Goff talk … new thread starting 9/17

Keep your shirt on: Will body overhaul mean production upgrade for Rams’ Jared Goff?

Lindsey Thiry

https://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/42002/keep-your-shirt-on-can-body-overhaul-mean-production-upgrade-for-rams-jared-goff

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — He says he has always taken his job seriously, but this season, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff is taking his preparation a step further.

“You can see that there is a different gear with the way he’s preparing,” right tackle Rob Havenstein said. “I mean, shoot, he even has his own diet going on. Get that body right.”

Teammates have taken notice of the new Goff. “He’s in the best shape of his life,” tight end Tyler Higbee said.

However, Goff’s head coach has not.

“No,” Sean McVay said, chuckling, when asked if he could see a difference in Goff because of his newfound diet. “I haven’t seen him with his shirt off — so, I’d be able to tell you if I saw him with his shirt off.”

The 6-foot-4, 222-pound Goff is hoping the results will be noticeable with his shirt on.

After an uneven 2019 season that included a statistical downturn in several major categories, Goff is not only ready to return to form, but wants to perform even better than when he helped the Rams to consecutive division titles and a Super Bowl appearance to end the 2018 season.

“Put in a lot of work this offseason,” said Goff, who signed a four-year, $134 million extension before the 2019 opener. “Had a lot time to really reflect and figure out what wanted to get better at and really focus on.”

Last Sunday, Goff and the Rams got off to a promising start, opening the season with a 20-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys at SoFi Stadium.

In Week 2, they’ll embark on their first road trip of this unusual coronavirus season to play the Philadelphia Eagles and quarterback Carson Wentz, the No. 2 pick behind Goff in the 2016 NFL draft, at Lincoln Financial Field.

With Goff now in his fifth season, the Rams’ offense firmly belongs to the former top overall selection, who becomes the focal point of a unit that no longer includes running back Todd Gurley II.

“I’ve been very pleased with his decision-making, his ownership, his command of the offense,” said McVay, now in his fourth season as coach.

Goff intends to take advantage of 1,000-yard receivers Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp, Higbee, as well as a trio of running backs. But to do that, Goff took extended measures to improve himself.

“I have the whole thing going now,” said Goff, who turns 26 in October. “And I feel really good.”

He worked with a trainer over the offseason, hired a nutritionist to examine and shape his diet and a chef to prepare meals. Goff says it was partly an effort to become more mobile and quicker on his feet, though he didn’t divulge his new superfoods.

“Hopefully, I can extend plays a little bit better than I have throughout my career,” he said.

A season after being ravaged by injuries and inexperience, an improved and sturdier offensive line will help Goff’s attempt to bounce back from a season in which he threw 16 interceptions to 22 touchdown passes. So will his intangibles, including an accurate arm and bad memory.

“I remember being with him in camp and he would have stretches in camp where I’d be like, ‘My goodness Jared, this is bad, like you’re making bad decisions, you’re late with the football, it’s coming out of your hand funny,'” said Dan Orlovsky, an ESPN NFL analyst, former NFL quarterback and a brief teammate of Goff’s during training camp in 2016. “And then you’d have the very next period, he’d look like Joe Montana.”

Even with an arm that can place any pass with precision, it might be Goff’s ability to move on from disappointment that could be considered his best asset, and his best hope to rebound.

“It’s always been a strength of mine,” Goff said. “And something that a lot of people have noticed as teammates throughout my life.”

It helped him quickly put behind the seven winless starts he made as a rookie under former coach Jeff Fisher, and he went on to put together an 11-win season in 2017, helping spark the Rams to their first division title in 14 seasons.

And it will help him move on from the disappointment of 2019, when the Rams finished 9-7 and missed a playoff appearance only a year after a Super Bowl run. Goff passed for 10 fewer touchdowns (32 to 22) than 2018 while throwing four more interceptions (12 to 16). His total quarterback rating plummeted from 63.7 in 2018 to 50.6, dropping him from a top-10 ranked quarterback to 22nd in the league.

