National Football League

What makes Rams' Matthew Stafford so electric? Greg Olsen answers

Published Oct. 27, 2023 4:44 p.m. ET

Matthew Stafford is one of the best quarterbacks of his generation, and the 35-year-old is still going strong for the Los Angeles Rams. What makes him so reliable?

FOX Sports Lead NFL Analyst Greg Olsen detailed what makes Stafford so steady on the latest edition of "The NFL on FOX Podcast."

"Sometimes people have a negative connotation when they call him a ‘first-read quarterback,'" Olsen said. "He's gonna get on his first read, predetermine it before the snap and that guy's going to get the ball at a high percentage of the time. I think it's actually a credit to Matthew because it's his ability to process the look pre-snap.

"He's able to take in the picture before he snaps the ball and say ‘okay, it’s man [coverage], it's zone; it's single high [safety], it's two high; here's where the voids are in the zone; here's where my matchup is in man. He can process all that quickly before the snap, so when he does hit the top of his drop, the ball is out.

"When he's on time, when that ball comes out first read and obviously a lot of the times it's been Cooper Kupp over the years and now this year with Puka Nacua, he is as efficient, and he is as productive of a quarterback as there is in the league," Olsen continued. "When teams take that away, when the protection breaks down, and now he's got to hold the ball, and he's got to go through, that's where the offense kind of spirals."

Stafford has totaled 1,908 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, six interceptions and an 82.3 passer rating, while completing just 59.8% of his passes this season. Across his 15-year NFL career, Stafford has totaled 53,990 passing yards (11th among quarterbacks in NFL history), 340 passing touchdowns (12th), 4,661 completed passes (11th) and 272.7 passing yards (fifth) per game.

Stafford spent the first 12 seasons of his career with the Detroit Lions before the Rams acquired him in 2021, and he helped them win Super Bowl LVI. In said season, Stafford threw for 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns, while posting a 102.9 passer rating.

As for the present, the Rams are 3-4, good for third in the NFC West. They hit the road to face the Dallas Cowboys (4-2) in Week 8. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET and can be viewed on FOX and the FOX Sports app.

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