Goff, the May thread

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PFF sez:

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I like Goff, obviously, and I think he is a for real franchise qb. But he still has some developing to do. I doubt anyone would argue with that. One measure—how was Goff in crunch games? Top games against top opposition?

Last year, for games that meet that description, I would count Minnesota, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. All contenders and all with top 10 defenses.

A much more mixed record there. There are a couple of games with qb ratings in the 70s out of those 4.

They went 1-3 in those games, which obviously isn’t entirely on Goff but he could do better too.

Will he in time be more consistently good in top games? It will mean a lot if he is.

…

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Working on that chemistry 👨‍🔬@JaredGoff16 ➡️ @brandincooks pic.twitter.com/iqDOwUlr4B

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) May 3, 2018

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LMU93 sez:

Goff is already past being merely serviceable. He was far more than serviceable in 2017 and even if he never improved from there he’d be well above average. Goff doesn’t need to improve his numbers. He just has to maintain what he did last year consistently. Goff’s 2017 stats like QB rating, TD%, INT% all hold up as top 5 in the league over the past five seasons. He just has to keep doing that for several more years.

Right now he’s also not elite, and the climb from top half of the league to top 5 is pretty steep. And he doesn’t have to get there this year. The main reasons you can’t call Goff elite are (A) he simply hasn’t done it long enough and (B ) he needs some playoff success.

But I do think he’s set up to improve not only because he’s paired with McVay but because this offseason is about refining his mastery of the offense and evolving it further, not learning it, while continuing work on his mechanics. Big, big difference from a year ago.

McVay made big strides with Cousins in their 2nd season together (86.4 to 101.6 QB rating and a 19.7 point jump in ESPN QBR) and while that sort of jump is highly unlikely for Goff, there’s no reason to think he cannot and will not improve in his decision making. His biggest issue a year ago was holding onto the ball a second longer than he should have at times, which to me was a pure by-product of learning the new offense. Get the ball out consistently even a fraction of a second faster and his results could be better (and fumbles fewer).

Their O-line is also critical for him. Their performance was outstanding last year and continuing that will be important. They started investing in their future OL in this Draft and hopefully 2 of the 3 drafted become solid starters for them.

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"Sean McVay is like David Blaine. He's the master illusionist."

The @RamsNFL have a stud head coach and big play WRs, so @danorlovsky7 thinks @JaredGoff16 is in the best situation among the young QBs. pic.twitter.com/CoRs839zg9

— GMFB (@gmfb) May 15, 2018

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Simmons on Goff in OTAs. From this thread: http://theramshuddle.com/topic/them-otas-is-here/#post-86472

Day 1

Goff feels more comfortable, and it shows

The offense looked really sharp. Quarterback Jared Goff was accurate with his passes early and often, hitting receivers in stride on regular drops and off play-action.

During team drills, Goff faked a handoff on the left, rolled to his right, threw on the run and hit wideout Josh Reynolds in stride on an intermediate pass toward the right sideline. It was a play that displayed Goff’s chemistry and timing with his receivers, even in this stage of the offseason program.

Goff’s best pass of the day was probably a deep ball to Cooks during 7-on-7 drills. Cooks darted down the left side off the line of scrimmage, Goff fired the pass and hit the speedy Oregon State product in stride at about the five-yard line, allowing Cooks to easily make it into the end zone. Aside from Goff’s arm strength and Cooks’ speed, the pass illustrated Goff and Cooks have already established some chemistry.

Day 2

Quarterback Jared Goff looked sharp early on once again, even during the early drills. On one throw he hit wideout Cooper Kupp with a really nice intermediate out route. In group drills, Goff also nailed a deep pass to Robert Woods off play action that ended with the wideout catching the ball as he crossed the goal line. Those are throws that should look that good against air, and they did.

On the second play of 11-on-11 drills, Goff uncorked a deep ball down the right side to wide receiver Brandin Cooks. The Oregon State product had already blown past the two scout-team defenders, but at first glance Goff appeared to have overthrown his receiver. But with Cooks’ speed, the ball was in just the right spot — he caught it and took it to the end zone for a (theoretical) touchdown.

After the first-team offense finished a series of plays, Goff went over to receivers to ostensibly talk over what happened on the field and what the receivers saw. Goff made a few different hand motions to indicate routes. It was a prime example of the quarterback growing more into a leader and taking more ownership of the offense.

The connection between Goff and Kupp appears to be picking up right where it left off in 2017. During 7-on-7 drills, Goff threaded the needle deep down the middle of the field to Kupp to fit a ball between a couple of defenders. And then Kupp made a leaping catch over the middle during team drills to show off that connection again.

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Speed_Kills sez:

Polian was on Sirius the other day and was amazed at what Goff did in his first year in a new offense….You don’t often see a QB drafted like Goff was in their second season throw for over 3,800 yards, 28tds, 62% completions, and only 7ints and regress in their third year.

Goff may regress sure its possible… but I have been watching football a long long time. When QBs that were drafted where Goff was have those kinds of years they normal explode the following season. My expectations are that in year 3…we will see exactly why he was drafted #1 and yes rated more highly than Carson Wentz by just about everybody.

