the press chimes in on Goff being inactive

Jeff Fisher: Goff probably inactive this week, we’ll flip it next week

Josh Alper

Jeff Fisher: Goff probably inactive this week, we’ll flip it next week

Before the Eagles traded Sam Bradford to the Vikings, they said their plan for the immediate future was for second overall pick Carson Wentz to be inactive for games as the No. 3 quarterback.

That plan changed with Bradford’s trade and Wentz will now be the team’s starter. The plan in Los Angeles isn’t changing, however. Coach Jeff Fisher said last week that first overall pick Jared Goff will likely be the No. 3 quarterback and said Tuesday that nothing has changed on that front.

That means Goff is slated to be in street clothes Sunday with Sean Mannion backing up Case Keenum, although the coach added that things will flip for Week Two.

“Jared’s had a great camp, so has Sean. Case is clearly our starter. I think Week 1 just to settle things down … it’s probably going to be, like I mentioned last week, it’s probably going to be three and inactive,” Fisher said to Steve Wyche of NFL Media. “That’s just how it goes. And then next week we’ll flip them. I just want him to feel and sense and absorb the pressures of Week 1. He’s going to be a great player. As we’ve said from Day One, we’re not rushing him. We don’t have to rush it. I’m really happy with where he is right now. It’s unfair to compare him to anybody else. I know Philly has got their situation, it’s a little different and trading Sam so Carson is going to start, but you know Jared is in a good place right now. He’s done some really good things, so I’m really pleased with his progress.”

Fisher also reiterated that the team believes Goff is a franchise quarterback “regardless of what everybody else is saying out there.” Those voices are unlikely to quiet down until Goff is at least a starting quarterback.

Rams to ease Jared Goff in, make him inactive for opener

Alden Gonzalez
ESPN Staff Writer

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17480315/jared-goff-inactive-los-angeles-rams-week-1

Jared Goff was handpicked to someday become the face of the Los Angeles Rams, but he won’t even be in uniform when the season begins.

Goff, who finished his first preseason as the Rams’ third-string quarterback, will be inactive during their Monday Night Football opener against the division rival San Francisco 49ers, coach Jeff Fisher said during a charity luncheon in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Fisher told NFL Network that punter Johnny Hekker will be the team’s emergency backup, with teams rarely keeping three quarterbacks active due to the increased need for special-teams players. Case Keenum has maintained his standing as the Rams’ starter throughout the preseason, and Fisher said after Thursday’s finale in Minnesota that Sean Mannion, a third-round draft pick in 2015, is currently his backup.

Goff finished the preseason completing only 22 of 49 passes for 232 yards, with 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles and 4 sacks.

“Jared’s had a great camp. So has Sean,” Fisher told NFL Network. “Case is clearly our starter.”

Goff’s situation stands in contrast to the player taken one spot after him, Carson Wentz, whose potential convinced the Philadelphia Eagles to trade their former starter — former Rams No. 1 pick Sam Bradford — to the Minnesota Vikings.

Wentz will start his first game this weekend, while Goff will watch his in street clothes.

“I just want him to feel and sense and absorb the pressures of Week 1,” Fisher told NFL Network, regarding Goff. “He’s going to be a great player. As we’ve said from day one, we’re not rushing him. We don’t have to rush it. I’m really happy with where he is right now. It’s unfair to compare him to anybody else. I know Philly has got their situation; it’s a little different. … Jared is in a good place right now. He’s done some really good things, so I’m really pleased with his progress.”

Fisher indicated that Goff and Mannion would take turns with scout team reps during practice this week and could potentially switch roles for the home opener against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, which would make Goff active and Mannion inactive.

Jared Goff
Quarterback Jared Goff won’t be on the field for the regular-season opener as the Rams plan to make him inactive.

Back in mid-April, the Rams sent a passel of picks to the Tennessee Titans for the right to select No. 1 in the 2016 draft and potentially land a quarterback to build around.

In order to attain the top selection — along with a fourth- and sixth-round pick in the same draft — the Rams sent the Titans their No. 15 pick, plus two second-round selections and a third-round pick in 2016 — and also first- and third-round picks in 2017.

After much debate between Goff (out of Cal) and Wentz (North Dakota State), the Rams chose Goff, who was believed to be more polished. Wentz played in only one preseason game before suffering a hairline rib fracture on a violent hit. Goff, meanwhile, struggled to make quick decisions and hold on to the football, never once actually challenging Keenum for the starting job.

“We’re in a good place,” Fisher stressed. “Regardless of what everybody else is saying out there, [Goff is] our quarterback; he’s going to be our franchise player. It’s just not right now.”

