In the eyes of many, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner is the best player at his position in the entire NFL. Of course, being in the same division, the Los Angeles Rams are very aware of just how good he is and how he impacts the game, so head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford are always keeping an eye on him when he’s on the field.
But that also goes both ways as Warner knows that he must be at his best to disrupt the Rams’ offense. And in an interview with ESPN’s Kevin Clark, Warner named McVay and Stafford as the duo that keeps him up at night:
“The ones that come to mind are the guys I gotta see twice a year so of course McVay and Stafford together I think are as good a duo as there is in this league. And having to play them twice a year, it does keep me up a little bit that week when I have to play them of a little extra studying. I gotta kind of find a way because there is a chess match that’s being played amongst middle linebacker-quarterback, middle linebacker-coordinator, middle linebacker-head coach who’s the play caller so it is a game that’s being played with them.”
There is definitely a high level chess match going on between the two sides every time they face off and Clark would even draw a comparison to the battle that would go on between Hall of Famers Ed Reed and Tom Brady many years ago, one which Warner agreed with before opening up about the battles that go on between himself and Stafford:
“That’s a very great comparison. I mean I don’t know if we’re worthy of that comparison, however I appreciate that […] It is the eyes, it truly is. When you play a defense and a style and our defense where we’re very visual based. We’re watching the quarterback and especially me I’m watching wherever that quarterback takes me that’s where I’m going. And since he knows that, he’s gonna try to manipulate me to get me going one way and throw the ball another way, which he does better than anybody. Which speaks to how well he processes the game and owns their system and their offense, to know how to manipulate, scheme and do those sorta things. So then it kind of turns into a game of ‘OK do I start to try to bait him and go this way when he thinks I’m going that way,’ and it turns into that type of game.”
Obviously there are times when each side has gotten the better of the other, but when asked for one specific time when he was fooled, Warner said Stafford has done it too many times to remember just one:
“There’s too many to choose from. He’s a Hall of Fame for a reason. He’s gonna be the league MVP this year I’m sure. And I know Drake Maye is right there alongside him. But he’s earned it and he’s done it at the highest level for a really long time. So I love going to battle with him every single time we do.”
These are the kinds of battles that really make players better. If Warner can take down Stafford and the Rams then there aren’t many other offenses he can’t handle and vice versa for Stafford and the Rams getting the best of Warner. Thankfully, we still have at least one more season of them facing off as both the Rams and 49ers battle to try and get back to the Super Bowl.
Rams acquire All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie
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