Goff has performed very well this season. It would seem he would rank somewhere in the 8-12 range based on performance. Certainly, it seems like you can have a high powered offense with him at QB if you have the right players and offensive scheme to go with him.
So why did he fail so badly the last 2 seasons with the Rams?
Did we not have the offensive players to compliment him? Seems like we had Kupp, Woods & Higbee who would certainly rank better than the WR Detroit has though Detroit has a great young TE. I would give the edge to Detroit at RB with Swift & Williams. Offensive Lines are probably about even. All and all I would say the Rams had an edge on offensive personnel because of the big advantage at WR. Conclusion: It is not that the players around Goff are so much better.
Is it the offensive scheme that made the difference?
Goff had 2 great years and then the wheels started to fall off. Defenses changed how they played the Rams and they did so in a way that neutralized much of the Rams long passing game. Seemed like Goff was always under pressure and after repeatedly being under attack he seemed to be gun shy and played with happy feet. Goff seemed to lose confidence and was not mentally positive. Even in his 1st year in Detroit the effects seem to linger on and there was talk that Detroit would be on the look out for his successor.
Somehow Detroit has rebuilt Goff's confidence and he now has a positive mental outlook and he is thriving in an offense that is performing quite well. I think back to McVay comments about how Stafford is the perfect fit for the offensive he wants to run and as I reflect on those comments I think that perhaps we failed to maximize the talents of the QB that we had. I have felt for a long time that we did not adjust to how defenses were scheming against the Rams and the impact that it was having on our QB who was constantly getting the snot knocked out of him.
During the last season there was certainly a rift between McVay and Goff where McVay lost confidence in Goff and there was joint frustration with the success of the offense in general. There is a big part of me that feels like McVay was very much part of the problem. I don't think his offensive scheme was designed to maximize the performance of the QB that we had in place at the time. I also believe that McVay intense communication style, while a positive much of the time probably put unnecessary pressure on Goff which contributed to his lack of confidence and positive mental outlook.
Seems when you make a huge investment in a QB, and we just made another one with Stafford, that you darn well better make sure you are doing everything possible to make the most important and highest paid person on your offense successful. I think we failed to do that with Goff. While this year was a total cluster I think there is still much to do in getting the Rams offense humming again. Even with good health I think some soul searching needs to be done. A nice power back would help too.