The Los Angeles Rams look to get back to their best this week as the New York Giants come to town for a Monday night showdown. Their offense, which sputtered in the season opener, hopes Week 2 will be a launching pad for another successful season.
However, a strong, physical Giants defense awaits. The team's offensive masterminds, Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford, spoke about New York's quality, especially along the line of scrimmage.
“They have great players across the board," said McVay. "They do a great job schematically. But then you look at it, whether you're talking about [Kayvon] Thibodeaux, obviously, [Brian] Burns and Abdul Carter, you feel their presence. Then [Arvell] Reese was an excellent player in college and you see why he was picked
where he was, doing a good job as an inside backer.
"I saw a defense that played with their hair on fire, played with a great energy, a great effort. There was a style of play. I think that's the biggest thing defensively that you could really see. They were connected, and it was impressive. They have really good players on all three levels of the defense, and that was on display on Sunday night.”
Stafford joined McVay in the praise of the Giants, going out of his way to highlight the work of Carter. Stafford complemented their aggressive nature, stating his offense has to match that level of enthusiasm.
“Obviously, they have a good scheme and those guys attack," said Stafford. "When you watch them play, even the first play of the game against the Cowboys, Abdul Carter just blowing up the back-sift or whatever that was. You look at those plays and you go, 'Man, these guys, they play with their hair on fire. They really get after it.'"
"So we have to match that or exceed that energy and that edge. As far as playmakers go, they got them, like I said, at every spot. This is the NFL. We got good players on our team, they got good players on their team, and we're gonna go out there and execute and play at a high level.”
Not only do the Giants have a strong defense, but their offense also has that same punishing mentality as well. Last week in their win against the Dallas Cowboys, New York used a slow and methodical offensive philosophy to keep Dallas' offense sidelined, physically wearing down the defense.
Stafford and company cannot afford to fall behind the chains. With the loss of Myles Garrett and some injuries on defense, the Rams are already losing the battle of attrition.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford share similar praise for Giants defense
