Matthew Stafford has had his fair shares of battles against star DBs, who have impacted the overall performance of the offense throughout his career. However, arguably his most difficult challenges came during the week of preparation instead of on Sundays.
While most teams shiver at the thought of playing against seven-time Pro Bowler Jalen Ramsey, Stafford had to face the future Hall of Fame cornerback every day in practice. As they say, iron sharpens iron and Stafford’s daily duels with Ramsey resulted in both players being victorious in Super Bowl LVI.
While the Rams’ cap situation saw their time as teammates come to an end, it’s all love for Stafford heading into this week’s game against Ramsey and the Dolphins – his first game against the former Rams corner.
“I practiced against him for a while there. I have so much respect for who he is as a player and a teammate,” Stafford said of Ramsey. “He affects the game in so many different ways, even if a lot of times guys are staying away from him. It’s basically a one for one that he’s taking away out there. He’s doing a heck of a job like he always does. He’s mixing it in there in the run game, finishing plays, blitzing, sacking the quarterback and getting a tipped interception last week. He’s doing all the things you want from Jalen Ramsey and I got a ton of respect for him. I had an amazing time playing with him as a teammate and that’ll be a big challenge for us come Monday night.”
Ramsey is now 30 years old but it doesn’t seem like his athleticism has declined at all.
“It still jumps off the tape,” Stafford said of Ramsey’s athleticism. “Some of the plays that he makes down the field, tracking the football, blitzing the quarterback, batting balls down or whatever it is, he’s still got all the tools that you would want at a corner. I remember watching him when he was in college, doing all the stuff he did, and just tracking his career. He has been an incredible player for a long time and is still doing it at a high level.”
Against Buffalo last week, Ramsey recorded his first interception of the season as the Dolphins look reenergized by the return of Tua Tagovailoa. With two of the more established passers in the NFL set to duel, it will be very interesting how Stafford and Sean McVay counter the problems created by Ramsey, especially if they need to put up points in a hurry.