The line for Seahawks-Rams is dropping. But before you bet the Rams, you should take a breath and ask one final question: Do I really want to take John Wolford over Russell Wilson in a playoff game? https://t.co/igvdIXi7uZ

— Frank Schwab (@YahooSchwab) January 6, 2021

Aaron Schatz@FO_ASchatz
#Seahawks-#RamsHouse thoughts Part I

You know the Seahawks offense has declined in the second half of the year. Did you realize the Rams offense has declined more?

SEA Wk 1-9: 21.3% DVOA (3)
Wk 10-17: 5.4% (10)

LAR Wk 1-9: 17.0% (5)
Wk 10-17: -8.3% (20)

thoughts Part II

You know the Seahawks defense has improved in the second half of the year. Did you realize the Rams defense has improved more?

SEA Wk 1-9: 7.4% (19)
Wk 10-17: -7.8% (10)

LAR Wk 1-9: -6.5% (8)
Wk 10-17: -27.6% (1)

Hahahahahahhahaha!
They don’t like the Police anymore !pic.twitter.com/uqf2ihG1De

— MichaelRapaport (@MichaelRapaport) January 6, 2021

Cooper Kupp had 21 missed tackles forced

Most among all WRs pic.twitter.com/uy42R62fiA

— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) January 6, 2021

There is an anti-mask movement happening in Los Angeles and Lisa Guerrero (@4lisaguerrero) talked to one of them.

You gotta listen to this…pic.twitter.com/XKW65vbN8e

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) January 6, 2021

Herzog wrote:

When you look at Goff’s last five games…do you really feel comfortable with that level of play?

2 answers, all pure IMO. Though to me it’s the team’s last 6 games not just Goff’s last 5. (1) In general, in terms of Goff, yes, I am fine with him because I believe that although he had a rough patch in 2 of those 5 games, he gets over those. And, (2) what I don’t feel comfortable with is stuff that affects the qb (not just Goff) but which the qb does not single handledly cause: offensive woes in general, none of which reduce to qb play by itself. For example, two games worth of goal line troubles is one giant red flag.

..

All IMO but it ain’t based on nothing.

Since 2018 the Rams have had issues with certain fronts that attack the OL, limit outside zone, exploit weak links in the OL (in 2018 it was Sullivan and Blythe at guard), pressure the qb…among other things. Run game is part of this too. BOTH McVay and Goff (along with the OL) respond poorly against those defensive attacks and then what we’re left with is fans putting it all entirely on the qb–and to come up with all these theories about why he has regressed, how he’s thinking not reacting, and so on.

This qb and this OL and this coach have problems when they face certain defensive attacks and that has not changed since Chicago in 2018.

Good example of that? Last Seattle game. Before that, the last Jets game.

Football outsiders on the last Seattle game:

“Seattle’s secret weapon in this game against the Rams was linebacker K.J. Wright, whom they threw on the line of scrimmage as a walked-up SAM…. Against the Rams, specifically, getting Wright on the line of scrimmage helped Seattle align in odd fronts while still playing from their base 4-3 or nickel 4-2-5 personnel. The Rams’ wide zone offense notoriously struggles with odd-front defenses that load up players along the line of scrimmage.”

That’s a change up by Seattle v. how they defended the Rams the 1st game. In the first game their defense was still a mess and they tried blitzing the Rams, thinking that’s what worked for Miami. Wrong. Rams are tough against the blitz and Goff has a high qb rating against the blitz (–101.0 to be exact). In the first game Seattle blitzed 21 times (PFR numbers) which is the 2nd most all year.

Last game they blitzed 11 times and instead used the LBs on the DL to do the traditional “attack the Rams OL” thing the Jets did too (and SF both games).

Rams still have an achilles heel against certain kind of defensive attacks and that is not just a qb problem, it’s a game-planning/play-calling problem plus an OL problem.

I will leave out 2019 because the OL was a mess that year, and it is difficult to judge what the real issues are if your OL is that out of sync.

