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Saguaro
I'm sure not going to be able to turn the herd around. Have at it, guys. I'm taking notes, lol.
In the meantime I'll just climb up the arroyo out of the way of the thundering hooves, and watch.
But lemme just say this:
I don't think it's one thing with him. I think it's an accumulation.
I don't have enough information or expertise to either blame or exonerate the coaching staff.
He had a lot of things to learn at once. And he didn't do it in one preseason.
The guys he was playing with in games didn't help him too much. A lot of pass rush pressure at times. A lot of drops. No continuity.
Stumbling and fumbling a shotgun snap and getting a pass batted for an int.
It all looks bad, and it is bad, but I think it looks a lot worse than it is.
Then he loses a little confidence, and he starts pressing, and everything gets out of sync and harder than it should be.
For now, I'm sticking with what I saw when I wanted the Rams to draft him, and it wasn't "pro-readiness".
I think out of the spotlight he'll start to get it down, and relax, and the things that made him a top QB will come to the fore again, and Ram fans will be happy.
That's what I think. But what do I know?
Just speaking for myself..........
I was against the decision to mortgage the farm for him or draft him #1. But I'm not against him. I'm rooting for him to overcome his deficiencies and for his strengths to ultimately win out. But that doesn't compel or require me to deny what is plainly obvious until or unless he changes it.
My greatest wish during this training camp and preseason was that Goff would come in and show the markers that the vast majority of future great players do in his situation. It hasn't happened. Rather than allay any fears, he's stoked them. And I'll say again, while I know that's not necessarily determinative, there are always exceptions, I also know the implications are not good.
Additionally, every time I see a rationalization like 'the spotlight is part of the problem and once that's gone, he'll be fine,' it makes me feel worse, not better. Shrinking in the spotlight is just one more negative marker. The last thing I wanted to do was be sitting here a week before the season starts with his biggest believers tacitly admitting he couldn't handle the attention and rise to the occasion.....but he'll be fine and we'll all be happy.
Just take this note. I'm for him, not against him. And it's because I'm for him that I'm worried about the continuously growing pile of troubles and failures that are growing the odds against him being fine and Rams fans being happy..
Maybe he'll be fine.....eventually. But if he will be, especially given the dearth of comparable happy ending precedents, it sure would be nice if he'd just start showing us why we should believe it rather than why we should be afraid....very afraid.
