Matthew Stafford says he has a ton of trust in the Rams’ inexperienced receivers.
asserted
he → say → receivers
I call bulls–t.
Not because Stafford is lying or because he doesn’t genuinely believe in Konata Mumpfield, Tutu Atwell and rookie CJ Daniels.
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he → call → Mumpfield
He’s too good a teammate and too respected a leader to publicly throw those guys under the bus.
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He → ’ → bus
But there’s a difference between believing in somebody and trusting them with the football when the game is on the line.
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game → ’ → line
And Stafford’s actions this season have spoken considerably louder than his words.
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actions → speak → words
“Obviously, there’s not as many snaps that I have with those guys out there that are going to be playing than maybe Puka [Nacua] and Davante [Adams] that I’ve accrued over the years,” Stafford said Wednesday.
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Stafford → ’ → years
“But I still throw to those guys every single day in practice and have a ton of trust in what they can do.”
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they → throw → what
That’s a wonderful sentiment from the reigning NFL MVP, but there’s just one problem: If Stafford trusts them so much, why doesn’t he throw them the football?
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he → ’ → football
Through nine games, Stafford has distributed 337 charted targets.
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Stafford → distribute → targets
Mumpfield, Atwell and Daniels have combined for 36 of them.
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Mumpfield → combine → them
That’s 10.7%.
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That → ’ → ?
Meanwhile, Nacua has commanded 93 targets, or 27.6% of the team’s total, despite missing two games.
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Nacua → command → games
Adams has another 49, while running back Kyren Williams has 46.
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Williams → have → 46
Nacua accounted for about 43% of the Rams’ targets over his last three appearances, according to StatChasers.
uncertain
Nacua → account → StatChasers
That’s what trust looks like.
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trust → ’ → what
Nacua caught 14 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown on 19 targets.
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Nacua → catch → targets
Mumpfield and Atwell combined for four receptions and 36 yards on seven targets.
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Mumpfield → combine → targets
On one crucial third down, Atwell dropped a pass.
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Atwell → drop → pass
Mumpfield also appeared to have route miscommunications with Stafford that contributed to missed opportunities.
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that → appear → opportunities
And in a game of inches, where the difference between winning and losing often comes down to a razor’s edge, those mistakes matter.
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mistakes → win → edge
In fairness, Nacua occasionally runs the wrong route and drops passes.
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Nacua → run → passes
Adams does, too.
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Adams → do → ?
Stafford doesn’t suddenly stop throwing their way because of one mistake.
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Stafford → stop → mistake
That’s because they’ve earned the benefit of the doubt and the younger receivers haven’t.
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receivers → ’ → doubt
Trust isn’t something you can manufacture before a revenge game with your playoff hopes on the line.
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hopes → manufacture → line
It’s earned over time.
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It → earn → time
I’ve watched Stafford bypass open receivers this season, particularly when Mumpfield or Atwell appeared available, only to hold the football longer, throw it away or settle for another option.
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Mumpfield → watch → option
Granted, not every one of those decisions proves distrust.
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one → grant → distrust
Quarterbacks work through progressions, and what I can see perched atop my bird’s-eye view in the press box isn’t always what the quarterback sees down on the field.
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quarterback → work → field
But through nine games, the pattern raises a legitimate question about how comfortable Stafford really is throwing to his backup receivers.
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Stafford → raise → receivers
Rams offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase offered an interesting explanation Thursday when asked directly how Stafford develops trust in receivers who rarely get the football.
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who → offer → football
“Trust doesn’t just show up on a Sunday.
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Trust → show → Sunday
Trust really doesn’t show up on a Thursday practice, either,” Scheelhaase said.
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Scheelhaase → show → practice
“There’s been a lot of reps over the course of the year that those guys have built up trust.”
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guys → build → trust
Scheelhaase acknowledged that when Nacua and Adams are healthy, the Rams deliberately design their offense around getting them the football.
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Rams → acknowledge → football
But that doesn’t necessarily mean the other receivers aren’t capable of producing.
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receivers → mean → ?
“Most times in this league, circumstances are what create opportunity,” Scheelhaase said.
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Scheelhaase → create → opportunity
Well, in that case, new circumstances will arrive this Sunday, and they aren’t particularly pretty.
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they → arrive → case
Nacua is sidelined with a knee injury.
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Nacua → sideline → injury
Adams is recovering from a ruptured hamstring.
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Adams → recover → hamstring
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
