....I always thought you were too hard on Goff and I defended him, but he now has two years of games where McVay cannot cover up his lack of consistency and maddeningly bad plays. Sometimes McVay cannot help himself and calls for longer passes (a la the disastrous plays in the last drive against the NYJ) and Goff came up short again. He could not go from top to middle a la what Warner put on Twitter. It happens way too often. Really good QB's bail out their teams, and Goff does not most of the time. And you need a really good QB to really push for a SB.
Yes, he has games like TB (even though he had a bad INT) and ARI and PHI, but he cannot consistently : A) handle pressure up the middle and a better center might be needed in 2021), and
go to his second reads when he does have enough time.
He just cannot with any consistency and plays he makes to turn it over and really, really hurt his team.
And every defensive staff in the NFL knows it. MIA went crazy and had tons of zero coverages and Goff was a disaster.
SF knows they can fluster him.
ARI and SEA do not have the pass rushers to really get in his face and he feasts on them with easy first reads.
NE could not do anything as they fell behind and McVay countered with running the ball using the counter trey from Joe Gibbs days and Goff "only" made one bad pass.
He is a good kid, I think he works hard, and he accepts coaching, but after 70+ starts I just do not think he can beat really good teams. There are maybe 5-10 QB's who can and he isn't one of them.
He missed some throws in the NYJ game where because they play zone, Kupp could have had a game similar to the CIN game in London last year where he caught a ton of passes about 15 yards downfield. I think McVay does not think he can even do that. It is amazing, I mean amazing, that when it is 3rd and 10+, McVay reverts to draws and WR screens, etc. like 90% of the time.
With a $134mm QB!
I am not looking to get into a back and forth with ZN or any other fans, and I appreciate their points of view, but I really just think Goff is never gonna bail them out like they want him to. In fact, he has regressed in terms of being able to overcome defenses taking away his strengths.
It has happened to Mariota, Winston and Wentz (#1 and #2 picks in the draft who are no longer starting after initial success) and the Rams are tied to Goff through 2022.
What can McVay do in the off-season? A better center, maybe try and find different passes Goff likes or a speedy WR to stretch the field? I just think Goff is not the answer.
I am depressed as a Rams fan about it.
Depressed.
If he makes just a few plays it covers up the stench of a flat, cocky team who thought they would show up and the NYJ would wilt.
Well, the NYJ have a good DL and the Rams G-C-G were a disaster in the first half.
I am to the point where Sunday I will tape the game, watch the last few episodes of "The Mandolrian", go for a walk outside for 30 minutes and count my blessings, because Goff depresses me. I will watch in fast motion if the D and OL do not show up and we watch Goff flail away. I know, I am kinda pathetic, but this is how I cope watching him flop under pressure.
You were right, he just is limited and a sixth or seventh or eight year in the league will not cover up his inability to go through progressions quickly and handle with some modicum of calmness to not be a disaster with pressure up the middle. Or throw horrendous INT' like against SF in the second game and the NYJ INT.
He is what he is and McVay knows it. Maybe in the off-season, they try and trade him, but who will take his contract? My guess? Zero teams. So, he is the Rams QB through 2022. They (in hindsight like Gurley), signed him one year too early.
I would love to see a Matthew Stafford in this offense as they are a QB away from a serious SB run. But not with Goff as he is in 2020 after two seasons of in my opinion under-performing. I have depressingly come to that conclusion in the past few days. I hope I am wrong. I hope Rams fans jump all over me for not having faith and believing in Goff, but I. Just. Don't. Believe. In. Him. At. All.