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Where is sweet potato pie? Just saying.

Saints preparing for Rams elite defensive tackle Aaron Donald

http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2016/11/saints_preparing_for_rams_elit.html#incart_river

To see what Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald can do, just watch any game he’s played, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton said.

“From the moment you turn the tape on from the time you turn it off, he’s disruptive,” Saints rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins said.

Since the Rams drafted Donald in the first round in 2014, he’s been one of the top interior defensive linemen in the NFL, and unlike many others at his position, he has the stats to prove it.

Many of the top defensive tackles in the league impact the game in immeasurable ways, whether it’s clogging a lane to divert a running back or creating pressure up the middle to flush a quarterback from the pocket. Donald does those things regularly, but with 25 sacks and 53 tackles for loss in 42 career games, he’s a rare player at his position with production that matches his impact.

“He’s a hell of a football player,” Saints center Max Unger said.

When the Rams visit the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday, the Saints know they must have a plan for containing the 25-year-old star.

“You know he’s going to make some plays,” quarterback Drew Brees said. “You just hope to contain him as much as you can.”

The most obvious trait that makes Donald so good is his quickness, but his ability to squeeze through multiple offensive linemen and win matchups by going inside or around opposing players makes him so hard to stop. Multiple Saints players used the word elite to describe him.

One reason Donald is so hard to contain is he’s not the only defensive lineman on his team who can disrupt an offense. Defensive end Robert Quinn has a 19-sack season on his résumé, and defensive tackle Michael Brockers can create pressure up the middle, too.

“I know his attitude, I know his demeanor, I know his approach,” Brees said.

And the Rams defense has playmakers at all three levels, which is why they rank sixth in yards allowed per game and tied for fifth in points surrendered each game. As Unger said, the Saints need to consider how to contain Donald while also determining the best way to attack a good defense.

The other thing about Donald’s talent that’s so problematic is there aren’t many ways to help the offensive linemen slow an interior defensive lineman. Most of the top pass rushers play on the edge, which gives teams a chance to use tight ends or running backs to help the tackles.

“The distinct difference is you can’t by alignment, necessarily, create ways to change his rush pattern,” Payton said.

With Donald, almost the entire onus will fall on Unger and the guards — Andrus Peat and Jahri Evans if left tackle Terron Armstead (knee) returns, or Evans and Senio Kelemete.

“Basically, with a guy like him, you have to focus on yourself,” Evans said.

Armstead noted Donald’s array of rush moves is rare for an interior defensive lineman, which means the guys blocking him don’t face similar play often.

Kelemete said the Saints interior offensive linemen will have to try to use leverage to block Donald, but that can be problematic, too. Because Donald is 6-foot-1, he’s shorter than most of the top players at his position, and taller offensive linemen have an advantage in reach. However, Donald being lower to the ground means he starts most plays from an advantageous position

Rankins, the Saints’ first-round pick, is the same height as Donald and knows what it’s like to have the stigma of being short.

“Clearly, he’s overcome it to be an all-pro player,” Rankins said of Donald.

Even though most of the burden of blocking Donald will be on the men in the middle of the Saints’ offensive line, his combination of power, quickness and rush moves also gives the Rams a chance to use him on the edge, so New Orleans’ offensive tackles have to be ready, too.

“His ability to not just his get off, but his ability to play into guys (is impressive) as well,” Armstead said. “He doesn’t have to beat guys with speed; he can play straight through them. You don’t really find too much of that in the NFL. You either have the speed or the power, but to have somebody that’s elite at both, it’s pretty exceptional.”

In describing Donald, Payton listed just about every desirable trait in a defensive tackle — extremely athletic, smart, energy and effort. Rams coach Jeff Fisher sees those things on display every practice and said Donald is “special.”

“He can win every block,” Fisher said. “He’s a really smart player. He’ll wind up and have a really good feel for what’s going on. We give him the freedom to do some things, but he’s really, really hard to block.”

