Goff, the October thread

Rams QB Jared Goff is through his first four games, so what have we learned?

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/2122606/2020/10/08/rams-qb-jared-goff-is-through-his-first-four-games-so-what-have-we-learned/

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — We know that Rams quarterback Jared Goff is on a diet and has been since early spring.

We know he spent a ton of time this offseason working with 3DQB on the specific mechanics that are necessary when throwing either on the move or under pressure inside the pocket.

We know that Goff and new offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell continued working on those techniques during practices through the beginning of this season, and they also worked to develop their relationship and communication style.

Four games into this season, have we seen that work translate into action?

Goff — who has completed 88 of 122 attempts (72.1 percent, which would be the highest of his career) with six touchdowns and two interceptions — thinks so, and his teammates and coaches certainly do, too.

“He’s just playing really well,” head coach Sean McVay said. “Just the way he’s seeing the field. … I can’t say enough about just the way guys are playing around him, but I’d also continue to give a lot of credit to (O’Connell and assistant quarterbacks coach Liam Coen) and the work they do with that quarterback room.”

With McVay able to delegate more of the quarterback work to O’Connell, the offensive coordinator has seen Goff throw himself into the minutiae of his work.

“When we first talked in the spring, it was about every phase of his game trying to get small percentages better,” O’Connell said. “He’s done a lot of really good things over the course of his first three years as a starter to really take inventory of all of that and kind of pinpoint some things. Maybe fundamentally, maybe from a decision-making standpoint, maybe within a game within NFL pockets, how do we make the most of every opportunity that we get in a 60-minute football game?

“And then, things off the field. Leadership, some of the things he’s done away from the field to improve himself, physically, mentally, all those things. I think a lot goes into it. That’s what we’re here for, and I want to give him all the credit in the world because he’s done a great job and he’s had a real kind of present mindset to have some goals to attack each and every day.”

But let’s break it down a little further. With a quarter of the season complete, what have we seen from Goff? And where does he still need to go?

How the O’Connell-Goff relationship has developed

McVay made an offhand comment following a narrow loss to the Bills in Week 3 that actually was pretty telling: “I don’t have to worry about the quarterbacks at all.”

McVay’s point was that O’Connell’s inclusion on the staff, and his relationship with Goff, has been pretty seamless, and that it has allowed McVay to delegate better as a head coach.

“I know how much confidence I have in Kevin and the feedback that he’s consistently giving (the quarterbacks),” McVay said. “Then he and I have great dialogue, in a lot of instances, or we’ll talk through certain things and he’s been great.”

Unlike some offensive coordinators who call a game from the coaches’ booth, O’Connell opted to stay on the field with Goff and McVay. In part, this is because O’Connell is coordinating the quarterbacks and offering in-game feedback to McVay, who still has playcalling duties.

But it’s also a more comfortable situation for O’Connell, who was a journeyman backup NFL quarterback for parts of five seasons (2008 to 2012). He simply can see and process a game better from field level, and he prefers to be with his position group so he can better grasp in-game rhythm and energy.

O’Connell, Goff and McVay are in constant communication throughout the game, O’Connell said.

“There’s really a strong line of communication always between Sean and myself,” he said. “Just how the game is going. I’d like to, a lot of times, be that voice in between on game day for Sean, and Jared allows me to kind of have a good communication pattern with both those guys.

“One thing I’ve noticed is, during the game, both Jared and Sean, their communication with one another, the rhythm of the game, what’s coming up next (and) maybe adjustments that need to be made — (I’ve noticed) just how smooth that process has been.”

McVay indicated that having someone around who is constantly hammering home the small details and operating as a sounding board for Goff — as well as a coach — has made a noticeable difference in Goff’s everyday process.

“He’s better than I had even thought,” McVay said of O’Connell. “A great communicator. He sees the game the right way, but I just think his ability to work with our quarterbacks has been something that’s been really special. There’s full ownership and autonomy of everything that we’re trying to get done really from a big-picture perspective but also from that quarterback. There’s so much that goes into every single snap, and for him to be able to just kind of have such a great grasp and command and good rapport with those quarterbacks, I think has been instrumental in some of the early success we’ve had.”