Along with Goff’s self-improvement efforts, McVay also took the initiative to hire Kevin O’Connell as offensive coordinator, filling a role that sat vacant the past two seasons after Matt LaFleur’s departure.

O’Connell not only will assist with preparing the offensive game plan, but has become the de facto quarterbacks coach.

Goff expressed excitement over the arrival of O’Connell, who was Washington’s coordinator last season and spent five seasons as an NFL backup quarterback.

“He’s played the position,” Goff said. “He understands the little intricacies that go along with playing it.”

O’Connell and Goff choose different skills to work on daily, including Goff’s fundamentals, stance and posture. They’ve also continued to focus on his footwork, an effort Goff honed in on during the offseason.

Goff’s accuracy has proved to be a difference-maker in the Rams’ past three seasons. But could his diet help provide an extra boost this year? That’s still to be determined.

“We’ll see if that pays off,” Goff said.

For McVay, diet or not, he likes what he sees from his quarterback … at least on the field.

“He’s feeling good, he’s playing good football,” McVay said. “So that’s the most important thing. Whether he looks better or not without his shirt off. I think [Goff’s girlfriend] Christen cares about that more than me.”

Is Carson Wentz really better than Jared Goff? Busting two big Eagles-Rams myths

Mike Sando

https://theathletic.com/2080007/2020/09/21/is-carson-wentz-really-better-than-jared-goff-busting-two-big-eagles-rams-myths/?source=twittered

A contrarian thought kept percolating in my mind before injury carnage and fourth-quarter chaos swept over Week 2, so I spent Saturday asking NFL execs whether they agreed with my conclusion: I’d rather be the Los Angeles Rams than the Philadelphia Eagles — not just this week, not just this season, but for the future as well. Panicked Eagles fans who’re irate following an 0-2 start might not argue the point now. After what happened Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field — Rams 37, Eagles 19 — we all should reexamine these two franchises linked by their quarterback decisions atop the 2016 draft. The Rams selected Jared Goff first. The Eagles took Carson Wentz second and were widely considered to have landed the quarterback with greater upside. Both teams have reached a Super Bowl since then. Both have aggressive general managers to tackle the challenges of the future. But our perceptions need updating. As the evidence mounts, it’s time to bust two stubborn myths surrounding these franchises, their quarterbacks and their roster building. The Pick Six column kicks off there. The full menu:

1. Why I’d rather be the Rams than the Eagles

Goff played Sunday as though he was determined to rebut the prevailing evaluation of him in relation to Wentz. Thirteen consecutive completions to start the game helped stake the Rams to a 21-3 lead. Overall, Goff completed 74 percent of his passes with three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 9.9-yard average per attempt. Wentz tossed his third and fourth interceptions of the season against a defense that has started fast under new coordinator Brandon Staley. This was the second successive week the Rams allowed three points in a second half.

Additional performances such as this one will change perceptions of the Rams. Those perceptions could be incorrect regardless.

Yes, the Rams hurt themselves with bad deals for offensive weapons Todd Gurley (cut) and Brandin Cooks (traded). Conventional wisdom says the Rams mortgaged their future by trading two first-round picks for cornerback Jalen Ramsey. It says the Rams sacrificed roster flexibility through lucrative deals for Goff, defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Ramsey, to say nothing of recent agreements with receivers Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, solid players who aren’t game-changing talents. Conventional wisdom — plus votes from 50 coaches and evaluators in my 2020 Quarterback Tiers project — says Goff is a Tier 3 quarterback with a lower ceiling than players such as, say, the Eagles’ Wentz.

The truth might be quite different. Let’s bust two key myths.

Myth No. 1: Wentz is better than Goff

Wentz finished 11th, solidly in Tier 2, in voting by the 50 coaches and evaluators this past offseason. Goff was 16th and the third quarterback in Tier 3, one spot below Kirk Cousins. Even if you prefer Wentz, a fuller assessment would include these teams’ play-calling head coaches as part of the evaluation. Sean McVay and Goff could be pulling ahead of Doug Pederson and Wentz. They are so much more cohesive, and armed with better weaponry. Goff is such an extension of McVay that the head coach gets disproportionate credit when the quarterback plays well. Wentz regularly plays outside the system in search of the big play. It can be part of his appeal, but he must learn to pick his spots.