Thing about me is, though, I am not doing “Fisher should stay/go” with every single issue.

To me, it’s just simply true that the Miami game was not the “Fisher offense.” That’s regardless of any other consideration.

For one thing it doesn’t even have to do with whether or not they lost the game. IMO they did not lose because of the offense, they lost the game because of defensive let-downs.

For another thing it’s no argument either way for keeping him or moving on. People can just go, okay, true, that game is not the Fisher offense but…still, I don’t care, let him go. So the details of how/when they throw downfield are just not linked to any larger discussion.

Now if it reaches the point where the sentiment is so overwhelmingly for letting him go, then, there’s no point in posting about narrow, specific issues and saying “yes/no that is/isn’t the Fisher offense.” Because if the sentiment is that overwhelming, things like my post above are just never going to be discussed in their own terms. It will always become “let’s move on,” and discussing the details of their play independent of that big issue just won’t go anywhere.

….

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – November 21, 2016

(Opening remarks)

“Obviously, when you carry a lead as far as we did in the fourth quarter, play the way we did on defense, and the way we played on special teams – it’s disappointing that we let this one slip away. Very disappointed in the outcome. We’ll credit them. We had two drives defensively that we allowed to be finished, particularly because, in my opinion, there were two penalties – both by our two defensive captains, one by (DT) Aaron (Donald) and one by (LB Alec Ogletree) ‘Tree’ on the sideline. A 15-yard penalty on drives like that – they were obviously deciding factors in the game. That doesn’t take away from what we didn’t do offensively. We didn’t score enough points – that’s been a common theme here and we need to get better at that. It’s hard as a coach – when you stand and you lose a football game – it’s hard to say that anyone put forth a winning effort. I thought our special teams was outstanding against a really well-coached opponent. The winning effort was there from them.

“Looking at (QB) Jared’s (Goff) performance, I was impressed with what he did – he’s not going to say he was okay, because we lost. But I thought he managed things well – no delay of games, he was in complete control, he was composed, and he got us in and out of a lot of really good things. We didn’t take our shots down the field, that in retrospect we probably needed to do. But he knew where to go with the football and I was proud of his first outing. We get a stop or intercept a pass – one of the two or three that we had our hands on – we win the game and we’re talking about Jared right now and nothing else. We’re moving forward. What greater challenge could we have than the Saints. They’re first in the NFL in total offense, so it’s a great challenge for our defense. Defensively, they’ve given us some points and they’ve suffered through some injuries. But we’re moving on and on to the Saints right now.

“Injury-wise – really the only significant injury we had in the game was (LB) Josh Forrest and it looks like it’s going to be a four to six week injury. Most likely we’ll put him on injured reserved and we’ll bring up (LB Nic Grigsby) ‘Grigs’ to handle his special teams responsibilities. But beyond that, guys sucked it up – (C Tim Barnes) ‘Timmy’: no practice – play, (CB Trumaine Johnson) ‘Tru’: no practice – play. We should be in good shape this week.”

(On why was this one of the toughest losses of his career)

“Well, it was. When you’re at home and you’re up by 10, and you got a chance to go up by 13, and you’re playing defense the way you’re playing it, you should just go ahead and just finish the game; capture the game, capture the win. Yeah, it was disappointing – in particular the two defensive drives considering the way the defense played throughout the game. Miami had won four straight going into this thing, and (QB) Ryan (Tannehill) had been playing well. They had multiple 200(-yard) rush games with (RB) Jay (Ajayi). With the exception of the one long run he had, which we overcame, this is a game we should have won.”

(On what prevented the offense from taking more shots down the field)

“There was constant pressure. The coverage didn’t allow it. We had some shots. He (Goff) made a good throw to (WR) Kenny (Britt), and we didn’t come up with the ball. We would’ve liked to have seen pass interference called on that play, which is a field position change. But, they just kind of sat on things and took the run game away and at the same time pressure us. We’ve got to give Jared more opportunities through play-action, and get the ball down the field.”

