Matthew Stafford seeks distractions, especially when entering an opponent’s stadium.
So, unlike many sportsmen, the Rams’ veteran quarterback removes his headphones upon arrival and enjoys the hostile environment when he jogs onto the field for pregame warmups. “I want to hear everything,”
Stafford stated Wednesday before practice in Woodland Hills. “I want to smell it.” I want it to feel like football. That is a component of football, especially attending an away game.
“That stuff just motivates me.”
Stafford returns to Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday night for the second time in eight months. He played for the Lions for 12 seasons until being sold to the Rams in 2021 in a deal that sent quarterback Jared Goff to the Lions. Fans booed Stafford and screamed “Ja-red Goff!” before the Lions’ 24-23 win over the Rams in an NFC wild-card game last January.
Stafford, a 16th-year pro, does not shy from that kind of reception.
“I feel the crowd 100%,” Stafford said. “Motivating factor. Love it.
The Lions drafted Stafford No. 1 overall in 2009, and the prolific passer became a favored son in a city aching for the Lions to become a consistent winner.
But that never happened during Stafford’s tenure.
After he was traded, Stafford led the Rams to a Super Bowl title.
The playoff defeat marked his first game in Detroit after the deal. And the first time he practiced for a game in Ford Field’s visitors’ locker room.
“I’m going to obviously be one more game comfortable being an opponent on that field than I was, I guess, last year,” said Stafford, who finished 25 of 36 passes for 367 yards and two scores in the loss. Is there a benefit to returning to the location of the previous season’s last game?
Is there a benefit to returning to the location of the previous season’s last game? “Each game we play, no matter where it is or when it is, is its own singular event,” Stafford told the crowd. “Just because something happened a year ago doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again — good, bad or indifferent.”
McVay announced that offensive guard Rob Havenstein and cornerbacks Darious Williams and Cobie Durant would be limited in practice. … With temperatures projected to top 105 degrees in the coming days, McVay said the Rams would limit the number of consecutive plays players made and continue to check hydration.
A tiny tent stands at the end of one of the two grass practice fields, while a large tent has been built over a turf field. “You can’t ignore that this heat is real and the guys feel it,” says McVay, “but I think we got a good plan in place so that it won’t be any reason why we won’t be ready to roll Sunday night.”