But we’re talking about the Chicago game in 2018, the superbowl, both SF games this year, and the Jets and 2nd Seattle game.

In terms of their EFFECTS those games all pretty much look the same.

There’s your problem, fix that. B)

Marcus Arbery — is the father of Ahmaud Arbery.

Marcus says we can finally achieve an "anti-racist majority" if his fellow Georgians vote today:

"If my son's life mattered to you, I'm asking you to get out & vote.”

Poweful…pic.twitter.com/RkvC4A51Li

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) January 5, 2021

Herzog wrote:

I liked the 2018 version of Goff. This version isn’t even close. I feel like you are in denial about his TURNOVER problem.

This version is in a different situation. They don’t have a healthy Gurley and often don’t have a consistent running game. 2019 the OL was a mess that needed to be fixed; in 2020, the OL holds up for long stretches and then implodes when the right kind of defense attacks it. Goff can’t do anything about that–that has to be McVay’s fix. We can’t keep having games like Chicago in 2018 and the Jets in 2020 where the OL is being dominated yet the response to that is too slow at the play-calling level.

I am not in denial here–I am looking closely at the facts. The facts say that the massive turnovers happened in 2 games. Outside of those two games, there are INTs but no “fumble issues.” That means they confronted the fumble issues and handled them. Warner had more of an INT issue than Goff does. Kurt threw 3 INTs in the 99 championship game and bounced back from it. Exclude Goff’s 2 bad turnover games, which I see as special circumstances, and Goff has 9 INTs in 13 games. Depends on whether you believe the 2 bad turnover games are big reveals and the problem continues, or if they are isolated moments they learned from.

…

Head coaching candidates with multiple interview requests already include:#Chiefs OC Eric Bienemy#Panthers OC Joe Brady#Bills OC Brian Daboll#Colts DC Matt Eberflus#49ers DC Robert Saleh#Titans OC Arthur Smith#Rams DC Brandon Staleyhttps://t.co/HYDrSIGpMj

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 5, 2021

This asshole doesn’t think he work for us. Shitty person in a shitty suit. https://t.co/7LWwtVYk2a

— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) January 5, 2021

BearlyThere

Background: Longtime Cal fan here with deep roots with the Rams from my Father and Grandfather. I’ve become a big fan watching almost every game since Goff was drafted.

Note: I also follow all the Cal players into the pros like Goff and Rodgers. Did a stint as a sideline reporter at Cal during my time there when we were lucky enough to have Aaron Rodgers and Marshawn Lynch at the same time.

As someone who has watched Goff over the last 8 years I want to peel apart what is Goff versus what is McVay.

Overall I think McVay is a VERY good coach that builds a strong culture and team. Is he a perfect fit for Goff? Probably not, with the caveat that there probably aren’t too many better places for Goff and the Rams would likely have a tough time getting a QB as good as I think Goff can be.

Goff Background

I agree that Goff has taken a step back the last several games. He is playing more tentative and is forcing bad throws. Has Goff peaked? I don’t believe so. It looks to me like he is overthinking and suffering from mental lapses. How do I know?

1. At Cal, Goff was awesome at both the quick pass game and deep game. He was never a “Check-down Charlie”.
2. He led us on so many 4th quarter comebacks with ice in his veins. If we lost, it was our defense or the receiver missing a catchable ball.
3. Countless times he led 50 second drives when we needed a quick score. This is very rare under McVay…(see below)
4. At Cal, Goff was often a slow starter but would get stronger as the game wore on. He didn’t suffer from mental breakdowns in the 4th quarter like previous quarterbacks or the competition.
5. His offensive line at Cal was horrible. They ran a vertical set and he rarely had time. He would maneuver and get the ball out quickly. Something he did well in 2018 but not as well this year.
6. Goff was money against pressure in college. Someone can look up the stat. All I could find was this espn article Jared Under Pressure Meaning Goff at one time was good against pressure: https://www.espn.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/28783/pocket-presence-performance-under-pressure-make-jared-goff-a-fit-for-rams

McVay Observations

Once again, I think he is a VERY good coach! Rams are lucky. 4 straight winning seasons. Superbowl appearance. Should he be OC too? Maybe not.

