Ex-Rams QB Jim Everett: Goff 'will be pressed into duty

Ex-Rams QB Jim Everett: Jared Goff 'will be pressed into duty'
By Alden Gonzalez

[www.espn.com]

LOS ANGELES -- In reacting to the Los Angeles Rams' handling of Jared Goff, the pessimists point to recent history, noting that each of the past five quarterbacks taken first overall started his first NFL game, and that four of them (Matthew Stafford, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck and Jameis Winston) have already made the Pro Bowl. The optimists frequently point to Aaron Rodgers, like Goff a Cal product, who spent his first three seasons on the bench and then blossomed into arguably the game's best quarterback.

Jim Everett, the Rams' quarterback in Los Angeles from 1986-93, has a counterpoint.

"Jared Goff is not playing behind Brett Favre," Everett said in a phone conversation. "Aaron Rodgers really had three years to get his body physically ready, his mind mentally ready, and be able to compete against a guy and see one of the greatest competitors on the planet. As much as I like Case Keenum, he is not Brett Favre. So Jared Goff, at some point, will be pressed into duty."

Everett -- taken third overall in 1986 by the then-Houston Oilers, who flipped him to the Rams -- settled in Southern California after his NFL career ended in 1997 and serves as an analyst on the Rams' pregame show for KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. Everett remains an ardent Rams fan and watched closely as Goff struggled through the preseason, going 22-of-49 with four turnovers. Regardless, Everett said he saw a guy who "can visualize the deep ball as best as any quarterback on that team."

"I’m not saying that he’s ready timing-wise, I’m not saying he’s ready huddle-wise," Everett added. "I’m not there every day to know him leadership-wise, team-belief-wise. I don’t know about all those things. But I can tell watching him throw that he can visualize the 20-plus-yard throw as good as anybody. And when he gets confident, he’ll be just fine."

Giving back: A record number of Rams players and executives purchased season tickets for local charities and school groups to attend home games this season, according to the team. They include Tavon Austin, Mark Barron, Kenny Britt, Michael Brockers, Jamon Brown, Aaron Donald, E.J. Gaines, Cory Harkey, Will Hayes, Johnny Hekker, Lamarcus Joyner, Lance Kendricks, Jake McQuaide, Alec Ogletree, Brian Quick, Robert Quinn, Greg Robinson, Eugene Sims, Greg Zuerlein, Keenum and Goff, in addition to chief operating off Kevin Demoff, general manager Les Snead and head coach Jeff Fisher. Defensive line coach Mike Waufle and each of his defensive linemen will make a $100 donation to help fight homeless in Los Angeles for every sack the Rams record this season. The program, "Sack Homelessness," generated more than $200,000 in four prior years in St. Louis.

All Geeked out: The average resale price for Sunday's game was $233 as of Saturday afternoon, according to the secondary ticket marketplace SeatGeek. That is $94 higher than the most expensive ticket to any game played in St. Louis since the company began tracking data in 2010. The Rams' average resale price for all their home games this season was $189, which ranks 11th in the NFL. In St. Louis over the past six seasons, it was $72. Last season, it was $76, giving the Rams by far the NFL's largest ticket-price jump from one year to the next, according to SeatGeek. The Rams opened up 5,000 additional seats for their return to Los Angeles Coliseum and are expecting an attendance of around 90,000.

Preserving history: Rams Hall of Famers will be on hand for the anticipated home opener. Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, Tom Mack, Orlando Pace, Jackie Slater and Jack Youngblood will help light the Olympic torch following the coin toss, starting a tradition for every Rams game at the Coliseum from 2016-18. Family members of George Allen, Deacon Jones and Merlin Jones will also be in attendance. During halftime, Pace, Dickerson, Faulk, Mack, Slater and Youngblood will be presented with the Hall of Fame Ring of Excellence.