The Wide World of Dirt

Returning home from the gym this evening (socially distanced and wearing a mask, of course), I flipped on the Rolex 24, but it wasn’t long before my eyes were dragged to my phone.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweeted Friday that Stafford showed interest in the Rams. During the moonlit hours of Saturday night, Adam Schefter confirmed the trade.

The Lions get back a lot of assets for their 2009 No. 1 pick, receiving two future first-rounders, a third-rounder, and former Rams’ No. 1 pick,  quarterback Jared Goff.

All the Rams got back was Matt Stafford.

I might be in the minority here, but the Rams won this trade.

I never really believed in Jared Goff. I know he “took” the Rams to the Super Bowl (even though he was mediocre in the playoffs), but I just never saw “it” in him.

I have been wrong before about seeing “it” in a player; see my tweet from draft night 2017 about Patrick Mahomes and his haircut.

But, Jared Goff just looked like he never had a mind of his own. He looked like more of a product of Sean McVay’s offense and coaching than being his own player.

He’s just the tall white guy prototype quarterback, and because of that, scouts were attracted to him like flies to a mound of cow shit. That’s not to say Goff is a mound of cow shit, but he’s nothing more than an average starter. He won’t exceed expectations.

Jared Goff is the sum of his parts, and for some teams, that’s totally fine!

Many average QBs have experienced success in the NFL. Shit, Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson have led teams to Super Bowl titles. It’s possible Jared Goff could do that.

With Detroit’s entire receiving corps entering free agency though, I’m not sure Goff is being left with much to work with. D’Andre Swift looks like a stud, but you gotta have somewhere to sling the rock.

As for the draft picks, I suspect they’ll effectively be early 2nd round picks assuming the Rams remain healthy. I don’t think any of these picks are gonna be world beaters with the Detroit Lions organization behind the scenes. This move inspires little faith in me on their end.

On the other hand.

Matt Stafford is a top-10 QB talent in the league. He can make any throw that needs to be made, and he has shown he can excel in a number of different systems.

People forget the man threw for over 5000 yards once upon a time. This isn’t some bum.

I can understand some people being hesitant because Stafford’s health hasn’t exactly been consistent in recent years, but let me open your eyes to context.

He played for the Lions, which is depressing enough. He was hardly contending for a playoff spot. How often do you think he missed games while healthy because the Lions had no incentive to win games?

How often do you think he got a surgery earlier because his team wasn’t making the playoffs anyway? If I had to guess, this happened a good bit over the past four years.

Matt Stafford is a tough son of a gun, and he can take a damn beating. Look at the offensive line he played behind most of his career.

If the Rams can acquire some good offensive line talent in the draft and a good runningback, they should be considered the frontrunner for the NFC crown next year.

With Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson, Tyler Higbee, and Gerald Everett to throw to, LA is giving Stafford the most complete roster and receiving corps of his entire career.

The Rams are a team I could see landing in the Super Bowl next February. On paper, they look that good. I believe in Matt Stafford, and I believe in this pairing.