The Los Angeles Rams (4-5) are in a get-right spot this Sunday, traveling to play the New England Patriots (3-7) in Week 11. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo weighed in on this dangerous Rams offense and is not judging them off a rough game scoring the football last week.
Mayo is an eight-year NFL veteran, playing for the Patriots for his entire career. The two-time Pro Bowl linebacker has faced Stafford a time or two in his career and is very familiar with how to approach the future hall of famer. Mayo gave him immense credit for the career he has garnered over 16 seasons.
"When I look at this team, especially offensively, it starts with the quarterback," Mayo said. "A guy like Matt Stafford who's done it at a high level for a very long time. I don't think he gets the credit that he deserves, but he is a very accurate passer, can make all the throws, and just because he's older, doesn't mean that he can't move around in the pocket a little bit. Now, not the same as some of these other quarterbacks, but as you study the film, which I know all you guys study a lot of film, he definitely makes people miss in the pocket, and those extended plays are definitely a huge problem. I would also say the receiver position, those guys are definitely good competitors."
It is no surprise to the entire league what kind of production Stafford can have with his favorite target, Cooper Kupp. The 2022 Super Bowl MVP has put the league on notice for years with his catch radius, separation skills, and hunger to find the end zone.
Mayo recognized Kupp's consistent greatness while also crediting the entire receiver group, specifically for their play in the Ram's comeback overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9.
"[Cooper] Kupp's been doing it for a long time, multiple hundred reception seasons," Mayo said. "He's just an all-around good player, but it's not just him, the other guys. Turned the Seattle game on, the plays they made at the end of the game where they just refused to be denied as far as catching the ball, and obviously they pulled that one out."
The first-year head coach did not stop there, acknowledging arguably the most important piece of the Rams' offense. Second-year star running back Kyren Williams has put together a monstrous season to this point and the offense literally runs through him. His success can dictate the result.
"I would say Kyren [Williams] does a good job," Mayo said. "He's in there the majority of the time. Anytime a back is in there over 80 percent of the time, you look at this guy as a three-down back and really can do it all. He can do it all. Up front, look, they're getting healthy up front. They'll have some guys back that they haven't had over the past few weeks. They're getting healthy up front, and again, just a huge shoutout to [Sean] McVay and his staff. That scheme is hard to defend. The run game looks just like the play-action game. The run game looks just like the boot game, and they do a good job with those fakes and all of that stuff."
The Rams are coming off a loss in Week 10 where they converted just three of their 12 third downs and failed to score a touchdown through the entire game. This week could be different for the Rams, but Mayo's familiarity and experience with several key opposing players will make it just a bit tougher.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as Patriots Appear to Be Terrified of Dangerous Rams Weapons.