from around the net: Tampa game comments

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IF Goff is everything the Rams hope he’ll be, then he absolutely will loosen up defenses. But Fisher didn’t want to “find a way” to get him up to speed in an accelerated manner. He had every intention of just taking his time with him. And he did so because he felt he had that luxury. He didn’t want to let Goff take his lumps as he was learning. He wanted Goff to learn and then dish out the lumps. So it’s really not a matter of the coaching staff being unable to get their QB up to speed like everyone else. It’s just a developmental preference. I’m sure if Keenum got hurt in week one, that Goff would have started the Tampa game. More than likely. And they would have definitely found a way to get him up to speed before that too.

What about the argument that Keenum starting means defenses crowd the line and there’s no room for Gurley? All of this “Case needs to throw vertical” stuff is purely speculative, IMO. I’ve already posted splits that shows he throws to the middle and deep zones just about as regularly as any other QB in the league when you calculate percentages. But since this is the theory everyone is going with now, that Case doesn’t throw deep, and that’s why Gurley can’t get going, then the team with the most rushing yards (the Raiders) should have a QB who regularly throws a ton of deep stuff, and not so much in the 0-10 yard range. RIght? Wrong.

The Rams played two defenses (9ers, Seahawks) with very good front 7’s, and then they kicked Tampa’s ass. The Raiders have played teams with a combined record of 3-6.

I don’t see Jared Goff, even with his unprecedented arm talent, being someone defenses are going to fear right away. They’re still going to take the same approach of stacking up against the run and putting pressure on him in order to rattle him. Maybe he could exploit that and make defenses pay, or maybe he’ll get clobbered and do just enough to help us win. Similar to what Keenum is doing now. I don’t think anyone can say definitively how that will pan out until we *see* it pan out.

Now. All that said, this myth that Keenum is holding Gurley back? Last year, in his 4 games with Keenum, Gurley averaged 85 yards a game and had 5 touchdowns. I don’t see the correlation. Last year again, against Green Bay, Foles threw for 141 yards with 4 picks (while GB was stacking up against the run), yet Gurley ran for 153 yards.

Mayyyyyyyyyyyyyyybe Gurley needs to be Gurley regardless of the fronts he’s facing. And maybe the line needs to get a better push. He only needs one hole or crease to break one, no matter how many defenders are in the box. In fact (according to even Gurley himself), breaking through an 8 or 9 man front leads to much bigger gains. Steven Jackson did a fairly good job of getting his despite having no QB for several years. It’s not impossible to do.

Agamemnon wrote:

I will buy the theory that they are not using Tavon as a decoy so much. But, mostly I think it is the Offensive Line. Not that they aren’t good enough, but that they haven’t really settled in on the starting 5. They just didn’t get time together as a set unit.

I would put it this way…if it’s the line, it’s because they;re out of sync. It’s still young (2 2nd year players, that is if you count Brown/Wichmann as one guy, and a 3rd year LOT combined with a center who has actually only played 1 whole season plus 4 games before that). They didn’t get Hav back till near the end and that moved Saffold to guard just before the season.

So yeah it could be the OL is out of sync.