“Wentz tries to make too much out of the plays, like he is going to pull out of a sack and rip away from a tackle and then throw it down the field,” a coach who has studied Wentz said, “or he is going to wait one more hitch to make the big play down the field instead of just getting the ball out of his hands. And he screws it up for everybody else. From a coaching standpoint, it is selfish. He should know better at this time in his career with the kind of coaching he is getting and the players he has around him.”

Goff’s rough 0-7 start to his career under former coach Jeff Fisher in 2016 created perceptions that have been hard to shake.

“When people get a perception about a guy, it becomes reality,” a former head coach said. “Goff can throw six straight perfect throws and miss one, and they are talking about something — his footwork or whatever. He makes a lot of big-time throws, more than most. He is an accurate passer. But when they do good, it’s because of the coach and when they struggle it’s because of Goff. If you are the coach, that is a pretty good way to have it.”

Both quarterbacks have suffered at times as the support around them has fluctuated. Wentz’s weaponry was abysmal last season. Goff and the Rams’ offense struggled to replace prime Gurley. Both quarterbacks have struggled when their offensive lines faltered. But it’s looking as though McVay/Goff is the stabler compound relative to Pederson/Wentz. It’s gotten harder to say Wentz is the better of the two.

Myth No. 2: The Rams are screwed from a roster standpoint

No doubt, the Rams’ commitment to Goff, Donald and now Ramsey will force the team to draft effectively. The Rams will have to make that happen with less capital at their disposal after sending two No. 1 picks to Jacksonville in the Ramsey trade. But with multiple other players potentially coming off the books next year — tackle Andrew Whitworth and defensive lineman Michael Brockers come to mind as possibilities — there is at least some wiggle room. And in stacking the Rams’ drafts from 2017-20 against the Eagles’ drafts over the same period, Los Angeles comes out ahead, despite having zero first-round picks across those four drafts.

Cornell29

Highest rate of catchable passes thrown 20+ yards downfield (min 3 deep-ball attempts)

#RamsHouse
Jared Goff (100%)

#Seahawks
Russell Wilson (83%)

#GoBucs
Tom Brady (80%)

#GoPats
Cam Newton (80%)

#BillsMafia
Josh Allen (78%)

– Via @Ihartitz 💰 https://t.co/xa7LjqRw1o

***

PFF under pressure stat

22 Sep 2020, 11:26

J. Goff vs #Eagles on Sunday..

Under pressure:
4-10, 37yd, 1TD, 1SK, 84.2 rating

NO Pressure:
*16-17, 230yd, 2TD, 158.3 rating
(*ALL 16 comp resulted in first downs!) per @PFF

***

Only two starting QBs without a turnover-worthy play in 2020:
Aaron Rodgers
Jared Goff https://t.co/mU5BICSOBV

• This reply was modified 4 years, 1 month ago by zn.

from PFF, on the Bills game: http://theramshuddle.com/topic/press-sums-up-the-bills-game/#post-121795

Goff… was accurate and efficient down the stretch. His performance under pressure should be the most encouraging thing for Rams fans, as he went 5-for-7 for 69 yards and a score when pressured. That hasn’t been the case for Goff most of his career.

InvaderRam wrote:

he looks different. statistically he’s actually started better out the gate than he has this season. but he somehow looks more in control this season. i don’t know. it’s still too early.

Yeah, it’s early, but we can see what’s there to see. It’s not just one thing. The OL is far more solid than it was after 3 games last year, AND the running game is clicking the way it wasn’t by this time last year, AND JG is far more confident and (like you said) in control.

Compare Goff’s first 3 games last year and this year.

