Martz on Warner, Bulger, and Goff

from It’s finally Goff’s turn at QB for Rams

Jim Thomas

link: http://www.rams-news.com/finally-goffs-turn-qb-rams/

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No matter how much he soaked in for 2½ months watching and waiting, it will be tough for Goff to step in and sparkle this far into his rookie season. The speed of the game is much faster than Goff saw playing in the Pacific-12 Conference, or in the preseason for the Rams.

And Goff looked overwhelmed at times in the preseason. He completed just 22 of 49 passes, or 44.9 percent, in exhibition play with two touchdowns, two interceptions, and two lost fumbles.

He will see much more complicated defenses, disguised coverages, and diverse blitz packages in the regular season than he saw in the summer, starting with Miami defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and a Dolphins defense headed by Ndamukong Suh and Cameron Wake.

“I think he was behind in knowledge and preparation,” said Mike Martz, the former Rams head coach and offensive coordinator. “You know, quarterbacks in the league, they’re involved in so much. And how they make decisions is totally different than what he did at Cal.”

During his time in the NFL, Martz established a track record of developing inexperienced quarterbacks into Pro Bowlers — and in the case of Kurt Warner, a league MVP.

So how do you get an inexperienced quarterback ready to play?

“It depends on that guy,” Martz said. “Kurt was easy because he was so hungry. You almost had to tell him to go home. His retention was phenomenal. What you could give him, and then he could go out and do immediately, was pretty incredible. If he made a mistake, his mistakes were always one-time deals.”

When Warner burst on the scene in 1999, he had been around for a while — a brief stint in Green Bay’s camp, time in the Arena Football League and NFL Europe, and a year on the bench behind Tony Banks in St. Louis.

“At that point, he’d had some failures,” Martz said. “He had an emotional toughness about him that he knew this was his last opportunity, and he took full advantage of it.

“Marc Bulger had been around the league for a while, and had been kicked around. There’s a toughness and resilience that they kinda get that I think is important.”

Warner won a Super Bowl, while Bulger went to two Pro Bowls with Martz and the Rams.

As for Goff, he’s pretty much a blank page when it comes to the NFL. Martz has a smidgen of hands-on familiarity with him, having worked out Goff for a day during the pre-draft process. Martz came away impressed with his accuracy and his quick release.

Whether those traits immediately translate to the NFL remains to be seen. During the practice week, Fisher cautioned on more than one occasion that one game won’t define Goff.

“He’s going to learn, and it’s not going to be perfect,” Fisher said. “(Miami’s) defense has played well. They gave Philip (Rivers) everything he can handle, that’s what they’ve done against some pretty good quarterbacks.”

The veteran Rivers threw four interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, was sacked three times, and hit on nine other occasions in a 31-24 San Diego loss to the Dolphins last week.