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theramswire.usatoday.com] Matthew Stafford not dialing back aggressiveness after turnover-filled November
Cameron DaSilva
December 2, 2021 12:22 pm PT
Matthew Stafford more than doubled his interception total from his first eight weeks with the Rams just in his last three games against the Titans, 49ers and Packers. He threw five picks in those three contests, among the most in the league during the month of November.
Not all of them were his fault, with Tyler Higbee dropping one pass that went for a pick-six and another coming on a miscommunication with Odell Beckham Jr. on a deep shot. Stafford has always been an aggressive quarterback willing to take shots downfield, and that’s not going to change.
He told reporters Wednesday that he’s still going to throw it deep when the defense presents the opportunity, and when they take away passes over the top, he’ll be sure to take underneath throws, too.
“From a decision-making standpoint for me, I still want to aggressively take what the defense is giving me,” Stafford said. “If they’re giving me chances to go over the top, I want to take those chances. I think of the long touchdown to Van (Jefferson), it’s third-and-8 or 9, whatever it is, something like that. And do we have maybe a chance to get something at the sticks? Absolutely. But Van Jefferson one-on-one with no safety help over the top, I’m going to take that shot. So, I don’t ever want to lose that. I don’t think I will. I’ve been playing this game a long time, been throwing it down the field a long time, so I want to continue to do that. But when defenses do a good job of playing you deep to short and forcing you to take the underneath stuff, I want to make sure I do that as well.”
Stafford has been one of the most aggressive quarterbacks in the NFL when it comes to throwing the ball downfield. His average intended air yards is 8.5, eighth-highest in the league. But at the same time, he’s also not forcing throws into tight windows, as evidenced by his 11.8% aggressiveness rate, per Next Gen Stats.
That’s a good sign for the Rams because even though Stafford is throwing picks at a high rate right now, he’s not forcing things when his receivers are covered.
