Random Ramsdom: PFF ranks Matthew Stafford outside of elite group

PFF didn’t rank Matthew Stafford as a top-10 QB, but he’s close (RamsWire)

“Matthew Stafford benefitted greatly from being traded to Los Angeles in 2021. He got the change of scenery he was looking for and immediately helped the Rams win a Super Bowl in his first season.

Gauging Stafford’s placement among the rest of the NFL’s quarterbacks is more difficult after his injury-plagued 2022 season, but Pro Football Focus still sees him as an above-average player at his position.

PFF ranked every starting quarterback in the NFL heading into the 2023 campaign and while Stafford didn’t crack the top 10, he was close. PFF put him No. 12, just behind Dak Pescott and Tua Tagovailoa.”

NFL Coach Rankings: Where’s Rams’ Sean McVay? (SportsIllustrated)

Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

“In his time as head coach, Sean McVay has brought the Los Angeles Rams to some of their highest highs in franchise history.

The Rams hadn’t made the playoffs in 12 years prior to McVay’s arrival but he quickly turned their fortunes around. In six seasons, McVay has led L.A. to a 60-38 record, four playoff appearances, two NFC championships and one Super Bowl victory. He has also done all of this in his 30s and has inspired teams across the league with his offensive wizardry.

It comes as no surprise that McVay is widely seen as one of the best head coaches in the league, but where exactly does he rank? In a recent ranking by The 33rd Team, McVay comes in as the seventh-best coach in the NFL today.”

Will Raheem Morris reconfigure the LA Rams defense this season? (RamblinFan)

“The LA Rams defense over the past six seasons of Head Coach Sean McVay’s tenure has been based on two basic principles. The Rams defensive front was tasked with applying a lot of pressure on the opposing quarterbacks. And the Rams secondary was tasked with defending the pass. In terms of defending the run, the Rams truly did not factor that into the mix until the arrival of new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.

When he arrived, the Rams added more oomph to their inside linebacker position and seemed to be less aggressive with reinforcing the pass-rushing outside linebackers. That change in philosophy was never more on display than in the 2022 NFL season when the LA Rams’ two best defensive players (in terms of durability and production) were arguably their inside linebackers, veteran Bobby Wagner and second-year Ernest Jones.”

3 reasons why LA Rams ILB Ernest Jones could earn a Pro Bowl nomination (RamblinFan)

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“When the LA Rams signed All-Pro veteran inside linebacker Bobby Wagner to the roster, for what was only one season, the impact on second-year inside linebacker Ernest Jones seemed obvious. Wagner was the epitome of NFL football-toughness, intelligence, and ferocity. He was the guy who found the football by instinct and delivered the types of tackles that players would talk about for months afterward.

Ernest Jones may not be on everyone’s radar for a breakout season in 2023. After all, even when he was putting up 100 tackles in 2022, there were few who truly sat up and took notice. So just for argument’s sake, let’s list out Jones’s NFL progress so far:”

Watch highlights from Rams’ first week of OTAs (RamblinFan)

“The Los Angeles Rams wrapped up their first week of OTAs, continuing their offseason training program before eventually ramping up the competition in training camp in July. The Rams have seven more days of OTAs in the coming weeks, which will bring them to the maximum of 10 days of practice during this phase of the offseason.

They’ll then hold mandatory minicamp in June, which is when everyone on the roster is expected to be in attendance.

The Rams shared a highlight video from their first three days of OTAs, featuring Matthew Stafford, rookies and Tutu Atwell, who’s wearing No. 5 now.”