Stafford’s Smarts Set Him Apart — Rams Coaches Explain Why'

"I would always defer to what's the most comfortable thing for the quarterback. I don't think there's a right or wrong. It's always about the players. If I was with a quarterback that said, ‘I would prefer to have it where it's a play sheet,’ and I'm saying, ‘Left hash 1,’1 instead of calling a long play, then that's exactly what we would do. I totally can understand some of the efficiencies. We basically have a play sheet on his wrist because as soon as he hears the beginning of some of these calls, he's like, ‘Alright, I got it.’ It ends up being the same thing just because that's what he likes to do.”

By having that long cadence, it may operate as a checklist on each player's responsibility, allowing Stafford to read the defense and make proper adjustments.

Mike LaFleur

LaFleur shared his thoughts on Wednesday.

“In my experience with it, the wristband is up to whether the quarterback wants it or if he doesn't want it," stated LaFleur. "There's no secret NFL offenses are pretty wordy. What [Quarterback] Matthew [Stafford] does in terms of memorizing these plays, visualizing these plays because that's most important, and then being able to articulate it in a urgent fashion where obviously guys can understand it and do all that within the 40-seconds that you have, it's pretty impressive."

"Not many people can do what he does with that. I've been a part of it where your wristband with the third downs… sometimes the little wordier ones might have some ‘cans’ and stuff like that, maybe the red zone goes with it. Matthew doesn't want it and rightfully so because I can't imagine anyone better at doing what he does in terms of what I just said, getting that all out there.”