Why sitting Jared Goff is smart for a Rams coach, GM seeking new deals
Also, why the 49ers got it right on Kap and why the Eagles aren’t done dealing

Jason La Canfora

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/why-sitting-jared-goff-is-smart-for-a-rams-coach-gm-seeking-new-deals/

There are a few different ways to look at the fact that No. 1 pick Jared Goff will spend his first NFL game as an inactive observer. It’s less than ideal and not what was expected, but on a certain level I applaud the decision.
The kid is not ready and the Rams did not try to pretend he was. It would’ve been easy to let him go out there and start taking his beatings and learning his lessons as the NFL makes its big return to Los Angeles. The Rams could have pushed him as the face of the franchise and mounted a full-blown marketing campaign. But he isn’t ready and might not be for a bit and going ahead and letting him sit behind two veterans, at least for a week, is prudent as far as I’m concerned. It might not be the sexiest business decision, but we’re playing football here.
Now, on the flip side, you can’t convince me anyone with that franchise is real happy about this (save for Case Keenum, perhaps).
This isn’t what anyone had in mind when the Rams made the bold move to package a ransom of picks and move up to the first overall pick for the California quarterback who had already played big-time college football in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. And it’s not exactly like he entered a quarterback room with Joe Montana and Steve Young blocking his path to the starting role.

Jared Goff shouldn’t get too comfortable on the bench. USATSI
This was the least effective quarterback group in the NFL in 2015, and this is Keenum and Sean Mannion we’re talking about here in LA. The thought of having them be in uniform and Goff wearing shorts for the big season opener on Monday Night Football is not what anyone had in mind.
None of it will matter and all of it will be forgotten if Goff develops as hoped. But in the short-term, the optics are less than ideal. One assumes that by the time the Rams make their home debut, Goff is at least holding the clipboard in uniform. While Keenum is a gamer and I love the spirit he brings to the huddle and his ability to wrench every iota of ability from his body, I suspect Goff is playing NFL football by midseason.
The decision to make Goff inactive has engendered some talk among their peers and rivals around the league, of course, as you might anticipate. Some are of the mindset that, had coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead secured their much talked-about extensions already, it would make it a little easier to go ahead and play the kid passer, however green he may be, and begin the process of bringing him along as their futures will clearly be tied to his.
Instead, as Fisher and Snead enter this week still in line for new deals but with nothing announced, well, probably best to go ahead and play your best game-ready QB and try to beat a moribund 49ers team and win some early games and make it a little easier for owner Stan Kroenke to go ahead and stroke those checks.
Human nature and all, even subconsciously.
Regardless, I like the fact that, with Goff not winning the job, clearly, they aren’t just giving it to him so easily. At least not just yet. They absolutely, positively need to get this right with the first-overall pick, or any extensions might not mean much by the time Kroenke opens his new stadium in Inglewood in 2019.

More news and notes from around the NFL:

Philadelphia Eagles

I told you guys a few weeks back, when I was at Eagles camp, that GM Howie Roseman wasn’t close to being done dealing and that I expected three more trades from this club before the dust settled Week 1. And while no one could have foreseen the Sam Bradford trade — Teddy Bridgewater wasn’t injured yet at the time — the front office continues to clear out players with strong Chip Kelly ties. Few teams, if any, have worked the phones as hard as Philadelphia this summer.
They still aren’t done. Within a short period of finalizing the deal that sent Eric Rowe to New England, the Eagles were trying to move offensive lineman Josh Kline, who, was originally in the package for Rowe. But the Eagles were unable to deal Kline, who ended up returning to New England. Then the Patriots released Kline this morning.
The Eagles had continued to shop offensive lineman Josh Andrews and also told teams they would move interior lineman Stefan Wisniewski as well under the right circumstances. Roster shuffling is ongoing and with the trade deadline still months away, I wouldn’t rule out another significant swap or two — especially since this Eagles team is not going to be very good. Chip Kelly’s draft picks/signings/busts are dwindling, but the ones left shouldn’t get too comfortable.
I like the aggressive approach and the willingness to push the trade market in a league where many are afraid. The Eagles have spent a ridiculous amount of money, so they must now show restraint in free agency. They also parted with a ton of picks to move up and take Carson Wentz second overall, so they are looking for young and cheap future picks to help offset those losses.
They might not be good, but they sure won’t be boring. I still wish they were sitting Wentz at least through their bye in Week 4, but it’s clear this team is playing for the future and aiming for a big run a few years from now. The Eagles figure they might as well start Wentz’s clock now and get his roughest play out of the way now to position him to try to take off in Year 2.

San Francisco 49ers

It’s been easy to rip the 49ers in recent years, and I’ve certainly partaken in that exercise (as they have courted such commentary), but they deserve high marks for how they have handled this Colin Kaepernick situation. He has Constitutional Rights and protected speech and protest rights and even going down the road of trying to terminate him for not standing for the national anthem would have been yet another legal battle this league does not need.
The fact is, as much as Chip Kelly has been trying to make this Blaine Gabbert reclamation attempt a pet project all offseason, Kaepernick is the best (only?) quarterback on that roster and he was coming off a series of surgeries and procedures that robbed him of his spring and stunted his summer. Casting him aside for nothing and eating a bunch of salary now — after the team stubbornly refused to eat a small portion to facilitate a trade to Denver months ago — would have been shortsighted.
Let this thing play out, let the situation breathe — and maybe finally some of the bad blood between the quarterback and the franchise is finally dissipating. I have a feeling they’ll need him again on the field soon enough.

