find their franchise guy?

Of course he's better than Goff. Talent wise, he's better but the difference is accentuated by the 12 years experience, which alone is difference enough. As far as how Detroit views Goff, Holmes reportedly loves the guy. How Campbell feels about him is anybody's guess. Perhaps it's an either/or approach. Holmes may believe a 26 year old QB with experience in a prolific offense, postseason play and one Superbowl has the potential to develop further with experience. If that happens, they stole a franchise QB (read: got paid 2 first round picks to take him). If it doesn't he's a 2 year stop gap. Win-win if you ask me, considering their QB wanted out. And so Holmes begins his first GM tenure with a solid, safe decision.