Seahawks NFC West preview: 5 questions about the Rams offseason
By Lee Vowell
The Rams are always a tough matchup for the Seahawks. In the two teams’ last 13 matchups, Los Angeles holds a 9-4 lead. For the Seahawks to win the NFC West again in 2021, Seattle most likely must beat the Rams at least once.
Los Angeles hasn’t made a ton of moves in free agency this offseason but made one very important trade. The Rams don’t care for their first round picks, it appears, so they trade them for veteran players to help make them better.
To take a look at the Rams offseason, I asked five questions to Bret Stuter of FanSided’s Rams site, Ramblin’ Fan. This is what he had to say.
5 questions about the Seahawks biggest obstacle, the Rams
The Matthew Stafford trade
12th Man Rising: It would appear that the biggest move the Rams made this offseason was changing quarterbacks. What do you expect from Matthew Stafford over Jared Goff and will it make the Rams a better team?
Bret Stuter: Well, the move to trade Jared Goff and a host of draft picks was a bit of a surprise, but wasn’t. It was obvious that at the end of the 2020 NFL season, head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Jared Goff were dunzo, but the fact is that the LA Rams moved with such a deliberate and significant trade package to acquire Matthew Stafford, that I’m still not convinced that we have a full understanding of why so much was offered, with the exception that it was a competitive bidding war and the Rams wanted to win.
Matthew Stafford is not Superman, nor does he walk on water, so he is not a savior for this team. Nor will we waste time talking about throwing off-schedule or from multiple platforms, because that is simply far too granular. In the end, Stafford will bring three distinct improvements to the Rams’ offense.
The first ‘fix’ is the most basic – ball security. Whatever the backstory, Jared Goff turned the ball over quite a bit, and it was not a trend that showed much improvement. Not just in the passing game, but in fumbles as well. With Stafford, the Rams expect the veteran quarterback to make fewer bad decisions with the football.
The second area of instant improvement for the Rams offense is Stafford’s ability to read his progressions instantly. While Goff struggled to read beyond the second target, Stafford can read 4-5 progressions and already send the ball on its way. The Rams offense is very complex and was frustrating to McVay because it was a six-speed high-performance engine that Goff never seemed to get out of second gear.
The third area of instant improvement for the Rams offense is Stafford’s ability to heave the long ball. Defenses learned over time that Goff’s deep pass fell short on its own, and began to crowd the box, forcing routes to go shorter. Stafford can throw a deep pass in anticipation of where the receiver will be and when he will get open.
Three simple improvements that could unlock a helluva offensive output.