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wv ram
I'll just add an obvious caveat -- its one thing to have that pinpoint-accuracy-talent when you are not under pressure. Its another thing to make big plays under pressure.
Thurs night we saw Goffs incredible pinpoint-accuracy...without pressure.
He still has one thing left to prove before I take any of the Warner/GSOT comparisons even semi-seriously.
Ya know.
Kurt did it under pressure.
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Well, my friend, this reservation is built into whatever controversy remains about the lad.
But I guess I am uncertain about how we are using the term "pressure."
One way to gauge it is to look at individual plays. This is the PFF approach I think: stats on throws made under pressure, however defined.
For my part, I think Goff is already proving he can make plays under pressure. He is completing throws while sensing and stepping away from DL breathing down his neck. That incredible throw to Kupp was under pressure. I think we can all think of plays like this. Nor do I think there is any real evidence of the opposite: Goff breaking down due to a pass rush. He holds the ball a bit long occasionally. But he seems pretty calm and accurate. Some even praise his decisions for knowing when to throw a ball away.
Indeed, I would say that Goff's tendency to hold the ball is EVIDENCE of a QB who thinks and throws well under pressure. He is very cool as he sees and reads and throws. He holds the ball because he is looking beyond the pressure and doesn't seem to be bothered by traffic in the pocket. When he does throw a pick, as he did in the EZ against LAC, it seems to me the result not of pressure but a matter of thinking he can squeeze it in there, as he generally does.
I'd also point out that good coverage is just as much a matter of pressure as is a pass rush. And Goff "don't scare worth a damn" as that soldier said about Grant. I see in Goff a QB who is cool as ice dealing with pressure.
So, if this is so, why might people imagine that Goff hasn't proven himself against pressure? I think it's a different way of assessing pressure: not by the play, but as a cumulative trend. He faced pressure as a rook and somewhat last year. This year, he has faced a remarkably small number of pass rushers in his face. Obviously, it is a relentless tide of hurries and sacks that throw a QB off. And Goff hasn't faced that this year.
Well, I'm not sure what to say about that. I suppose things may change for whatever reason. Maybe Goff will be tested more seriously than he is now, though I have no desire to see that.
Really, this would be another dimension of the "system QB" charge: Goff's only good because of McV, the OL, and his WRs. Of course, every QB is dependent on these factors and yadda, yadda, yadda.
But I notice that you mention Kurt. Of course, I was making no comparison with Kurt, but doing so might be interesting. As you say, Kurt did face pressure and was successful. Now this brings up old controversies, but I think it is worth noting that McV's system seems to be focused on reducing the pressaure on the QB, whereas Martz's whole Max Q approach relished it. I've always been a Martz advocate, but his "Max Q" vision ran very, very close to the wind. He defied defenses to blitz and expected his skill guys to read and defeat the blitzes. I haven't seen anywhere near as much of that in McV's system as I did Martz. But I get a strong sense that the young coach is more focused on deftly sidestepping pressure than on taking it belligerently on.
To the extent that this might be true, then any impulse to favor Kurt because he faced more pressure would be moot. Hopefully, Goff won't face as much pressure as Kurt did. Frankly, I don't care that much about deciding which is the better QB. I care about our future as a team, and if McV can limit the pressure as Goff throws more and more brilliantly, that future will be pretty good.
Well, we all differently process a team in transition to excellence. I loved the GSOT. I am loving this WCO offense run by Goff. I see indications of greatness in Goff, and I hope he faces as little pressure as possible.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/2018 08:19AM by RFL.
