The birth certificate of Matthew Stafford says he was born in 1988 – making him a 33-year-old and one of the oldest members of the Los Angeles Rams.
However, Stafford left Crawford Field at UC Irvine telling the L.A. media how youthful he feels on day one of Rams training camp. In fact, the longtime Detroit Lion, who left the Motor City rewriting the franchise passing record books, says there were moments where he feels like he’s the 21-year-old walking into his first NFL training camp with the Lions, but now he’s a Ram.
“Parts of the day, parts of me, feels like a rookie,” Stafford said to reporters. “I’m walking around trying to learn everybody’s name and who does what and all that kind of stuff.”
Typical first-year NFL player tactics, except it’s the new franchise quarterback who is walking around trying to get acquainted with his new teammates. Stafford, though, welcomes the youthful side coming out of him.
“Trying to perform at a high level in that atmosphere is a challenge, but I’m loving it and welcoming it,” Stafford said. “I got great teammates to help me along the way.”
Stafford’s First Day, in a Nutshell
As anticipated leading up to camp, Stafford’s arm was bound to wow the fan attendees at the UC Irvine complex.
First he warms up his right arm with one of the 90-catch wideouts from last year and Carson, California native Robert Woods.
Matthew Stafford to Robert Woods
Here’s one sample of the “9 to 10” connection captured in slow motion by the Rams Twitter account, which is expected to be a popular collaboration this fall.
.@CooperKupp makin’ it look easy 😱
Rams team reporter Stu Jackson tweeted that Stafford made a deep connection to DeSean Jackson, which is a strong sign for a team looking to reclaim their deep attack that went missing last year.
Matthew Stafford with a deep completion to DeSean Jackson during 11-on-11s, drawing cheers from the crowd. Jackson’s speed on display – outran the secondary with a good amount of distance between him and the last defender.
One Rams fan, though, managed to capture the deep score on his cell phone.
Stafford to Jackson! @RamsEmpire @RamsNFL 👊🏼💥🤘🏼
Lastly, Woods spoke highly of Stafford’s first day, even saying that the bomb he threw was “one of the longest throwing passes we’ve ever been a part of.”
Rams WR @robertwoods on being impressed with Matthew Stafford’s work ethic and dedication #RamsCamp
More with @ScottKaplan & @clintonyates on 710 AM ESPN 📻
Stafford Embraces Camp Challenges & Adjustment to Rams
Not everything was Southern California rainbows and sunshine for Stafford on his Rams camp debut.
As noted by Rams beat reporter Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, Terrell Burgess ruined one potential torching of the defense.
Another long pass, aimed for Jackson over the top – this time Terrell Burgess gets vertical and stretches to tip it away. He told me he’d be 100% healthy by camp – seems about right. Great first day so far and it’s early yet.
Stafford is practicing against the league’s top unit from one season ago and still has its veteran leaders like Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald, plus has young talent like Burgess and safety Jordan Fuller challenging the offense.
“We’ve got a bunch of talented players both on the offensive side of the ball, but also on defense,” Stafford said. “They made some plays out there today and made it tough on us in some situations. It’s going to be a great battle off camp just challenging ourselves to be as good as we can against the defense that’s, obviously, as good as it was last year.”
Stafford once again is in a much different situation compared to his Motor City days, the kind where he feels younger than 33. But he sounds like a rejuvenated signal-caller recapturing his youth by being around a team with high expectations.
“The best part for me is that when I step into that huddle, I call that play, I got 10 other guys that are going to do their job so as long as I can do my job,” Stafford said. “We’re going to be where we want to be, and that’s a lucky feeling for me as a quarterback just knowing that I’ve got guys with great accountability and great experience in the huddle with me.”
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‘I Feel Like A Rookie Again:’ Matthew Stafford on Day One of Camp