I signed up for a free month of HBO Now streamed online. You don't need to be a cable or satellite subscriber. I'm going to cancel after the month is up. FYI
Just a few thoughts.
Fisher's "I'm not going to go 7-9" pronouncement left me unmoved. It was just words, and frankly, it seemed almost rehearsed and pro forma, rather than passionate, to me. I don't think it was for the cameras, I think it was for the new young players in the room who probably don't even know what the Rams record was the last few years, and who aren't going to say to him (like most of us) "but you already did, right?".
I think releasing players is an emotional moment for Fisher. He keeps it together while he's doing it, but isn't happy after it's done.
I know some relaxation is needed, but Tavon, study your playbook and stop playing Pokemon Go at training camp. Stop driving a golf cart while looking backwards and shouting to someone over your shoulder. To quote Fisher from earlier "that's some 7-9 bulls__ right there!"
Aaron Donald is an ace at ping-pong. Same great hand work as on the football field. I wonder if there's anything he does half-azz. Probably not.
Playing doubles against some college kids with Donald as teammate, Eugene Sims threw his paddle down and wanted to quit after a few bad swats at the ball. In fact, he did this several times. Aaron Donald said "Don't quit! Just relax!" Very different personalities.
Donald is fascinating to me. Quiet. Controlled. Focused. More like the demeanor of a successful offensive lineman. But dedicated. A rare species, the confident perfectionist. The best Ram draft pick in a long time. He is going to have an epic career. Is it blasphemy to wonder if some day we're going to say his name as an equal with the likes of Jones, Olsen, and Youngblood?
Seems like almost all the Rams coaches are big talkers. It's the Fisher persona and what he has surrounded himself with. Makes for great HBO footage. I want to see some great football.
HBO wants a storyline with Goff that progresses. They're pushing the "he's so raw! will he be able to adapt and overcome?" angle. Which is fine, because they struck a vein of truth there. But it's still edited TV.
I was mildly surprised at some aspects of the eastern sunrise story, in contrast to what I had read. If you haven't seen the episode, know this. We never actually see the question to Goff and his answer. Which makes me wonder. Was it not filmed? Or was the subsequent bantering better footage than what really happened?
What we see is a coach good-naturedly joshing him about it in a classroom and on the field, and describing to others that when asked if the sun rises in the east or the west, Goff said he "wasn't sure". Goff doesn't object too much to this, he goes along with it and laughs like everyone else. At one point when it is being described yet again, he gives his head just a little sideways shake like "that's not quite how it was, but whatever."
I guess maybe he wasn't paying too much attention in Earth Science class. He's hardly the only one. Cooper didn't get it right in two tries. But I'm not ascribing this so much to lack of intelligence as I am a modern focus on social trivia rather than real learning. Sigh. American edumacation. I'm betting there is a whole host of politically correct topics that they all know the "right" answers to, but not basic facts about our world.
But here's the important take to me. Throughout this little subplot, Goff never once gets defensive or loses his sense of humor. He laughs at himself very easily, and doesn't care about it. I think we're seeing the resilience that got him through his Cal career.
He takes football seriously, but doesn't take himself seriously. He doesn't brood on things. But he works hard. Working on a fade after practice. Insisting to the center and receiver that they do it again, and again, and again, until they get right. And then some more until they get it just right - multiple times. And that's the pass he completes for a TD during the scrimmage with Williams begging the defense for a stop.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/2016 06:19AM by Saguaro.
