In McVay's communications to the press there has been, IMO, a noticeable and significant absence of affirmation of Goff.
I've noted on several occasions that McVay not only does not offer reassuring comments, but, when specifically asked, simply ducks the question. I remember one presser transcript in which he ducked a direct question, then ducked a SECOND direct question a moment later. His communication pattern about Goff has struck me as unusual and different from the way he talks of other players.
One common response to this around here has been the tough love reading: McVay is purposefully not puffing Goff up in order to make him earn it on the field. That makes sense to a point. But, McVay's public responses to the Goff question still seem odd to me.
Now, I am not assuming anything. Indeed, I have argued that, since McVay HAS NOT gone out and proactively gotten a Plan B, he MUST be liking his odds of getting at least an acceptable level of play from him. Actions do speak more loudly, and McVay has DONE nothing to indicate a loss of faith. Indeed, giving Goff only that one series in Game 1 strikes me as a vote of confidence rather than the reverse. If he was wanting more from his young QB, I think he might have sent him out there a few extra series to try to get something going.
Still, the whole thing does feel strange to me. I'm a long way away from what this reporter sees. But it sort of makes sense to me if a beat guy looks at the way the coaches have spoken of Goff and concluded that they are waiting to see if he really has the goods.
Of course, the best gloss in interpreting cryptic coachspeak (or, in this case, coach-non-speak) is to refer to what Goff has shown on the field. I'm sitting here in Minny relying on sporadic fan and reporter observations. They SEEM fairly positive, but not very conclusive. I liked his play in the last game, but it was such a tiny sampling of plays!
Goff is a real enigma. Fortunately, we'll start to get answers soon.
