I get that it's fashionable for fans to take a Madden video game approach to play calling, but there's more to it than punching buttons on a game controller. Here's some insight:
A look inside QB Matthew Stafford’s pre-snap process, from protections to dummy calls
LOS ANGELES — Each millisecond before
Matthew Stafford receives a snap is a fact-finding mission, a series of adjustments, and problem-solving at rapid speed.
The Los Angeles Rams’ veteran quarterback scans the defense across from him, shouting words to teammates that reveal any number of details he sees and gets them into, or out of, different plays and protections. He receives as many as three calls from head coach Sean McVay, and these have “tags” attached to them, which are words or phrases that either clarify the call or help teammates understand any adjustments in the offensive protection that may come.
Stafford uses hand signals as he operates, pointing to defenders, flicking his wrist to bring over a motion player or tapping one of the center’s legs to send him a message. He sometimes looks like an orchestra conductor activating each instrument in a song at triple speed.
“When Matthew got (to Los Angeles in 2021), he’s obviously seen everything under the sun and he’s played in every offense,” receiver
Cooper Kupp said.
“He’s like the savant of football. He came in here and I remember that first training camp (that summer) … we’re going to go through a blitz pickup walk-through and Matthew’s out there just like bop-bop-bop-bop-bop, getting us in exactly what we wanted to be in.”
Kupp pointed rapidly in different directions as he spoke, imitating Stafford’s movements.
“I remember walking off there and just clapping. I was like, ‘This is what we needed.’ This is like the stress that comes off when you have a quarterback that is able to see things like that.”
One detail that makes the
Rams passing game unique is the combined use of motion and “dummy counts,” built into McVay’s scheme as it evolved with Stafford and coordinators Kevin O’Connell and Mike LaFleur. A dummy count is a fake cadence the quarterback can use to either get the defense to jump, or to show its hand pre-snap. Teams that use a lot of motion don’t typically use many dummy counts because there is too little remaining time after the motions to deploy it (sometimes the Rams burn early timeouts when doing this; they are not totally wasted because of the amount of information the offense receives).
Stafford initiates all of the motions and shifts while mixing in dummy counts and adjusting the protection if needed.
When he nails something pre-snap that a defense doesn’t yet know it gave away, the entire offense feels a unique energy — and they all probably talked about it before the game, too.
2023, Cleveland Browns at Los Angeles Rams Week 13, 4:24 remaining in the first quarter, second-and-1
After using a dummy count, Stafford saw safety Grant Delpit jump toward the line of scrimmage. He knew Delpit would blitz. Multiple Rams players also pointed to Delpit with the same recognition. They knew what play Stafford would try to get into because they had walked through it in their last meeting before the game.
“There were some front and defensive back alignment things that I was recognizing, at some point when I was just studying the tape,” said Stafford, balking when detailing the play to The Athletic last week — though adding with a grin, “What if we play them again?”
“I didn’t want (that) to go to waste. If I knew something was coming, I wanted to try to get to something that was going to be tough for them to cover.”
It is a regular occurrence for Stafford to recognize a look from a defense during the week, and come up with an idea for a play outside of the already-installed plan to counter it. After over three seasons of working with McVay, he has perfected his approach to getting it onto the call sheet: Approach McVay late in the week, after the foundation of the game plan is in and present the new play/adjustment as a detail or flourish to it … or, get the play to a coordinator or quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone to then give to McVay.
“Most people don’t want to approach me on those things,” said McVay, laughing. “They’ll say it to somebody else and then somebody else will bring it to me. … All kidding aside, most of the time I get things later. Nobody wants to talk to the head coach! Matthew is very good because … we see things so similarly and we’ve accumulated a good amount of experience together. The amount of time that we spent together when (he) first got here. … He does come with good ideas or tweaks and it’s like, ‘Yeah absolutely, let’s do that.’ I think that ownership is really healthy.”
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Such as with this play, a 70-yard touchdown to receiver Puka Nacua, what was going to be a duo (inside) run became something entirely different because of the pre-snap information Stafford received from the defense — and an adjustment mapped out with McVay and other offensive players that got onto McVay’s call sheet the Saturday before the game:
Stafford audibled to change the play and got into shotgun to create space between him and the line of scrimmage, because he was expecting a blitz.
As he pointed to Delpit, he adjusted the protection to slide toward him. Originally, the line was going to slide to the inside linebacker but Stafford knew that player wouldn’t blitz. If he did blitz, Stafford had a “hot” answer: A quick out to the bottom of the image.
Stafford was correct. Delpit blitzed and the inside linebacker dropped into coverage (Stafford visibly checked to see whether he was coming). The Rams got the exact coverage they wanted for the play. The defense played an “inverted Cover 2” with the corners playing deep halves, leaving the middle of the field wide open for Nacua to run through.
Once Stafford knew he had adequate protection to make his throw, he flicked his eyes to Nacua and threw the ball right over the dropping linebacker. Nacua played the catch with “late hands,” meaning he did not show his hands as the intended receiver on the throw until the very last moment to hold a disguise against the defenders.
Puka reached 1,000 receiving yards in just 12 games.