1) Goff is a talented thrower
2) The Rams are absolutely loaded offensively
3) Last year they had minimal contributions from a very young TE group
4) Sean McVay knows what he is doing and is well respected, look what he did for Cousins
5) Goff in year three – things will slow down for him and become more natural
6) The Rams defense could be downright nasty and Goff could be getting a ton of opportunities to thrive

These things are obvious – These are things we would all recognize and acknowledge if we were talking about the Cowboys or NFC East team.

The Rams and Goff simply haven’t convinced everyone just yet… but hang tight

Its coming!

[InvaderRam]

You don’t often see a QB drafted like Goff was in their second season throw for over 3,800 yards, 28tds, 62% completions, and only 7ints and regress in their third year.

well. it’s actually quite common for qbs to regress in their third or fourth years. even ones drafted as high as goff was.

defenses adjust to the qb and usually there’s a period where the qb has to adjust to what the defenses are doing to him.

so i actually wouldn’t be surprised to see goff regress a little bit, but i’d also expect goff to make the necessary adjustments.

[InvaderRam]

InvaderRam wrote:

well. it’s actually quite common for qbs to regress in their third or fourth years. even ones drafted as high as goff was.

defenses adjust to the qb and usually there’s a period where the qb has to adjust to what the defenses are doing to him.

so i actually wouldn’t be surprised to see goff regress a little bit, but i’d also expect goff to make the necessary adjustments.

i do also want to add that i think goff is going to be a real good one. i’m excited. and i’m loving what i’m reading about him so far this offseason. pretty much ticking off all the boxes of things i wanted to be reading about him this offseason. at this point i like him more than i liked sam bradford before all the injuries started piling up for him.

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Goff Displaying Growth, Leadership During Offseason Program

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Goff-Displaying-Growth-Leadership-During-Offseason-Program/f59c7ca2-5a8c-418e-af2e-a2c18af65bcb

Jared Goff feels more comfortable.

As reporters peppered him with questions on Monday after the Rams’ first OTA practice of 2018, “comfortable” was the word the 23-year-old kept using to describe how he’s feeling about being Los Angeles’ starting quarterback.

“It just continues to get more comfortable. Comfortable is the best word,” Goff said. “Stuff begins to slow down a bit more. It seems like it does every year all the way through high school, through college and now into the NFL.

“It’s every year you kind of start seeing more,” Goff continued. “You’re not seeing it moving so fast, but you’re more actually comprehending what’s going on and seeing the defenses better.”

Those factors may sound a bit abstract, but head coach Sean McVay said he’s noticed plenty of growth from the young quarterback in those areas, too.

“I think he’s confident. I think he truly is becoming that extension of the coaching staff that you hear us refer to commonly. I think the game is slowing down a little bit for him — it certainly is,” McVay said on Monday. “We know there is going to be a lot of great challenges ahead, but I think in terms of the command and really taking a great grasp of the offensive system, while kind of understanding everything that we’re trying to get done, I’ve been really pleased with Jared.”

Goff is coming off a season in which he completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 3,804 yards with 28 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He finished No. 1 in the league with 12.9 yards per completion, leading the Rams to an 11-4 record — and an NFC West division title — in the 15 games he started in 2017.

As a quarterback going into his third year, Goff is also beginning to take more of a leadership role within the club. In many ways, that’s expected from a team’s signal-caller, especially one drafted at No. 1 overall. But having a year as successful as 2017 makes the process a bit smoother.

“I think anytime you can be in the same offense for more than one year, you know what you’re talking about and so you can kind of be confident and have an opinion in being able to correct things,” Goff said. “You have confidence in that because you know what you’re talking about in that to extent, being in it for one year.”

Goff’s teammates have noticed the quarterback’s growth with his demeanor both on and off the field.

“Definitely, you watch him grow everyday at just being our leader and commanding us, taking control of the offense — you see that grow and grow every day,” right guard Jamon Brown said. “The more confident he is, the more confident we are in him. I think that allows everybody around him to be confident. But definitely, you see those leaps and bounds everyday.”

“I think last year having been able to play all the way through, having the year that he did has really helped him,” wide receiver Cooper Kupp said. “[H]e took full responsibility for whatever it was that happened the first year. I know I wasn’t here, but whatever it was, he took full responsibility for whatever that was. And then to be able to go out and work in the offseason, come back and have the year he did, and just moving into this year he’s just elevated it that much more.

“He didn’t take any steps back, didn’t get comfortable at all, and just continued to grow as a person, as a football player, as a leader on this team,” Kupp continued. “Excited about the way he’s kind of pulled guys together and organized guys. In the offseason he was big on getting guys together, working on things, so that growth hopefully will just continue to grow as we move into the season.”

Given all the progress he’s made, Goff now has more leeway to take ownership of the offense in partnership with McVay.

“I think as time goes on that will continue to build. Through last year and this offseason, it has already,” Goff said, adding the practice on Monday “was a good example of that, kind of us bouncing stuff off each other — me asking him questions, him asking me questions and continuing to grow together.”

