Jared Goff offers Rams hope after forgetful day

Jared Goff offers Rams hope after forgetful day

By Vincent Bonsignore, Los Angeles Daily News

NEW ORLEANS — Lost in all the frustration of a blowout loss and a season gone sideways, rookie quarterback Jared Goff flashed in a major way for the Rams on Sunday against the Saints.

It was essentially limited to the first half, as the Saints stormed him in waves upon taking a big lead in the second half. But Goff’s poise and marksmanship were on display and remained the lone bright spot in an otherwise dreary day.

Otherwise, it was a day for the Rams to forget as the Saints embarrassed them by hanging half a hundred on them and refused to take their foots off the gas while sending a message to Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who filled that same role with the Saints from 2009 to 2011 but left New Orleans unceremoniously after the Bountygate affair.

Saints head coach Sean Payton, it seems, is not a fan of Williams, and that was obvious when he called a double-pass gadget play that resulted in a 50-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter with the Saints already leading by 21.

Friends don’t do that to each other in the NFL.

It was that kind of day for the Rams, who got caught in the Payton/Williams crossfire and had nothing to offer in return.

Here are some observations from the Rams’ sixth loss in their past seven games.

GOFF IS THE REAL DEAL

In the spirit of fairness and full disclosure, a lot was said about Goff’s lack of NFL readiness in this space during training camp and preseason games. Simply put, the Goff learning curve going from Cal to the NFL was more demanding than imagined.

And that was pointed out by many.

That said, he’s grown by leaps and bounds since, and that progress was obvious while watching him during practice as the days, weeks and months unfolded.

So it wasn’t a major surprise to see him slinging it Sunday against the Saints, primarily in the first half as he ripped them for 167 yards and three touchdowns — including a gorgeous 24-yard pass to Tavon Austin for a first-quarter touchdown and an expertly handled two-minute drive to finish the half with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Lance Kendricks.

The sample size was small, but there is no doubting what we saw. Goff has an NFL-caliber arm, terrific feet to extend plays, touch, accuracy and a natural feel for the position.

In the big picture, that will turn out to be more important than the final score Sunday or even the Rams’ record to end the season.

“I don’t think there are any moral victories. For me, I felt a lot more comfortable in my second game,” Goff said. “From my experience, I just felt better out there and was just able to see it a lot better. The game slowed down for me a lot more today.

“But at the same time, I just wanna win. I don’t want to be out here saying I’m happy with what we did, or what I did, or anything in between; cause I’m really not if we don’t win. And that’s the bottom line.”

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