1. Under McVay, the rams have been mostly poor in the 2 minute drill. Goff was terrific at 2minute. No Huddle? No problem! It also shows when the Rams are down that they struggle to score quickly. Is this intentional? Does McVay want to keep time of possession to protect the defense? All short-route YAC receivers? Is the goal 10 play drives all the time?

2. He always spends every second talking to Goff until the 15 second mark. Part of what makes McVay a top coach is that he prepares his team very well. He has notes for all players all the time. He drafts/recruits football junkies that care like he does about the nuances. Is this too much for Goff to process 60 plays a game every game? Is he overcoaching Goff to the point of analysis paralysis? I tend to think this is the case. The way to confirm would be to see if Wolford or whatever future QB suffers the same climb then drop after a few years of McVay. Anyone who has followed McVay with Griffin/Cousins, did the same climb and drop-off occur?

3. Redzone problems. Goff was never Rodgers in the redzone but he was pretty good at Cal. McVay on the other hand was not at Washington. I think this is more play calling and formation. If you have a huge TE/possession WR you can throw those fades. Gives you more power-blocking options as well or add another lineman.

4. Control freak? One of the most interesting things I thought to happen was Matt LaFleur leaving after one season. I think I read it was because he wanted to call plays? Now he is HC at Green Bay and they have done very well. Aaron Rodgers appreciates him overall especially versus that hack McCarthy. There’s been a different Offensive coaching staff aside from McVay every single year at the Rams. That could explain some of the inconsistency for Goff.

How much of losing coaches is McVay’s Personality versus guys getting poached like Zac Taylor?

Overall I suspect that McVay is over-coaching at times. He struggles to manage the clock and it results in a lot of penalties/delay of game. It doesn’t give Jared a lot of freedom to get a play, go the line and take advantage of what he sees. He often has about 10 seconds to get the play out, look around and go. Sean’s primary goal on every play appears to try and take advantage of matchups. The problem is that great defensive coaches have learned how to disguise the matchups and trick the rams.

Goff with another team next year?

I feel like there are very few places where Goff would do better simply because of the team Snead and McVay have built. The OL is mostly young and getting better. They have good playmakers. Defense is awesome. Hope we keep Staley.
Coaches where he would probably do better:
– Payton New Orleans (hate that guy but a good coach).
– Shanahan SF (he puts his players at physical risk but a darn good coach)
– LaFleur GB
– Reich Indy
– Daboll Bills (Not sure but I feel like Allen was way more raw and playing very well).

Rams better without Goff?

Very hard to say. I enjoyed Wolford very much this week and had a feeling he was a hidden gem based on AAF performance and preseason. He looks like more of a gamer and his feet obviously add a dimension. OTOH, Three times in that game he took a HARD hit to the head while diving forward (once he was sliding). He won’t last a season if that keeps up. Teams will also adjust to his running abilities making him less effective over time.

If it were me, I’d play Wolford against the Seahawks as he will change the playbook and make it harder on the Seahawks. McVay can’t over-coach him much yet. He only has one game of film. Re Goff, I don’t see how anyone that had both a fracture and dislocation on their throwing hand could be ready in ~12 days to play a professional football game. Sit and rest Goff unless Wolford hurt. Heck if you have Bortles he could be your backup to Wolford for a game or two.

My hope for this year is Goff is back for the NFC title or Super Bowl and wins!
My hope for next year for is McVay to find an OC that he trusts to give the reigns to and they keep Goff and win a back-to-back Super Bowl!

🐺🐺🐺

John Wolford's best plays from his first NFL game! pic.twitter.com/cq5UEDVxq4

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) January 5, 2021