(On if he’s going to open up the play-calling for Goff rather than being conservative)

“Yeah, we have to score points. So, yeah, we’re going to do more things. I thought the plan was good. He was comfortable with the plan, for the most part. We win the game if the defense makes their plays. As we move forward and continue to expand this offense with the goal of scoring points, he’s going to be a big part of it, and we’ll have to push it down the field.”

(On what changed for RB Todd Gurley from the first quarter to the fourth quarter)

“We call it a four-minute offense, but when you’re up like we were and the defense is one-dimensional and they’re stopping the run. We got to get to the point where we can overcome that when people line up and say, ‘We’re going to stop the run,’ we got to find ways to run it. But, that’s what we faced.”

(On if it’s possible to be too conservative and preventing yourself from going forward)

“No, I think you have to take a lot of things into consideration. We don’t go into games hoping that we’re going to win 10-9 or 6-3, we expect to score points. We don’t take a conservative approach, we had, like I told you guys last week, we put the plan in with Jared, it’s our same stuff. We’re hoping that he does a little better and the guys help him. We just had some issues. We had a block in the back on the great scramble for a first down by Jared, which was really unnecessary by (T) Greg (Robinson) – that killed a first down and good field position. We have to overcome the individual mistakes – you can’t jump offsides on the first play of the game, you can’t have a false start when you have second-and-five and you have got good field position. It’s those things that are hurting us and those guys have to understand. There potentially may be some different guys playing this week.”

(On CB Troy Hill’s status)

“Still in the process of trying to gather more facts from law enforcement – we’ve got a copy of the police report and all that. When we got the information Saturday morning, decided to deactivate him, told him not to come to the facility nor to the game. I spoke with him briefly today – I’m very, very disappointed in him, disappointed in his choices, but waiting to get the results from law enforcement before I make a decision.”

(On if he would consider changing play-callers)

“No, not given any consideration. I did that last year. I have confidence in (offensive coordinator) Rob (Boras), and the offense has confidence in Rob. The offense, right now, knows that they’re not doing what they should be doing.”

(On of the potential lineup changes could come at the offensive line)

“We’re looking at everything right now. We need production, we need to minimize mistakes, we’ve got some repeat mistake-makers. That’s still under discussion.”

(On if they have a ‘bunker mentality’ with all the noise and criticism)

“We can’t pay attention to that. If you do, it becomes a distraction and becomes crippling. What you do is you look at the things that you did well. As you correct the game, you show them the contact plays and the extraordinary plays that were made in this game – unfortunately, it ended up in a losing effort. You can’t concern yourself with that. Like I said, if you’re referring to me personally, I’ve never looked over my shoulder – I don’t, it’s a week-to-week thing. I’m fired up every week about the next challenge, so that’s where we’re at and that’s where we’re going.”

(On if there is a reason for the offense being so productive in the first quarter and then production falling off later in the game)

“No, that’s a good point. We’ve had a tendency to have issues on first and second down and then third down – which is obviously a big challenge for you in the second quarter. I thought we’ve done a good job, over time with the adjustments in the third quarter. Things just have just not progressed the way we’ve liked. We’re looking at all of those things.

Jeff Fisher on Jared Goff’s debut: ‘You could see the light’

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/18100632/los-angeles-rams-qb-jared-goff-makes-first-nfl-start

LOS ANGELES — Jared Goff was a healthy scratch for the regular-season opener, but through hard work, he emerged as the No. 2 quarterback for the Rams behind Case Keenum.

On Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, the No. 1 overall pick from this year’s draft made his NFL debut.

While it wasn’t what Rams fans would have liked, with Los Angeles losing a 10-point lead in the final five minutes and falling 14-10 to Miami, coach Jeff Fisher said the rookie ably handled the mechanics of the game.

“He did a really good job,” Fisher said. “No delay of games. He was in complete control in the huddle. He did a nice job on the line of scrimmage. I was disappointed in the outcome of the game, but you could see the light — there’s light there for him.