Goff — and O’Connell’s communication progression — was put to its toughest test at Buffalo in Week 3, when the Rams faced a 25-point deficit in the third quarter.

“You really find out a lot about your communication skills … when you’ve got to have some tough conversations, or you’ve got to try to attempt to push a player or just sometimes be there to listen to a guy,” O’Connell said. “There’s a lot of different dynamics to that sideline communication. I’d like to think that Jared and I, our relationship, even though we haven’t been around each other a long time, I would like to think it’s right where we want it to be.

“I know me, personally, he’s honest, he’s always got a great way about him to answer your questions without feeling defensive or anything like that. He’s always out for the best possible outcome to help not only himself but the other guys in the huddle with him (also) be in a great position the next time we go on the field to have success.”

Offensive line, run game helping Goff

The Rams’ pass blocking has been solid this season, led by left tackle Andrew Whitworth (who has been one of the highest-graded pass protectors in the league, according to Pro Football Focus), and especially since left guard David Edwards took over for the injured Joe Noteboom. Goff has taken six sacks, which is on pace for two more than he took last season, but he also has faced only 26 pressures (on average through this time, a quarterback would have taken approximately 44).

Goff is averaging the same time to throw within the pocket that he had in 2019 and, more notably, in 2018 (the Rams’ Super Bowl season), at 2.6 seconds per throw.

“A lot of (my success) is credit to the O-line,” Goff said this week. “It is truly about them being able to provide that pocket and doing such a great job there.”

Edwards said that when Goff rolls out, blocking responsibilities have been different, too.

“Especially when he’s either rolling out or dropping back, we have to block forever,” Edwards said. “We need to make sure we’re in good positions for him to step up or maneuver in the pocket, and just know that he’s going to find somebody downfield, whether that’s with his feet or (moving) inside the pocket. Just for us, don’t have a mental clock where you stop. Keep blocking forever, because you know he’s going to make a play.”

Goff and McVay also credit the Rams’ early rushing success to Goff’s efficiency in the passing game. The Rams rank No. 7 in the league with an average of 142 rushing yards per game (and were higher entering Week 4 before they totaled only 58 rushing yards against the Giants).

The consistency in the rushing game sets up Goff’s play-action, in which he thrives. This season, Goff has thrown the ball out of play-action 64 times on 122 attempts for 530 of his 1,063 yards, according to Pro Football Reference’s advanced statistics.

Play-action, combined with a good rushing attack, also sets up those motion plays and sweeps that McVay loves to incorporate in his offense. The Rams lead or rank in the top five in the league both in using pre- and-at-snap motions, which work on the outsides of the tackles if the defense is tightly inside to try to stop what it thinks will be a carry, or inside of the tackles with a run play if the defense is expecting the motion to result in a pass or sweep.

“I think, just this year being able to run the ball the way they have, has taken a lot of the pressure off of him,” Edwards said.

No clearer view of how the Rams’ run game sets up their passing game was available than at Buffalo when, down 28-3 in the third quarter, McVay refused to abandon the run. That in part helped Goff finally find his offensive rhythm, and the Rams scored 29 unanswered points before finally succumbing to the Bills on the last drive.

Where is the deep ball?

While the Rams have totaled 19 explosive plays through four games (a play of 20-plus yards), it’s notable that only two of those were air-yards plays.

To put it more clearly, Goff has attempted only five passes of 20-plus yards and completed two — one for a touchdown.

McVay, Goff and O’Connell all indicated that the lack of “deep ball” within the Rams’ offense thus far has more to do with opposing defensive schemes than a lack of personnel or ability on the Rams’ side.

“It’s a week-to-week thing, based on some of the coverage contours that we’re getting,” McVay said on Thursday. “We have called some of those shots. It’s just a matter of whether we have thrown them or not. We had some opportunities in the Buffalo game and even (against the Giants). But there are definitely some guys that are going down the field and it’s really not any different than what it has been in years past.”

