[
sports.yahoo.com]
Jared Goff says Rams can run Redskins' deep passing offense under Sean McVay
Eric Edholm
Jared Goff has had time to rest up from a trying first season, let his body heal, spend a little time in Mexico with his friends … but now he’s ready to go back to work. He has a new head coach, a new offensive system and new perspective heading into his first full offseason of work in the NFL.
The Los Angeles Rams quarterback spent much of last season waiting his turn (for much of it as the team’s third quarterback) before starting the final seven games of the season and still seeking his first victory in the league. He’ll be doing it under his third head coach following the firing of Jeff Fisher, and with interim coach John Fassel being replaced by 30-year-old, first-time head coach Sean McVay.
Goff is now back in Los Angeles (more on that below), and he’s excited to get working with McVay on a new direction offensively.
“He’s ready, ready to get this thing turned around, as am I,” Goff told Shutdown Corner Friday night. “We’ve talked now a few times since he’s been hired, and it’s a great start.”
Image
Jared Goff believes that the Rams’ new offense will be going deep more. (AP)
Goff met with McVay before and after the new coach was hired, and he was the only coach Goff met with during the Rams’ interview process — which might say a lot about how impressive McVay with the team’s brass.
“I thought after that first meeting, if he gets the job I am completely on board,” Goff said. “I was very, very pleased. Now the hard work begins.”
Goff believes the Rams’ offense can have the same type of feel as the system McVay ran with the Washington Redskins.
“I think we’re going to do a lot of what they did last year: a lot of downfield passing stuff,” Goff said of the Redskins’ offense, which ranked second in the NFL in yards per pass play and passing yards per game. “I think that’s obviously transferable here.”
Goff had no idea at the time, but starting early last season he would be watching tape of opposing defenses, and he said it seemed that every other week he was getting a look at what the Redskins and quarterback Kirk Cousins did offensively.
“I kept saying, either to myself or to the other quarterbacks in the room, ‘Hey, man, I really like this. I like what they do.’ I had no idea [McVay] would be bringing that here at the time,” Goff said. “Great concepts, lots of variety, great execution. It’s all there.
“Now I get to run that. You could see Kirk making tough throws, but they were scheming stuff up to get guys open. That’s one thing I noticed, a lot of guys running free, which is obviously appealing to me.”
As far as McVay’s age, Goff says he is not worried at all. The Rams were the youngest team in the NFL last season and likely will be one of the youngest again this season.
“If there’s a team it’s not going to be a problem with, it’s us,” he said. “But I don’t think it would be a problem regardless, just because of who he is. Who is to say that you can’t be a good head coach at 31? It’s not like the president — you don’t need to be 35. There’s no age requirement. You judge is on their knowledge and their capabilities.
“I know he is the right guy for this job.”
Goff might have struggled in his seven starts, completing 54.6 percent of his passes for a mere 5.3 yards per attempt, with only five TDs to seven interceptions. But he feels lucky that he came out of the season healthy and not in need of injury rehab. That will allow him to continue working on his conditioning and also absorb his third offensive system in three years, going back to Cal.
He also felt that going against so many talented teams and facing some adversity in those seven starts actually will be a benefit building toward his second season.
“Just that experience of facing some pretty good teams was huge,” Goff said. “The Seahawks, the Patriots, the Falcons, the Dolphins, even the Cardinals and Saints. The Niners were probably the only team we played that wasn’t of that same caliber. But I think seeing how the game works at the highest level against those good teams, that will pay dividends.