“So we’ll continue to allow him to get ready and continue to progress.”

Goff finished 17-of-31 for 134 yards with zero touchdown passes and zero interceptions. He was sacked once and finished with a 65.8 passer rating.

Because of the unusually wet weather at Los Angeles Memorial Stadium, Goff said the Rams played things close to the vest offensively. Goff attempted just five passes of 10 or more yards, failing to complete any of them.

Goff said getting in and out of the huddle and not having any delay of games was a positive, but something he would like to improve on is to be cleaner on his reads when the Rams hit the road to face the New Orleans Saints next week.

“I don’t expect us to do anything crazy next week,” Goff said. “We’ll do what we do. Of course we had shots in the plan and stuff that we wanted to do. I was really happy with the playcalling and felt very comfortable out there.”

Tight end Lance Kendricks said one thing that surprised him was Goff’s ability to create plays outside the pocket. A handful of times Goff escaped the pass rush and either found receivers downfield or ran for extra yards.

“I honestly didn’t realize that he’s able to get around like he does,” Kendricks said. “I was surprised that he got out of the pocket a couple times. So that’s something we can work on, him being able to scramble and us making plays when he scrambles.”

Goff said he was nervous early on but got comfortable after the first series. He also looked to Keenum for assistance during the game.

“Case was great,” Goff said. “I told him before the game that I’m going to need to lean on you. And he gave me good information when I came over there, which helped me out. He told me what the pressures were that they were bringing. He was really helpful.”

Fisher said the Rams didn’t eliminate anything from the playbook with Goff making his first start but that Los Angeles was limited more by Miami’s aggressive defense.

“I was really proud of him,” Fisher said. “It’s hard to praise any one of your players in a loss like this, but when all eyes were on our quarterback, I thought he handled this game pretty well.

“I’m looking forward to him having another real week of preparation. What greater challenge can you imagine being in his shoes than going down and competing against Drew Brees? That’s a huge challenge for a young quarterback.”

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Monday-Wrap-Up-Potential-Changes-to-Offense/f9000f0c-d0ac-48be-bda8-b46beb5aa121

TROY HILL UPDATE

Involved in an off-the-field incident over the weekend, cornerback Troy Hill was deactivated for Sunday’s game. Fisher provided an update on Hill’s status with the team on Monday.

“I’m still in the process of trying to gather more facts from law enforcement — haven’t got a copy of the police report and all that,” Fisher said. “So, when we got the information Saturday morning, decided to deactivate him — told him not to come to the facility nor to the game. So, I spoke with him briefly today. I’m very, very disappointed in him, disappointed in his choices. But waiting to get the results from law enforcement before we make a decision.”

#Rams fans, take some Monday solace in this Adam Case quotation to @MikeSilver. https://t.co/mAE1F7mGRa pic.twitter.com/h1nAy8u3Px

— J.B. Long (@JB_Long) November 21, 2016

NFL

Find this article at:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000743790/article/jared-goffs-dream-debut-turns-into-nightmare-rams-loss
Jared Goff’s dream debut turns into nightmare Rams loss

By Michael Silver
NFL Media columnist
Published: Nov. 21, 2016 at 04:12 a.m.
Updated: Nov. 21, 2016 at 11:50 a.m.

LOS ANGELES — She was leaning over a railing atop the wide, well-worn tunnel leading from the L.A. Coliseum’s locker rooms to the corner of the west end zone, waiting for the chance to make a visual connection with her son before he took the field to thunderous applause, when Nancy Goff’s eyes got unmistakably moist.

Alas, she wasn’t tearing up: The moment Nancy’s son, Jared, had been dreaming about for most of his 22 years was about to arrive, but instead of being awash in sentiment and emotion, she was wiping away raindrops from her seemingly ageless face. It was an act Nancy — whose game-day attire included stylish aviator shades, a long, thin, white sweater and white sandals — would perform over and over throughout a soggy Sunday afternoon in Southern California. Wash, rinse, repeat.

