'Let's F****** Own It!' WATCH: Mic'd-Up Matthew Stafford Coaches Up Rams
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has nearly double the amount of experience as wide receiver Demarcus Robinson — the team's most seasoned veteran with eight years of experience.
Stafford has played the most difficult position on the field for 14 years, been a part of a lot of losing and, in turn, learning experiences. A quarterback doesn't last that long unless he commits to the mental approach to the game, and at Rams practice, Stafford showed veteran leadership while giving his young receiving corps some pointers on how to be better at the position.
"Hey wideouts, come here real quick," Stafford said. "Trust yourself. Communicate with yourself. Let's go make some plays. That's what it's about. I trust you guys 100 percent. Let's go f****** own the offense, know where we're supposed to be, go out there and operate, alright?"
One of the receivers that received some of the most tutelage was rookie Puka Nacua, who, just for reference, was 7 years old when Stafford made his NFL debut with the Detroit Lions.
Stafford showed the fifth-round pick from BYU with a hands-on demonstration how he wanted Nacua to plant his feet and stop when coming set, as opposed to a rocking motion and a point to the line of scrimmage he was doing before.
Stafford did have some encouraging words for Nacua after a route the quarterback liked.
"Hey Puka, nice route bud. Good job," Stafford said. "Plays like that, it's going to be big-body inside shot."
The feedback wasn't exclusively reserved for rookies. While it might feel like wide receiver Van Jefferson has been around the NFL awhile, he's still young by industry standards entering year four.
Stafford discussed with Jefferson how a certain route combination would likely cause defenders to bite on an underneath move, leaving a wide-open throw available over the top.
"If we're going to do that, you are going to absolutely murder somebody going stick f****** vertical," Stafford said. "They'll just go da-da, the post player sits and we got f****** zero. Nice job."
When working with Tutu Atwell, Stafford turned into a receiver himself. He wanted Atwell to sharpen up the top of his route in the end zone, so he showed him how crisp he wanted his hook to be.
"That was a little like, 'I'm here into the end zone,'" Stafford said while demonstrating Atwell's soft-turn hitch route. "It's just going to be how well can you tempo yourself to go, and if you get pressed, you get lean, it's like, 'Bang,' like that. Just be ready for a f****** low ball."
After Stafford hangs them up, teams might want to call him about an assistant coaching position. He's got the wisdom. And he's got the "F's'' as well.
You can follow Casey Smith on Twitter @casey_smith2419
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