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The critics were out in full force during and following the Los Angeles Rams getting blasted in the Thursday, September 8 season opener against the Buffalo Bills.
None, however, were as vocal as a past Super Bowl winner who also happens to be a longtime rival of the Rams in Richard Sherman.
The verbose perennial Pro Bowler, who will soon join retired Rams legend Andrew Whitworth as studio analysts for the regular season debut of Amazon Thursday Night Football on September 15, was one who bluntly questioned the state of one L.A. star — making “Sherm” wonder about his mental state and if his injured ailment “is a real issue.”
Sherman Questions Matthew Stafford
Throughout the game, Sherman took to Twitter to give his analysis and reactions in some of the contest’s highlight moments.
It was the Bills, though, pulling off the bulk of the highlight reel plays from Josh Allen delivering a viscous stiff arm, Stefon Diggs torching Jalen Ramsey or the Bills defense wrecking the Rams’ protection and frustrating Matthew Stafford.
Stafford, though, was the one Ram who was mainly criticized by the Super Bowl 48 winner Sherman.
Sherman first reacted to NFL Network analyst and former NFL offensive lineman Brian Baldinger in his breakdown of Stafford’s first interception. But then, Sherman responded to ESPN NFL analyst and Ex-NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky claiming that Stafford likely was trying to hit tight end Tyler Higbee on a “see/read” play with these three words:
Sherman basically implied how the second-year Rams quarterback is still the same interception-prone signal-caller he was while with the Detroit Lions, where he threw 144 career takeaways according to Pro Football Reference. Sherman wasn’t done after that remark.
The cornerback back who made his living as a towering, cerebral defender then began to wonder about Stafford’s eyes and brain when it came to a certain option on the Rams’ side in newcomer Allen Robinson.
“So Stafford doesn’t trust A-Rob [Allen Robinson] or am I missing something?” Sherman questioned. “That man deserves a target.”
Stafford on the evening targeted Robinson twice…and only caught one pass for 12 yards in “A-Rob’s” Rams debut.
Finally, Sherman began to ask this thought: Was Stafford’s right elbow tendinitis, which got the Rams to limit his reps during training camp, a real issue after all? Here’s what Sherman asked:
“So no one going to talk about him not pushing the ball down the field? Maybe that elbow is a real issue,” Sherman tweeted. “It may be that [Sean] McVay doesn’t believe the O-line can hold up but I don’t know.”
Stafford Sounds Off on Loss
Sherman, again, gave a strong critique of the Rams’ franchise quarterback.
Meanwhile, Stafford was honest about how the Rams performed against an early pick to win Super Bowl 57.
“Yeah, we can definitely play a whole lot better than that,” Stafford told reporters following the loss. “I know that. As disappointing as tonight is, you never want to start a season that way. It really doesn’t matter if it’s the first game, last game, whatever it is. You want to win them all. We didn’t accomplish that goal tonight. Didn’t play well enough to do it.”
There were no questions directed at Stafford about the state of his elbow. But, he was candid about what he needs to do moving forward.
“I can play more efficient, try to get the ball out quicker” Stafford said. “Get it to those guys [on the Rams] in better spots so we’re catching and running with it. They [the Bills] were doing a nice job of playing deep to short and the better ball I can get to those guys, the quicker they can turn and run with it. I can just try to play within myself as much as I possibly can, don’t try to force anything in any situation, and then just keep leading and keep fighting.”