“It’s just so un-friggin-believable that it’s raining here, today, of all days,” Nancy said as she waited for Jared to appear a few minutes before kickoff, while standing a few yards from her and her family’s seats near the bottom of Section 10. “I mean, how is this happening? I just never thought that when this day came, it would be like this.”

It was Mother Nature 1, Mother Goff 0 — and by nightfall, she was on the wrong side of a more significant score. After utterly dominating the Miami Dolphins for 53 minutes, the Rams dropped a 14-10 decision in front of 83,483 fans, spoiling the promising but ultimately unfulfilling debut of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

While Goff’s future may be bright, the Rams’ newly installed quarterback of the present had a mood to match the dreary weather as he stood alone at his locker following Sunday’s stunning defeat.

“That was just brutal,” Goff told me, slapping his right hand against his knee for emphasis. “We had it. We let it slip away. And the worst part is, we did it to ourselves.”

He wasn’t lying: With the Rams (4-6) holding a 10-0 lead midway through the fourth quarter and Goff guiding them toward what looked like a potential game-clinching score, it appeared as though this was a heartwarming, made-for-television Tinseltown tale approaching its inevitably cheery ending. Instead, for Goff and the home team, a horror flick ensued.

Call it Nightmare At Exposition Park.

“Jared was everything we needed,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said as he stood in the hallway leading to the coaches’ locker room, a few minutes after completing his press conference. “His presence was great. His communication was great. He made reads and checks and got us in the right protections and had command of the run game. He slid in the pocket and he made throws. He was in control, and he knew it — it was no different than the way I was feeling.

“He didn’t lose it. Had the defense made a stop, we’d be in here smiling, and the story would have been, ‘Jared won the game for us.’ And up until the end, he thought he was gonna win this game, and so did I.”

Seven months after the Rams selected the former Cal star with the top pick, and five days after Fisher announced that Goff had supplanted placeholder Case Keenum as the starter, there was a palpable sense of excitement in the misty air as fans flocked to this aged stadium steeped in so much history. And nowhere was the anticipation greater than in Parking Lot 1, where a couple dozen of Goff’s family members (including father Jerry and big sister Lauren) and friends tailgated outside an RV, with pulled pork and California microbrews enhancing the festivities.

“I’m nervous, but I’m also very, very excited,” Nancy said. “The first few weeks, they were doing well, and I think Jared was fine sitting and watching. But the last few weeks, he’s been like, ‘I can’t wait’ — and now, the wait is finally over.”

Why now? Well, glad you asked. Four games into the season, the Rams — on the strength of a surprising, 17-13 road victory over the Arizona Cardinals — were 3-1, and Fisher felt no compulsion to rush his rookie into action. They then proceeded to lose their next four, with Keenum becoming increasingly unproductive.

Last Sunday, L.A. slogged out a 9-6 road victory over the New York Jets, marking the second time this season the Rams had managed to win a game without scoring a touchdown. By that point, Fisher was already convinced that the time had come to go with Goff, whose promise had compelled the franchise to swing a blockbuster deal with the Tennessee Titans allowing them to move up 14 spots in the draft.

“Look, he’s the future of the franchise, and we went up and drafted the kid for a reason,” one Rams source familiar with Fisher’s mindset said before Sunday’s game. “The offense needed a spark, and we’re not totally out of [playoff contention], so we might as well see what he’s got.

“There’ll probably be some moments where he makes throws that make you go, ‘Wow — I see why he’s the No. 1 pick.’ And there’ll be others where he looks like a rookie making his first start. But the bottom line is, what’s the worst thing that’s gonna happen? We don’t score a touchdown?”

After the game, during which Goff put up relatively pedestrian numbers (17 of 31, 134 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions) but was hardly overwhelmed by the moment, Fisher told me, “It was a progression. All the way through [the season], he grew. We saw it every week. And finally, we’d seen enough where I knew it was time.”