This 70-yard touchdown in Week 13 put him over the milestone.pic.twitter.com/1IyirUPxVo
— NFL (@NFL) January 3, 2024
The Rams’ center typically calls and sets the initial protection but Stafford has the power to supersede the call if he wants — an important detail especially in 2024 as the team went from former starter Coleman Shelton (who departed in free agency last spring) to second-year lineman Steve Avila, to rookie Beaux Limmer (with a Week 10 game in which veteran free-agent acquisition Jonah Jackson played center, before the coaching staff moved back to Limmer). Stafford has played with four centers over the past calendar year.
Limmer, a sixth-round pick last spring, has secured his role as a starter. Stafford said that it remains Limmer’s responsibility to get up to speed on his calls (and to lean on guards Avila and Kevin Dotson for cross-checks), but against more complex or aggressive defenses, Limmer noted his appreciation that the veteran quarterback can take over:
2024, Week 8, Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams, :53 remaining in the first quarter, first-and-10
After shifting Kupp inside, Stafford used multiple dummy counts. Broadcast microphones picked up his “ready-set-hut” — an actual count frequently starts with the word “turbo.” After noticing both overhang defenders jump, he knew the Vikings would blitz. Stafford “canned” the original call, meaning of the two plays McVay called into his headset, Stafford canceled the first play so the offense would run the second call.
The second play was a pass, so Limmer wanted to slide the protection to the inside linebacker. Andrew Van Ginkel (No. 43) typically plays on the edge but on this play, he was inside, which likely alerted Limmer of the possibility that Van Ginkel could have been in that position to blitz.
However, Stafford had a better read on the defense and adjusted the protection. Microphones captured it:
“Out to 22!”
Stafford’s call overruled the center and slid the protection out to safety Harrison Smith (No. 22).
Stafford was correct: Smith blitzed while Van Ginkel dropped. Sometimes dropping non-traditional players out of certain exotic pressures leaves them vulnerable in coverage. Stafford attacked Van Ginkel, throwing to Nacua running a dig behind him.
“It gives me the most confidence,” Limmer said. “Obviously I’m a rookie this year, so coming in I didn’t know really anything about the offense. So if I ever make a wrong call or anything — I mean, he hears it right away and he’s flipping the protection or whatever it is. It gives me a lot of confidence not to make the wrong call, because he’s going to make it right if I do.”
Because of Stafford’s ability to use the dummy count to get the defense to reveal itself before the snap, defenses are very conscientious of not giving him tells (such as body movement or alignment). They often try to hold their disguise as long as possible — but it can sometimes work against them.
2024, Week 11, Los Angeles Rams at New England Patriots, 14:47 remaining in the third quarter, second-and-9
On this play, the Patriots sent a cover 0 blitz (heavy blitz with man-to-man and no deep safety) at Stafford. He knew it was coming based on the alignment but the defense didn’t want to make it obvious by creeping up its rushers.
When typically sending an all-out blitz, defenders want to make the quarterback get rid of the ball quickly. But because the Patriots linebackers didn’t want to give Stafford any pre-snap tells, they were too far away from him. Jahlani Tavai (48) should have been the free rusher on the play because the Patriots sent one more defender than the Rams could block — but he had too much distance to cover.
Stafford hit Kupp inside for a 69-yard touchdown, then high-stepped down the field flashing a “0” with his hand and mouthing, “Cover Zero” — the play a product of another adjustment he and McVay made over time.
Ever since Stafford hit Kupp on the
“for the love of the game” route in the NFC divisional round against
Tampa Bay to set up a game-winning field goal a few years ago — a deep ball against all-out pressure that typically would never go to Kupp — the Rams have adjusted the concept to increase the likelihood that it will, from the protections they set to how Kupp runs his route and the timing of the throw itself.
Running back
Kyren Williams’ protection assignment was to pick up an interior pressure. The offense collectively had discussed different calls and reactions to the pre-snap look in its week of preparation. The running backs have a motto dedicated to the importance McVay places on their proficiency in pass protection no matter the adjustment: “No block, no rock.”
The Rams have a designated meeting each week to specifically discuss pre-snap adjustments, motion, protections in the pass game and how to counter defensive looks and disguises they think they’ll get in a game. Former left tackle
Andrew Whitworth, a captain on the Super Bowl team in 2021-22, said that offensive linemen, running backs, receivers and tight ends are all included. He believed it ultimately sped up communication in a game because they’d already thoroughly discussed the language Stafford may use when making an adjustment — and even players without direct responsibility could visualize how the play should unfold. They take that meeting right into the walk-through McVay runs on the same day and that becomes an ongoing discussion between coaches and players.
Those communication meetings have been particularly important this season. Stafford’s offensive line played its first game with all five of its intended starters in Week 13 at New Orleans, minus the Jackson/Limmer switch. Kupp and Nacua missed a combined nine games with injuries.
The Rams have also largely operated on a silent count this season, including for home games against
Las Vegas,
Green Bay, Minnesota,
Philadelphia and
San Francisco. The
Buffalo Bills, coordinated by veteran defensive head coach Sean McDermott and with a widely traveling fan base in tow, play Los Angeles on Sunday at SoFi Stadium. McDermott’s defense mixes its coverages and has been effective even against veteran/top quarterbacks in disguising its pressure or forcing hesitation.
“I know that it’s not just me out there doing it by myself; communication is key,” Stafford said.
“It’s always constant communication, everybody trying to be on the same page — then go out and try to get us into the right plays.”
(Top photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
