sbark
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Thursday was yet another rough outing for the first overall pick from this year's draft. Jared Goff finished 6-for-16 with 67 yards, a pick and a touchdown in the Rams' 27-25 loss to the Vikings. Goff's play through the preseason has been uninspiring enough that head coach Jeff Fisher said he'll be the third stringer, behind Case Keenum and Sean Mannion, a third-round pick last year, when the season opens.
The first overall pick in the draft is a third stringer.
It's not unusual for a quarterback drafted in the first round to start his rookie season in the backup spot. What is unusual is that a signal caller picked first overall, after a massive trade to get him, is likely to be a healthy scratch when the season opens.
Goff looks confused on the field. Sometimes his throws are on the money, sometimes they're way off. He's also taken a battering behind a Rams offensive line that continues to struggle with pass protection, despite the presence of left tackle Greg Robinson, the second overall pick in 2014. It doesn't help either that the team's terrible receiving corps keeps dropping his passes.
Todd Gurley and Tavon Austin didn't play last night, but Goff's struggles have come with the starters as well as the backups. He finished the preseason 22-for-49 with a 45 percent completion rate, 232 yards, a woeful 4.7 yards per attempt, two touchdowns, two interceptions and a 55.8 rating.
But don't worry, said Fisher.
"He's not ready, but he's really, really made significant progress," the Rams coach said. "He's much better now than he was when we started."
That's elite coachspeak.
But Goff will get it turned around, right? The Rams can afford to be patient, right?
Here's the problem. Who on the team's coaching staff has any experience developing quarterbacks? Fisher's history with quarterbacks is abysmal. The offensive coordinator is a tight ends coach. Quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke has experience working with preparing draft picks at IMG Academy, but he's never coached a quarterback in the NFL.
Underscoring the coaching issue is the fact that Goff comes from an Air Raid offense in college, and Air Raid quarterbacks have not had much success in the NFL.
Worse, outstanding preseason play from Dak Prescott, a fourth-round pick, and Paxton Lynch, late first round, has overshadowed the first and second overall picks in the draft. It's still too early to judge Goff's career and the trade the Rams made to get him, but it's not off to a very good start.
The first overall pick in the draft is a third stringer.
It's not unusual for a quarterback drafted in the first round to start his rookie season in the backup spot. What is unusual is that a signal caller picked first overall, after a massive trade to get him, is likely to be a healthy scratch when the season opens.
Goff looks confused on the field. Sometimes his throws are on the money, sometimes they're way off. He's also taken a battering behind a Rams offensive line that continues to struggle with pass protection, despite the presence of left tackle Greg Robinson, the second overall pick in 2014. It doesn't help either that the team's terrible receiving corps keeps dropping his passes.
Todd Gurley and Tavon Austin didn't play last night, but Goff's struggles have come with the starters as well as the backups. He finished the preseason 22-for-49 with a 45 percent completion rate, 232 yards, a woeful 4.7 yards per attempt, two touchdowns, two interceptions and a 55.8 rating.
But don't worry, said Fisher.
"He's not ready, but he's really, really made significant progress," the Rams coach said. "He's much better now than he was when we started."
That's elite coachspeak.
But Goff will get it turned around, right? The Rams can afford to be patient, right?
Here's the problem. Who on the team's coaching staff has any experience developing quarterbacks? Fisher's history with quarterbacks is abysmal. The offensive coordinator is a tight ends coach. Quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke has experience working with preparing draft picks at IMG Academy, but he's never coached a quarterback in the NFL.
Underscoring the coaching issue is the fact that Goff comes from an Air Raid offense in college, and Air Raid quarterbacks have not had much success in the NFL.
Worse, outstanding preseason play from Dak Prescott, a fourth-round pick, and Paxton Lynch, late first round, has overshadowed the first and second overall picks in the draft. It's still too early to judge Goff's career and the trade the Rams made to get him, but it's not off to a very good start.