On Tuesday morning, Goff and Keenum were alone in a room watching game film at the team’s temporary training facility in Thousand Oaks, California, when Fisher walked in and abruptly informed them, “I’m going to go with Jared this week,” explaining his reasoning over the next few minutes before departing. The situation could have been abundantly awkward, “but it really wasn’t,” Goff recalled, “because Case has been such a pro about this, and we’ve really been supportive of each other the whole time.”

Goff spent the next several days grinding as though it were finals week at Cal. “I called him Thursday night to check in,” Goff’s cousin, Kevin Mirchandani, said at the pregame tailgate. “I said, ‘What are you doing?’ He said, ‘I’m alone at the facility, just watching film.’ And that’s pretty much how it was all week. I’m anxious, but I’ve been watching him play since Pop Warner, and I’ve never seen a game be too big for him.”

Seconds later, as if scripted by a Hollywood screenwriter, it began to rain — and it was impossible not to think back to Goff’s freshman year at Cal, when he had such a miserable outing in a rain-drenched game at Oregon that he was pulled in the first quarter. In the months leading up to the draft, he addressed his can’t throw a wet ball stigma by shining in a private workout for the Rams in a Berkeley downpour and, at the end of his Pro Day throwing session, uncorking a football subjected to some squirts from a Gatorade bottle by Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton.

“This isn’t even really rain,” Jerry Goff said hopefully as he stood in his seat in Section 10, near the southwest corner of the stadium, a few minutes before Sunday’s kickoff. “It shouldn’t make much of a difference to him. When I watched him spin it in pregame warmups, it really calmed me down.”

As the rainfall steadily increased, however, it became clear that both offenses were affected by the elements. In fairness to Goff, he seemed to handle the wet conditions at least as well as veteran Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, whose first 11 drives of the game ended with 10 punts and a third-quarter interception (one play after Miami had recovered a fumble by Rams tight end Lance Kendricks, who’d just caught a nice throw over the middle by Goff but subsequently lost his grip).

The Rams, meanwhile, punctuated their second drive with a 24-yard touchdown run by halfback Todd Gurley, one play after Goff’s crisp slant to receiver Kenny Britt that resulted in a 19-yard gain. Moments like that warmed a mother’s heart — even as Nancy Goff’s sandal-clad feet were subjected to an unanticipated stream of chilliness.

“We obviously didn’t see the rain coming,” Nancy said during a third-quarter TV timeout. Turning to her daughter, a UCLA graduate student who also spent her undergraduate years at the Westwood campus, she asked, “Lauren — during all the years you’ve lived here, how many days have been like this, where it just rains steadily?”

“Like today?” Lauren asked, laughing. “Maybe two. I mean, growing up in Northern California, we got days like this all the time, and sometimes I kind of miss them. But it would be great if I could just be curled up on my couch.”

Said Nancy: “You know what this is? It’s ‘The Goff Luck.’ ”

The Goff Luck?

“Obviously, we’ve been very lucky in life, so it’s not literal,” Nancy said. “But sometimes odd things happen, where we go, ‘Is this really happening to us right now?’ and this goes waaay back on Jerry’s side of the family, so it’s something we’ve always kind of laughed about. The rain today is classic Goff Luck.”

There was some Goff skill on display, too. He showed the propensity for smart, quick decision-making and trademark rapid release that made him such an enticing prospect. He picked up blitzes, uncorked some of the throws (like deep outs) that Keenum had trouble completing and made relatively few mistakes. Goff also slid in the pocket to extend throws and surprisingly did some damage with his feet, rushing four times for 11 yards. In the fourth quarter, he had a crowd-pleasing, 11-yard scamper (on third-and-10) that was called back because of an illegal block by left tackle Greg Robinson.

After one run, Goff told me later, referee Gene Steratore came up to him and joked, “You keep running around like that, and I’m gonna have to make you quit.”

