Stetson Bennett handled seven drives in his NFL debut
With Matthew Stafford now the second oldest quarterback in the NFL, the Rams need to think about the future. The future prospect could be Stetson Bennett.
The freshman from Georgia, who turns 26 in October, handled seven home runs Saturday night, in the Rams’ season opener against the Chargers.
“I know it’s a preseason game, but it’s your first NFL game,” Bennett told reporters. , but then (we) start to groove, we start calling plays and you start to settle in once you get hit first, honestly, it’s just like everything I’ve taught, almost.”
His first drive (after Brett Ripien handled three of them) took 16 plays, covered 75 yards and ended in a touchdown, On an 11-yard throw to fellow rookie Boca Nakoa.
On the night, Bennett completed 17 of 29 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown. He had no objections. He could get two, but the defenders couldn’t catch him.
“I thought there were some good plays that I did,” Bennett said. “I thought there were some good plays that I did. I thought we bounced back a few times from some lost yardage plays. I thought we did well on the third downs, I didn’t turn the ball over, even though I tried a few times so that should clean up a bit, but I thought it was ok. It’s hard to say without watching the tape.”
He doesn’t need to see the tape to know he almost has a pair of shots. What does he think after those plays happen?
“I just don’t think about it. Thank you for not understanding that,” Bennett said, and we’re moving on to the next stage now. “
He credited the offensive line for giving him time to look down the field.
“I remember especially on the touchdown lane, it was like everything was open and I could see Boca so well I thought I had time all night,” said Bennett. “Most of the time I’ve had a problem it’s been about fake plays. They had wide D-ends coming in and not really respecting the race, which has hurt them a few times there, but overall, I thought we played really well up front.”
It is encouraging that the Rams are beginning to develop a player who can eventually become a starter. Whether he does depends on many things, including whether he takes full advantage of opportunities for growth and improvement in the pre-season.
