Zn, I disagree with you here. You're using the weakness of our OLine as an excuse for all of Goff's mistakes. Granted our OLine was weak last season but Fitz at Miami had a worse line and performed better. Kyler Murray's, (an undersized rookie), O Line was rated a little better than ours but he was sacked 48 times. On the other hand, Goff was sacked only 22 times, the league low I read, yet Murray outperformed Goff. If an OLine provides the league low in sacks they have to be doing some things right. QBs that played for teams that rushed for less also outperformed Goff.
Zona's OLine is not comprised of studs. Change does affect an Oline but so does the quality of the players. I'd think that Murray got real tired of eating dirt.
You mentioned Wilson but he suffered 55 sacks. Seattle's line was not great either but Wilson outperformed Goff easily. One beat writing in Seattle called them a "revolving door."
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I live near Detroit and their O Line is bad and has been bad for a few years. The most consistent criticism of the GM is that he has failed to improve the O Line. However, even Stafford is ranked better than Goff.
Derrek Carr and Chicago's Trubisky were also ranked better than Goff!
Only 3 QBs threw more INTs than Goff. You can't put all of that on the QB. Those bad stats alone prove that Goff can improve his game.
Goff did great when he had top ranked O Lines in front of him, but he tanked when the OLine struggled. Better QBs, like Wilson, didn't tank.
But don't take my word for it, even O'Connell and McVay, and others, see room for improvement.
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Things break down and fail for a reason. Often it is multiple reasons and some of those have a symbiotic or feedback-loop relationship.
Football Outsiders does a great job in diagnosing the Ram's, and Goff's woes. Below is a quote:
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www.footballoutsiders.com]
"Goff has never been someone to handle pressure well. Not only does he show an aversion to playing amidst an imposing pass rush, but he hardly has any creativity or understanding in how to navigate the pocket. Goff also doesn't have sharp enough mechanics to get away with throwing in a hurry -- his motion takes too long to come around, and he does not have the raw arm strength to overcome that. As such, Goff ends up with plenty of plays like the one above. Goff does well to get to the right receiver, but his "slide" in the pocket is a half-measure at best and his throwing motion comes around as flimsy as a pool noodle with no punch at the end to drive the ball out. To no surprise, the ball lands a few yards short of and behind the target. Gerald Everett (81), the intended target, had no chance at getting a hand on this pass, never mind actually bringing it in."
The Football Outsiders has video of some plays where Goff could have done better had he just done a few mechanical things better. Some of the comments are quite sharp and definitely worth a read.
Most knowledgeable and capable observer's can see the need for improvement from Goff. I believe he can do it and I believe that he is worth the money he's being paid. I agree with O'Connel that "..it's just about being great with the details of doing his job..."