Conversely, Goff at times looked like a player making his first career start, sailing some passes and largely failing to stretch the field in the manner his coaches had hoped. He took only one sack, but it was a doozy: On a third-and-4 play in the second quarter, Goff spun in the pocket, seemed to lose his spatial awareness and drifted right into the path of Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake, who put a hit on the quarterback that loosely translated to, Stay Woke.

“That was pretty much my ‘Welcome to the NFL moment,’ ” Goff said afterward as he left the stadium, walking about three feet behind the smiling Wake. “I made a bad decision, and he made me pay for it. He crushed me.”

In the end, however, Goff was still standing — and at least one renowned quarterback guru was impressed.

“We pressured the s— out of him, and he didn’t look bothered at all,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase told me after exiting his postgame press conference. “I mean, believe me, I had my own problems — but from what I could tell, he handled the moment and executed the plan. It’s a good sign for them.”

All signs pointed to a Rams victory after they got the ball back at midfield with 11:07 remaining and a 10-0 lead. Goff confidently drove the Rams to the Miami 30, with Britt catching a 6-yard pass on fourth-and-7. Fisher considered going for it but instead sent kicker Greg Zuerlein onto the field, only to watch his 48-yard field-goal attempt hit the left upright.

Then, suddenly, the rain abated — and Tannehill and the Dolphins awoke, sandwiching a pair of rapid-fire touchdown drives around a three-and-out on which Goff threw underneath to Brian Quick for a six-yard gain on third-and-10. A pair of untimely personal fouls on Rams defenders (linebacker Alec Ogletree and defensive tackle Aaron Donald) didn’t help the home team’s cause, either.

“I almost wish it had kept raining the whole game,” Goff said. “When it was raining, we didn’t want to put it in the air and take too many chances, and they were kind of approaching it the same way. Then the rain let up and it was like they said, ‘Whoa, maybe we can throw it.’ ”

Tannehill’s 9-yard touchdown pass to DeVante Parker put Miami ahead by four with 36 seconds remaining, but the Dolphins’ fifth consecutive victory would not be secured until the final play. Benny Cunningham returned the ensuing kickoff to the Rams’ 41, and a pair of Goff completions moved the ball to the Dolphins’ 48 with five seconds to go.

The young quarterback dropped back one last time, deftly swept to his left to avoid pressure and uncorked a high pass that drifted toward the middle of the end zone.

“The main thing was, I didn’t want to get sacked,” Goff said. “And when I let it go, I really felt we were gonna get lucky on the Hail Mary.”

Instead, the Rams got The Goff Luck: The ball sailed toward the waiting hands of Parker — moonlighting as a defensive back in the prevent defense — who deflected it out of the end zone.

The Rams trudged into the locker room a grumpy bunch, but harboring hope that their young franchise quarterback will build upon an unsatisfying debut and provide some punch to an underwhelming attack.

“The kid has some s— to him,” one Rams assistant said afterward. “It sucks to lose, but you never really know how it’s gonna go until you throw him in there, and it went well. He definitely has the poise you want in a quarterback.”

For what it’s worth, one quarterback who knows a bit about the subject — a certain first-ballot Hall of Famer — said he liked what he saw of Goff.

“Yeah, absolutely,” said Dolphins special advisor to the president/CEO Dan Marino. “He did good.”

Well, for the most part, he did. Goff’s biggest failure on Sunday, it turns out, may have been his ill-advised wardrobe choices (hey, it runs in the family). The NorCal native walked out of the Coliseum and into the rainy SoCal night wearing jeans and a button-up dress shirt and was summarily soaked by the time he reached the parking lot, where scores of Rams family members were huddled under a white tent.

“I hate going in there,” Goff said of the family area. Instead, he stood out in the rain until his family members spotted him. When Nancy reached her son, she wrapped him in a robust hug and said, “Jared, you did great. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks, mom,” he said softly.

This time, her eyes were filled with more than raindrops.

Follow Michael Silver on Twitter @mikesilver.