As the offseason program continues through the second full week of June, Goff said he’s looking to improve every aspect of his game.

“A million things. Like always, just trying to get better, trying to improve,” Goff said. “I want to continue to learn as much as I can about the defense and that side of the ball, and at the same time continue to master our system. Just become the best teammate and leader I can be.”

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This offseason, Jared Goff is comfortable and in full command

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/38513/this-offseason-jared-goff-is-comfortable-and-in-full-command

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — A growing sense of ownership was apparent.

On the first day of organized team activities, Jared Goff completed a deep throw to new receiver Brandin Cooks and then consulted with Cooks and other receivers near the sideline.

A year after Goff first practiced under coach Sean McVay, the Los Angeles Rams quarterback appeared at ease directing the offense as the Rams opened the latest phase of their offseason program.

“He truly is becoming that extension of the coaching staff that you hear us refer to,” McVay said after the workout, adding, “I think in terms of the command and really taking a great grasp of the offensive system and kind of understanding the intent of everything that we’re trying to get done.”

Goff, 23, spent much of last year’s offseason at McVay’s side as he tried to comprehend a new system. And there were stories during the season about McVay using the helmet radio system to help Goff call audibles.

But this offseason has a different feel for Goff, a third-year pro.

“Definitely more comfortable,” Goff said. “Any time you can be in the same offense more than a year, you know what you’re talking about and so you can kind of be confident in having an opinion and being able to correct things. You have confidence in that because you know what you’re talking about to an extent of being in it for more than one year.”

Cooks, who the Rams acquired in a trade with the New England Patriots last month, benefited from Goff’s knowledge and instruction quickly after his arrival in Los Angeles.

“You talk about a guy that’s a natural-born leader, who works hard throughout this offseason, throwing with each other before this all started,” Cooks said. “Now transitioning into OTAs I think has been great for all the receivers.”

Transition and change became the norm for Goff after the Rams selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, and this offseason will be no different.

Goff has a new quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator, but the adjustment is expected to be minimal compared with previous experiences.

As a rookie, Goff completed 54.6 percent of his passes, throwing for five touchdowns with seven interceptions, largely looking lost in seven winless starts for coach Jeff Fisher before Fisher was fired with three weeks remaining in the season.

In stepped McVay, who was hired for his offensive acumen and his ability to develop quarterbacks, notably Kirk Cousins with the Washington Redskins. McVay spent the offseason installing an offense that catapulted the Rams from the lowest-scoring team, averaging 14.0 points per game in 2016, to the highest in 2017, averaging 29.9.

And Goff seems to have benefitted more than anyone else on the team.

In his second season, Goff passed for 3,804 yards and 28 touchdowns, with seven interceptions, while raising his completion percentage nearly eight points to 62.1 percent. He led the Rams to their first winning season since 2003, a NFC West division title and their first playoff appearance in 12 years.

“Any time that you’re able to have a certain level of success, that gives you some confidence,” McVay said.

Goff said the transition to yet another position coach and coordinator this offseason has gone smoothly.

Former assistant receivers coach Zac Taylor, who worked with Ryan Tannehill as the Miami Dolphins quarterbacks coach from 2012 to 2015 and was the offensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati, has taken over as quarterbacks coach for Greg Olson, who was named offensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders. Shane Waldron, the tight ends coach, is the new pass-game coordinator with offensive line coach Aaron Kromer coordinating the run game.

Taylor is Goff’s third quarterbacks coach in three season. Chris Weinke, who had no previous NFL coaching experience, coached quarterbacks in 2016.

“It’s two guys that were already on the staff so we have relationships so it’s not been much of a transition getting to know them,” Goff said of Taylor and Waldron, adding, “These guys just bring their own style to it.”

Later on during that first, full-team practice, Goff completed an intermediate throw, after which McVay said: “I told you that would open up like a dream.”

Then after Cooks’ long reception, McVay chased down Goff and offered an excitable high-five.

Goff returned the gesture as he continued to peer down field, an evolving dynamic between coach and quarterback.

“As time goes on that will continue to build,” Goff said of his ownership of the offense. “Through last year and the offseason it has already, and today was a good example of that, just kind of us bouncing stuff off each other. Me asking him questions and him asking me questions and continuing to grow together.”

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aeneas1 sez:

Goff’s Sophomore Year

what a helluva sophomore year goff turned in, so good in fact that it seems like a very tough act to follow in 2018… can he do it? can he top his sophomore performance?

here’s a look at how the 85 qbs who booked at least 13 starts their sophomore year fared, dating back to 1978, the year the league moved to a 16-game schedule – among these 85 guys, goff ranks 6th in qb rating, 8th in tds per pass attempt, 2nd in picks per pass attempt, 3rd in picks per tds thrown, 7th in yards per pass attempts and 11th in passing yards per game, pretty damn impressive.

the bad news: of the 13 guys on the list who booked a 93.0 qb rating or better their sophomore year, 11 did worse in their third year, with only goff and wentz, the remainder of the 13, still undetermined.

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