Jared Goff suffering from Rams’ poor judgment, uncomfortable environment

Alex Marvez

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/jared-goff-rams-quarterback-qb-jeff-fisher-bust-rookie-status/y2wk2facegso17z88rvak6sqi

The franchise’s giddiness when making Goff the top pick in April’s draft was way too evident when coach Jeff Fisher spoke from his heart and not his head following the selection.

Although he wouldn’t immediately name Goff his starting quarterback like other clubs have when addressing the position with the No. 1 overall choice, Fisher did little to temper such expectations heading into the 2016 season.

“It’s going to happen pretty soon,” Fisher said during a news conference. “Sooner than probably later.”

Instead, such a move will be happening later than sooner. Maybe much later.

Goff not only failed to push journeyman Case Keenum for the first-string job during the preseason. He won’t even dress for Monday night’s opener, with 2015 third-round pick Sean Mannion handling backup duties.

The slow-play may very well be remembered as a prudent move. As shown on Hard Knocks, the 21-year-old Goff is so green he didn’t know the sun rose in the east. He also turned pro following his junior season at Cal, which used a spread-style attack that requires Goff to make the challenging transition to an NFL offense.

Riding the bench right now isn’t the end of the world, either. Carson Palmer and the late Steve McNair — a Fisher protege dating back to the Houston Oilers of the mid-1990s — are among the high QB picks who sat as rookies before enjoying prolific NFL careers.

If Goff isn’t ready, he isn’t ready. It’s better to accept that reality than throw him to the wolves a la what happened to high-profile prospects like David Carr, Joey Harrington and Blaine Gabbert. All of them picked up bad habits from playing prematurely and had their confidence shattered. Carr and Harrington never recovered. Gabbert is still trying to get on track five seasons later In San Francisco after washing out in Jacksonville.

MORE: Should rookie QBs start or sit?

Such history, though, is being forgotten as some media and fans already have started associating Goff with another four-letter word: Bust.

Yes, it’s silly. But that reality doesn’t insulate Goff from outside negativity that can seep into his subconscious. His friends and family surely hear it, which exacerbates the problem.

Fisher and Rams general manager Les Snead also have put themselves in the firing line with how everything has unfolded. A duo that never found a quarterbacking answer during four seasons in St. Louis — wither Nick Foles — is being second-guessed again for sending a boatload of draft picks to Tennessee for the chance to draft Goff while another passer who was available will be starting in Week 1.

This brings us to the team that handled the situation with far more savvy — Philadelphia.

From the minute Carson Wentz was drafted at No. 2 behind Goff, the Eagles insisted he would serve as a third-stringer entering the regular season. The stance continued throughout training camp even as the North Dakota State product displayed earmarks in practice that his development was ahead of schedule.

Neither first-year head coach Doug Pederson nor general manager Howie Roseman ever let on publicly that Wentz could potentially make starter Sam Bradford expendable. Yet that’s exactly what happened last week, when Bradford was dealt to quarterback-desperate Minnesota following Teddy Bridgewater’s knee injury.

FANTASY: QB rankings | Sleeper picks

Explaining the reasons for Wentz’s promotion to co-host Gil Brandt and me last Monday on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Roseman said, “It’s just his feel for the game, his study habits and where he was mentally even though he was missing (practice) reps the last couple weeks. He has done such a great job picking up the offense.

“He’s such a sharp guy and then there’s obviously the physical tools you see that made him the second pick in the draft.”

Whether Wentz is actually ready for his regular-season debut Sunday against visiting Cleveland is dubious, especially because he played in only one preseason game as a reserve before suffering a rib fracture. But unlike the Rams, the Eagles created a comfortable environment that allowed Wentz to hone his craft away from the kind of glaring spotlight Goff is under.

“Every day in training camp he’d make a throw that would just make you go, ‘Wow!'” said Roseman, who, like the Rams, traded multiple draft picks to acquire a projected franchise quarterback in Wentz. “I always joke that he’d do that and then all of a sudden he’d take off and run and you’d remember he could do that, too.

“In terms of when you knew he was ready, what you saw from him is total command whether he was with the third-stringers or having a workout with (wide receiver) Jordan Matthews when rehabbing. It’s total confidence. That’s the most impressive thing.”

MORE: Worst QB situations | QB graveyards

To better shield Goff from the scrutiny he is under, the Rams should have remained as coy and vague as possible about his chances for immediate action. Had he ended up winning the starting spot, Fisher could have borrowed a line from Roseman by bluntly telling reporters, “Circumstances change.”

Unfortunately for Goff, there’s no going back by Rams brass to fix what was a preventable error in judgment.

Zooey wrote:

I think if I was going to go to the effort of writing a op-ed, I would have chosen a different thesis to argue. That article was a waste of time.

Well…yeah. Have to agree.