2019: 66 of 105, 62.8%, 246 ypg, 7.0 ypa, 4 TDs, 3 Ints, 3 fumbles w/ 2 lost, 2 games w/ qb rating below 80.
2020: 63 of 90, 70%, 287.7 ypg, 9.6 ypa, 5 TDs, 2 Ints, 0 fumbles, 1 game w/ qb rating below 80.

from NFL’s top 10 deep passers: Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers among best

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-s-top-10-deep-passers-russell-wilson-aaron-rodgers-among-best

Jared Goff
Los Angeles Rams · QB

5 of 5 on deep attempts (100%), 139 yards, 1:0 TD-to-INT ratio, 158.3 passer rating

Sean McVay’s offense has long capitalized on using 11 personnel (1 running back, 1 tight end, 3 wide receivers) to both run the ball and set up deeper shots off play-action fakes, and while we saw less of that in a disappointing 2019 campaign, such an approach is back in Los Angeles in 2020.

Three of Goff’s five deep completions came on play-action passes, accounting for 80 of Goff’s 139 deep-passing yards and his lone deep touchdown. The tight end is again popular for the Rams, too, with Tyler Higbee catching two deep passes on play-action passes, including one for a score.

What’s interesting is how Goff has managed to find success on deep shots without Brandin Cooks, who is now a Houston Texan, and without focusing on his top two receivers. Neither Cooper Kupp nor Robert Woods have been targeted on a deep pass this season, yet Goff is a perfect 5 for 5 on such attempts, posting a blemish-free 158.3 passer rating.

Forced to step up, Jared Goff delivered a near-comeback against the Bills

GARY KLEIN

https://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/story/2020-09-30/forced-to-step-up-jared-goff-delivered-a-near-comeback-against-the-bills

The goal is to keep moving forward.

During offseason workouts and training camp, Rams quarterback Jared Goff focused on doing just that in the pocket.

After coach Sean McVay mostly kept Goff on the move to the left and right during the first two games this season, Goff’s sturdiness in the pocket was on display against the Buffalo Bills.

The fifth-year pro stepped up in heavy traffic several times and delivered completions that helped the Rams overcome a 25-point deficit. The Rams ultimately fell short in defeat, but Goff showed improved strength heading into Sunday’s game against the winless New York Giants at SoFi Stadium.

“Definitely something that was an emphasis this offseason, of being sturdy and being able to make those throws from not a great base and being accurate,” Goff said Wednesday during a videoconference with reporters.

Goff has passed for five touchdowns, with two interceptions, for a Rams team that is 2-1 after victories over the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles and the defeat to the Bills. He is completing 70% of his passes for an offense that is averaging 449.7 yards per game, which ranks third in the NFL. The Rams are averaging 29.7 points per game, which ranks seventh. They lead the league in third-down conversions at 56.4%

“That all comes through the quarterback,” Giants coach Joe Judge told reporters during a videoconference Wednesday.

Against the Bills, Goff passed for 321 yards and two touchdowns, with an interception. He also rushed for a touchdown. Coach Sean McVay described the performance as Goff’s best of the season.

“His pocket movement, his ability to navigate and be able to move while keeping his eyes down the field and make some big-time throws was outstanding,” McVay said. “Just the caliber of plays he made and then just the poise that was demonstrated from him as he was bringing us back.”

Since 2017, Goff has worked out during the offseason at the 3DQB training center in Orange County. He said that this past offseason he and motion performance expert Adam Dedeaux agreed to emphasize pocket presence in unpredictable conditions.

“Just wanting to be a little bit more active and be able to throw from not necessarily a perfect pocket all the time,” Goff said.

Goff said he relies on “muscle memory” to help execute the mechanics he practiced during drills designed to test him when the pocket and his base are not perfect.

“It’s kind of like, ‘Where do you want your weight and energy going?’ ” Goff said. “I think what we really focused on is keeping it going forward towards the throw.

“At times through my career, and every quarterback in the league, when you’re throwing, your energy and momentum is either going to go towards it or it’s going to leak away. … I’m really trying to do my best to be as good as I can at it.”

Goff has benefited this season from his work with new offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, who also serves as an quarterbacks coach.

“He’s been another voice, not only for Sean on the game plan and stuff but for me,” Goff said, “and being there every day for me and being able to bounce stuff off him and I think it’s always interesting and good.”