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Lindsay Therespan
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- He covered the Rams for the Los Angeles Times for two years.
- Previously treated “Sokolov
- Beats the NBA, college soccer and basketball.
THOUSAND OAKS, CA – The Los Angeles Rams finished the 2020 season with a first-rate defense worthy of a Super Bowl title.
Now they are also hoping to get a quarterback for the Super Bowl with the signing of Matthew Stafford to a successful contract with the Detroit Lions.
The Rams traded quarterback Jared Goff, two future first and third round picks to the Lions in exchange for Stafford, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal will be official early in the championship year.
With Stafford, who turns 33 next month, the Rams hope to resume the offensive streak that led to consecutive division titles and a Super Bowl LIII appearance at the end of the 2018 season, but which has fallen to mediocrity over the past two seasons.
However, it remains to be seen whether Stafford, who has two seasons left on a five-year, $135 million contract, will be the missing link on a team that averaged 377 yards (11th) and 23.3 points (22nd) per game last season.
Error. No Movie Name specified.Although he has thrown for over 45,000 yards in his career, Matthew Stafford has never won a playoff game. That could change very quickly. Leon Khalip/Getty Images
In Detroit, Stafford was plagued by an organization that could not provide a competitive defense.
That won’t be the case in Los Angeles. Los Angeles has a strong unit with cornerback Aaron Donald and All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who scored just 18.5 points per game last season, the best in the NFL.
Stafford, the number one pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, has a 74-90-1 record in 12 seasons, has never won an NFC North title and has never won a playoff game in three postseason appearances.
Yet he has passed for eight seasons with at least 4,000 yards, and the last time he had passed for 4,084 yards and 26 touchdowns with 10 steals was when the Lions went 5-11 last season.
He leaves Detroit as the organization’s leader in all major passing categories and ranks fourth on the NFL list in yards per play (273.4) behind Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees and Andrew Luck.
At the end of a 10-6 season that ended with a divisional playoff loss against the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 16, Rams coach Sean McVay said every position would be evaluated, including quarterback, and gave no guarantee that Goff would return in 2021.
McVeigh also admitted that his own play was not up to par.
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“I have high expectations and high standards, both for myself and for our offense,” Mr. McVay said. “This year hasn’t been so good for many reasons, and it’s something I’m looking forward to aggressively, but I’m still confident that I can do it at a high level.”
In Los Angeles, Stafford joins an offensive lineup that includes wide receivers Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp (both of whom went into overtime last season) and tight end Tyler Higbee. The Rams should also find a deep threat in the person of Stafford, who has been missing since bringing on Brandin Cooks last season.
With Saturday’s trade, the Rams will spend seven years without a first-round pick, a streak that began in 2017 and won’t end until 2024 at the earliest. Their last pick in the first round was Goff, who they moved from No. 15 to No. 1 in 2016.
The Rams signed a four-year contract worth $134 million, which includes $110 million in guarantees after reaching Super Bowl LIII.
In four seasons with McVay, Goff won 42 games, finishing second behind only Tom Brady along with Russell Wilson.
But when the New England Patriots held the Rams to three points in the Super Bowl, McVay was unable to put Goff in a position where he could consistently succeed.
Goff has lost the ball 38 times in the last two seasons, making him the second-highest-yielding player in the NFL at the time.
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