I think Goff will be good. He does have more of an arm than Case, that’s for sure.

Whenever he’s ready, I’m ready.

But the sooner the better, because I’m bored of 7-9.

zn wrote:

if the defense holds up they can win at least 8 of those games…the 9th being new england

They can, but I don’t think there is any reason to think they will.

They can also lose 8 of those games.

I’m going out on a limb with a prediction of 5-4 the rest of the way.

Texas.

The state that couldn’t be bothered to inform blacks that they were no longer slaves.

zn wrote:

Zooey wrote:

I finally uttered a feeble, “Yes, please.”

Did you answer in the affirmative?

.

It was disconcerting.

I’ll never forget it.

My family was on a long vacation around the USA in a motor home that belonged to my grandpa. And we went all over the place, coast to coast. It was great. On our return portion of the trip, we threw a rod, or something – I was 12 – and we got stuck in Fairfield, Illinois for a couple of days.

Well, Fairfield isn’t one of the places where we had stuck a big, bright pin into before we left home. But I wanna be nice to those people (who did me no harm), as I recount them.

We boarded up in a crappy little motel with a swimming pool that was absolutely as green as the Philadelphia Eagles. And we went to dinner at the place that was there. You know. Cal’s Big Eats, or whatever. Your basic iceburg lettuce, piece of meat, mashed potatoes, and cooked to death vegetable platter kind of place.

So she asks me, “Do you want ice cream with that?” and my first thought is that I am a total numbskull and screwed up the request, and said something that was all wrong, and don’t know what “a la mode” means, and my three idiot brothers are all about to savage me like a pack of starved wolves if I don’t get myself out of this right quick.

And my brain flutters between “is it her – is it me – is it her – is it me” for a moment of sheer terror.

So I say, “Yes, please.” And she takes our menus and goes away.

And my starving wolf brothers descend on her in a craze as soon as her back is turned.

Family joke to this day.

“You want ice cream with that?”

Once I had a waitress ask me – after I ordered apple pie a la mode – if I wanted ice cream with that. I was 12 at the time, so I was suddenly thrust into the Land of Uncertainty.

My brain did this wuah wuah wuah wuah back-and-forth thing for a second, rear wheels spinning hopelessly in the quagmire, before I finally uttered a feeble, “Yes, please.”

Jared Goff takes snaps with Rams’ first team but Case Keenum is still the starter

Gary Klein

http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-20161026-snap-story.html

Jared Goff took a moment before the first play call and slapped hands or bumped fists with teammates in the huddle.

The rookie quarterback was about to start perhaps his most important practice since the Rams selected him No. 1 in the NFL draft.

With the Rams in a bye week, Coach Jeff Fisher on Wednesday had starter Case Keenum step aside and gave Goff a developmental opportunity. The former University of California standout took the majority of first-team snaps for the first time.

It was a chance to show how far he has progressed since training camp — and demonstrate his readiness to play.

Goff did not make any long throws, but he smoothly handled every short and midrange route.

“I feel tremendously more comfortable than I’ve ever felt,” Goff said afterward. “I feel confident that if my number’s called, I’ll be ready to go. Just waiting for that time.”

It is not expected to come anytime soon.

Fisher has said that Keenum remains the starter despite the Rams’ 3-4 record, three-game losing streak and the four Keenum passes that were intercepted in Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants in London.

The Rams don’t play again until Nov. 6, against the Carolina Panthers at the Coliseum.

So Fisher gave Goff an opportunity to work exclusively with the first-team offense.

“Jared looked like Jared,” receiver Tavon Austin said. “It’s just about how comfortable he feels and how he goes from there.”

Said Fisher: “He handled everything really well.”

Second-year pro Sean Mannion, No. 3 on the depth chart, also performed efficiently while taking first-team reps.

But the focus is on Goff, who struggled during exhibition games and has not played a snap during the regular season while other rookie quarterbacks are flourishing.

With the Rams under .500 and showing no real signs that they might finish significantly better than last season’s 7-9 record, the bye week would appear a natural time to groom the top pick for a possible starting role.

Asked to describe his frustration level over not playing, Goff demonstrated a knack for avoiding trouble.

“It’s part of the process part of what’s going on,” he said. “I’m not going to sit here and complain or gripe.

“I’m going to support Case and continue to get ready and be ready and continue to be confident in myself and be ready when the time comes.”

Goff was inactive for the season opener but has been the No. 2 quarterback for the last six games. Asked whether the Rams would anything scheme-wise if Goff were to start, Fisher said no.

“We wouldn’t scale anything back, we wouldn’t change a thing,” he said. “He’s got that good of a feel for what we’re doing.”

Goff, of course, has not even played as backup. But he said he would be prepared if he was the starter and is capable of leading the team.

“I’m confident in myself and confident in what I can do,” he said. “And feel like if my number gets called I’ll be ready.

“But it’s not up to me to decide when that time is. That’s what Coach Fisher and all the coaches get paid for is to make those decisions.”

Wednesday’s workout was the Rams’ last before a four-day break. They will return to Cal Lutheran on Monday.

Fisher said the coaching staff spent the last few days evaluating every player on the roster to determine what must improve as the Rams prepare for the final nine games.

“We have to get the run game going,” he said, “and it all really starts there.”

The Rams must reduce penalties and also shut down or hold opponents to field goals when they penetrate inside the 20-yard line, Fisher said.