It’s certainly not for lack of ability. Goff has been throwing long passes since training camp opened, and part of his activation and workout period each day in practice includes work on those types of passes. But O’Connell said the Rams will never try to force a specific in-game situation.

“I think Jared has been really, really good about being smart about putting the ball in play, throwing completions,” he said. “He’s been really accurate. As the season progresses, I’m sure those plays will present themselves. But it’s never anything you want to press or try to force because normally when you do that, the defense in this league can take advantage of that and bad things can happen.”

One thing to note is that the Rams do a lot of their field movement horizontally, using sweeps and motions, lots of screens (though the latter have not been effective in the last two weeks) and underneath work. Where that can be extremely beneficial is with the receivers’ ability to gain yards after the catch (YAC) on simple shorter routes. In this fashion, technically — though the yards have not been “air yards” — the Rams have been able to rack up explosive plays and “stretch the field” but in a different way than a vertical pass would.

I asked McVay this week whether the Rams consider all explosive plays to be in the same bucket. Or do they want to keep the air-yard explosive plays and YAC-yards explosive plays buckets separate and work to supplement the former?

“Yeah, I mean, as far as just the results, when you’re targeting it, it’s, ‘What’s the result of the play?’ — whether it’s a plus-30-yard gain and the ball travels (in the air) five yards or 30 yards. That’s the same to us,” McVay said. “(But) we are aware of some of the different things. Being able to see where the targets are, where the ball is being thrown, we’re very cognizant of that. And we want to make the defense defend the width and depth of the field, especially in the passing game.”

Activation and working under “chaos”

In the spring, mechanics experts Tom House and Adam Dedeaux at quarterback training facility 3DQB worked with Goff on the mechanics that come when a player is throwing while on the move, which they call “operating within chaos.”

“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 … when you’re throwing, your energy and momentum is either going to go towards (the throw) or it’s going to leak away, or it’s going to leak in, and as much as we can, (we want to) go towards it and stay on that plane and get as much power from the ground as possible, while keeping a base that is not perfect.

“I think that’s where it becomes tricky and why some people are good at it and some people aren’t, and why I’m really trying to do my best to be as good as I can at it. But I think just keeping that energy from the ground through your feet, moving in the right direction in a bad base, really, and not a perfect base.”

I like to ask O’Connell questions about the “activation drills” that the quarterbacks do every day in practice because they are designed to start from the top of the body — the arms and shoulders — then work down through the torso and lower body (base). They get the blood flowing and each area working in synchronicity with the arm, the eyes and the brain. The drills range from short throws from a square base to midrange toss-and-catch to even getting the legs moving in agility pole drills and punchout drills.

And while the question has become kind of a running joke (“activation” being a weird word), the process clearly is working. Goff’s foot-to-brain coordination and body confidence when under pressure seems to be better this season, albeit with a small sample size.

“I think in practice, a lot of this stuff that we do pre-practice that you guys are able to see of us out there, I think has been beneficial,” Goff said.

Goff also has appeared to understand and trust himself more this season, even as the pocket breaks down. A few times against Philadelphia and Buffalo, Goff notably either stepped up into his pocket as the back half folded, or he stood tall and got the ball downfield.

“Just his command this year has been great,” Edwards said. “I think the confidence that he has shown in us, and then some of the throws he has made, just standing in there — some of the throws he made against Buffalo, standing in there and taking a shot, completing the ball downfield — just shows his confidence.”

When Goff is on the run, either by design on a rollout or under pressure, he believes his footwork is much better, as are the mechanics he worked on in matching his base with the throw.

“I feel like my feet have been so much better through these four games, than really any time my career,” Goff said. “Just the consistency with my feet and the consistency with my eyes.”

McVay noted those mechanical differences on one play against Buffalo, a third-quarter completion to tight end Gerald Everett that went for 18 yards.

“If you look at how aggressively he had a hitch to his left, be able to reset his body and make the throw,” McVay said, “… those are high-pressure types of throws that he consistently made throughout the course of the day.”