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Lindsey ThiryESPN
THOUSAND OAKS, California. – If all goes as planned against the Arizona Cardinals, quarterback John Wolford will lead the Los Angeles Rams to the playoff position.
As an added bonus, Wolford will probably no longer have to listen to head coach Sean McVay and his teammates no longer pronounce his name and will be able to delete the LinkedIn account that explained his previous career in finance.
“I know I can do it, I know I can make the throws, and mentally it’s about making the right decisions to give us the best chance of winning,” Wolford said Wednesday. “I’m sure to come in this week.”
Wolford will make his NFL debut in the absence of quarterback Jared Goff, who was operated on Monday for his throwing thumb and will be out of action for at least a week.
To get a playoff spot, the Rams (9-6) must win at SoFi Stadium against the Cardinals (8-7), or the Chicago Bears (8-7) must lose at home to the Green Bay Packers (12 -3), who play in the first overall NFC standings.
“It’s something you’ve dreamed of all your life,” Wolford said about making his first NFL start with a playoff spot in play. “But I won’t get too caught up in it right now.”
During a 15-and-a-half-minute video conference with reporters Wednesday, Wolford appeared calm and answered questions frankly. He admitted he slept less than normal the night he found out he would start, but said he has since returned to the routine.
He clarified a bit of confusion about how to pronounce his last name: it’s “Wole-ford,” though he said he doesn’t mind when mispronounced, which McVay has done over Wolford’s two-year tenure with the ‘team. As for a LinkedIn account he created as a freshman at Wake Forest when a career in the NFL seemed unlikely and he planned to get into finance, his job was updated this week to read: “quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams “.
“If this Sunday goes well,” Wolford said, “maybe I’ll just eliminate it.”
McVay, receiver Robert Woods and defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, whose unit faces Wolford as he leads the scouting team, expressed confidence that the inexperienced QB will be able to lead them to victory on Sunday.
“John Wolford has the utmost respect for our entire team, coaches and players, for his performance on practice, in meetings and in the weight room,” Staley said. “I think it’s a rare thing that you can have the respect of your teammates without actually acting in an NFL game.”
When asked what skills he possessed that might be different from Goff’s, Wolford – who is 6 feet-1 and 200 pounds – noted his speed and agility.
“I don’t want to leave Jared’s athletics, he’s a great athlete, he’s an NFL quarterback,” Wolford said, “but I think I’m a little faster than him and I can make a few more plays with my legs.”
“I think John has a skill set that will be fun to see how he executes our offense and how things come to life differently,” McVay said. “Every guy has creativity in his game, but I think he’ll do a good job of distributing and making good decisions.”
The Rams did not practice on Wednesday, but took a walk.
“Great communication, great mastery of what we’re trying to achieve,” McVay said of Wolford’s presence in training. “Great understanding and ownership of the initial parts of the game plan.”
Practices are scheduled to resume Thursday and Friday as the Rams prepare to play in Sunday’s game without senior runner Darrell Henderson who was placed on the injured reserve and receiver Cooper Kupp, who moved to the roster. reservation / COVID-19 this week.
Woods said Wolford, who turned 25 in October, lacks confidence and is known to be one of the last players to leave the training ground on a daily basis after responding to requests from receivers who they want to throw some extra balls. But even Woods isn’t so sure what to expect in a Wolford game, which went unwritten in 2018 and he signed with the Rams training squad last season after throwing 14 touchdowns at the links to the split Alliance of American Football League.
“I haven’t seen him in the NFL or any live game; I’ve seen him a couple of preseasons and I’ve seen his featured tape on YouTube,” Woods said. “We checked him out to see what he could do, but he was really just coming out here and waiting for John to do plays.”