Several players are expected to return from injuries after the bye, including defensive tackle Michael Brockers and possibly cornerback Trumaine Johnson. Fisher cited a physically sound roster as reason for optimism.

“You just kind of wonder at some point, this thing is going to get turned around,” he said. “That’s where we are right now, is holding on to hope that the health of this football team, and the experience is going to get it turned around.”

On a day when many younger players got increased opportunities, receiver Paul McRoberts stood out. The practice squad player made several impressive catches. … Some players will stay in Southern California during the break, but many planned to travel out of state to see family or friends. Fisher’s message: “It’s OK to enjoy yourself and have fun. Don’t shut the system down, though, because we’re going to come back and work. Make sure they take care of themselves and be smart, all of those things associated with it. I don’t want any early-morning phone calls, those kind of things. But they know that, they’re pros, they understand.”

Copyright © 2016, Los Angeles Times

I watched both seasons last year. And I saw season three is out. I will watch it as soon as my plate clears (i.e. between xmas and new year).

“The Entire History of You” fits very well with a unit I used to teach on the novel, “Feed,” and I wanted to show it, but there is too much sex. It is a great episode, though.

I started at the beginning. Season one, episode one. And knew I was onto a brilliant show that I could never share with my wife. That first episode…Prime Minister…pig…well, wow.

Great show.

I think I should add Australia to my list of potential places to move. I like New Zealand because I don’t think anybody cares about NZ one way or another, so they will never be on anybody’s hit list. They speak English, and they allow no nukes. But maybe I should consider Australia, too. Cool, killer animals, and lots of open space.

And English.

wv wrote:

I’m not worried about Goff yet. How is he supposed to ‘lead’ or show leadership
when he’s having so much trouble learning the system, etc.

At some point in the future, the Rams will have a good QB. I truly believe that.

It probably wont happen in our lifetimes, but still.

w
v

He did not show a lack of confidence, or shaken confidence during Hard Knocks.

I liked that about him a lot.

nittany ram wrote:

The only thing about Goff that bothered me from Hard Knocks was that he didn’t seem very bright and I’m not talking only about sunrisegate. But what may appear as a lack of intelligence might actually be a lack of maturity.

Besides, he doesn’t have to be smart to excel at QB. See Bradshaw, Marino, Montana, etc….

Ditto on that. It wasn’t just sunrisegate. There were candid moments of his interactions with other players where he just made comments that did not shine. I can’t remember the specific topics. But I got a sense that he didn’t absorb much knowledge at Cal, and Cal is a school where it would be hard not to, unless you are bored by anything complicated.

Also correct on Bradshaw, Marino, and Montana.

I don’t know how “smart” one has to be to play QB. As you know, there are multiple kinds of intelligence, and Bradshaw and Montana are downright dopey when it comes to the conventional concept. But isn’t playing QB a lot like playing computer games? I mean, ya gotta know the playbook, and read defenses. Reading defenses would seem to be the most difficult part of the job, really, because knowing the plays is a matter of rote knowledge. So…reading defenses. Which is what Jason Cole says he is currently deficient in. But that strikes me as a computer game skill, and lots of dopey people are great at computer games.

Okay. Now that I’ve just patronized everybody, I’m going to go grade some dopey essays.

I don’t know, but I’m not even going to watch it.

joemad wrote:

Which makes you wonder what has he been doing since the draft, and what have the coaches been doing with him? In the last several weeks, from people I know around the league, I’ve heard these 2 things:

1.) Goff doesn’t appear to have much in the way of leadership skills. 2.) Behind closed doors in Thousand Oaks, the Rams aren’t as high on Goff as they are proclaiming publicly.

by jthomas 2:14 PM

Bummer.

Yeah, bummer.

But 1. that can come. He has only just turned 22. I thought he acted very young in Hard Knocks. Just a kid. So time and some real experience on the field could change that.

2. Well…duh. I am sure there is some disappointment that he has SUCH a long way to go. They knew he was not ready, but they probably underestimated how far off he was when they drafted him.

Okay. This discussion is going in circles now.

Hopefully, the Rams will be good, and we won’t ever have to find out what happens when a dismal team opens a new stadium in Los Angeles.

Eternal Ramnation wrote:

I don’t buy that at all Zooey , going to a game just for the stadium I mean. If there’s no hope of relevance people in LA aren’t going to waste 4 or 5 hours and thousands of dollars to watch a depressing shit show just cause the building is new. There is way to much fun to be had in LA especially for the kind of money you’re looking at in the new place.For it to become the the place to go the Rams need to become the team to watch.It’s just not enjoyable to watch a team suck year in and year out.

Well, I never.

I think you’re wrong. I bet if you go look at the first year of attendance at new stadiums/arenas around the country, you will find a significant attendance boost the first year regardless of the team’s performance. I found them for the Indians, Orioles, and Giants in baseball, and all 3 teams saw a huge boost in attendance with the opening of their new stadiums. I couldn’t find a clear site for NFL attendance.

In Sacramento, I will bet the Kings get high attendance numbers this year, and that team is comparable to the Rams, now that I think about it. They’ve sucked for even longer than the Rams, as a matter of fact, with one brief glorious period at the same time the Rams had theirs. And they suck now. And I bet that arena is full most of the season.

I think I’m right, and you should go to that other thread and get yourself a serving of humble pie. That’s what I think.

I don’t even like pie.

Where is the ice cream?

Dammit, I hate pot lucks.