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laram
I wonder what the conclusions will be this season on the offensive side of the ball if Jared Goff is slow out the gate again.
Olson, LaFluer and McVay certainly have their work cutout for them working with young Jared Goff who will be in his third offense in as many years.
From an Air Raid attack - to whatever that was last season - to a McVay/LaFluer offense with totally different tenets and verbiage. He's gotta learn all over again how to call a play, get in and out of the huddle and understand what they're trying to accomplish on each play. The mechanics, what are the problems with it, and with no experience at the center position, he'll probably have to make the line calls as well.
That is a ton of pressure on essentially a rookie qb, and potentially going into the season with inexperience at the center position is doubling down on trouble.
Jared Goff already facing a tough uphill climb, will now be asked to learn a more complicated system on limited reps. From my understanding the West Coast Offense that the Rams will be running is complicated with power running and three step controlled passing.
Three step means the ball is coming out quickly so the qb has got to be decisive with his reads. That is something Goff struggled with last season, and the timing and precision of the routes has to be there between Goff and his new receivers.
As I start to evaluate this team, it all begins with the trigger man, so it will be interesting to observe how these coaches go about teaching him the offense. Will we see a scaled back approach or will they be stubborn and go Josh McDaniels on the young lad Goff? Will the Rams have to scramble last minute to sign a veteran center to take some pressure off of Goff?
Lots of questions going into the season and there will certainly be lots to debate....
Is it the teacher(s) or the pupil?
You cannot expect Goff to be brilliant or efficient out of the gate. Maybe he can, maybe he can't starting off but by the 2nd half of the season I expect marked improvement in his play.
Question is, can the Rams afford to do that? After going 4-12 in 2016 can they afford to give their young QB the entire season to get it right?
I would say there is a school of thought that says they cannot perhaps but they have done nothing to sign a veteran QB to step in if Goff shows to be less then
adequate.
Best case scenario is Goff is a brilliant student and understands the concepts and is able to confidently be that quick, precise accurate passer and keen decision maker. If he is just 75 percent of that to start then that may be enough get him to the 2nd half of the season as the starter.
Grits