5 Reasons Why Los Angeles Rams Should Have Started Jared Goff Sooner
Nov 27, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff (16) drops back to pass against the New Orleans Saints during the third quarter of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated the Rams 49-21. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Here’s five reasons why the Los Angeles Rams shouldn’t have waited so long to start Jared Goff at quarterback.
One week after making his first career NFL start, Jared Goff started his first career game on the road for the Los Angeles Rams, and despite the 49-21 loss to the New Orleans Saints, the rookie did show some potential.
For the most part, the Rams should feel confident about what the future has in store for Goff as the team hopes to finally have the franchise quarterback they have desperately been searching for. Los Angeles took a huge gamble when surrendering some of their future draft picks to the Tennessee Titans in order to select the former California star with the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, but only time will tell when it comes to seeing whether this move pays off.
In the mean time, the Rams just need to be patient when it comes to the development of their beloved rookie as Goff clearly still has numerous areas in need of improvement when it comes to being a successful quarterback. Hopefully, Sunday’s game against the Saints was a sign of what’s to come for Goff as his play in the first half gave signs of hope for the future of the passing game.
With that being said, one of the most interesting debates regarding Goff is whether Jeff Fisher waited too long to start the rookie at quarterback. While it’s easy to make the argument that Goff wasn’t ready from a development standpoint, here’s five reasons why the Rams should have started the rookie quarterback much earlier in the 2016 season.
Nov 27, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin (11) catches a touchdown over New Orleans Saints cornerback B.W. Webb (28) during the first quarter of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Three Touchdowns in One Half Against Saints
With the Saints ranking near the bottom of the league when it comes to passing defense, the Rams knew their best shot at leaving the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with a win would be through the air. Even though Los Angeles failed to score a single point in the second half, to see a rookie like Goff throw three touchdowns in the first half against New Orleans was amazing to see, especially with the receiving corps he had to work with.
One of the main reasons why the Rams’ offense ranked near the bottom of the league in 2015 was due to a weak group of receivers, and while the argument can be made the team took a step back this year, it was good to see Goff receive some production from his teammates. Not only did Tavon Austin record his first touchdown catch since Week 7 against the New York Giants, but even Lance Kendricks found his way into the end zone for just the second time this season.
Obviously, it was frustrating to see Goff fail to find the end zone in the second half, but this is still a step in the right direction for the rookie. With that being said, here’s to also hoping Goff works on his turnover issues after recording two costly ones against New Orleans (one interception and one fumble).
Nov 13, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA;
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Case Keenum (17) calls for a play in the first quarter against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Case Keenum Was Never the Answer
At the beginning of the season, Fisher made it clear that he went with Case Keenum at quarterback due to the fact the veteran seemed to give the Rams their best chance of being contenders. While he certainly showed potential at times, he was never really the answer for Los Angeles as the argument can be made that Keenum would be the backup on any other of the 31 NFL teams.
In nine starts this season, Keenum went four games in which he failed to score a single touchdown. And if that’s not frustrating enough, Keenum only managed to throw multiple touchdowns in a game three times, with his most impressive outing coming in Week 6 against the Detroit Lions in which he threw three touchdown passes.
The fact that Goff was able to match Keenum’s season high for touchdowns in one half against the Saints makes a strong case when it comes to why the rookie should have started a long time ago. There’s a reason why Keenum always struggled to find a starting job in the NFL as this year made it clear that he may not be cut out for the big leagues like his rookie teammate.
Nov 20, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley (30) races down the field on his way to a 24-yard touchdown in the first quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
Todd Gurley’s Production May Not Have Suffered
After taking home Rookie of the Year honors in 2015 following a season in which he rushed for 1,106 yards to go along with 10 touchdowns, it’s safe to say Todd Gurley has become one of the biggest disappointments from the 2016 season, but it’s not entirely the running back’s fault.
Unfortunately, opponents had been stacking the box more when facing the Rams due to the team’s inability to effectively move the football down the field when Keenum was playing quarterback. Not to mention the struggles behind Los Angeles in the wide receiver department.
The fact that Gurley is entering Week 13 still searching for his first 100-yard game of the season is absolutely ridiculous to think about when considering he seemed like an early favorite to take home the rushing title at the beginning of the year. With only 641 rushing yards with four touchdowns, disappointing doesn’t even begin to describe this season for a player like Gurley.
Maybe if the Rams didn’t wait so long to make Goff the starter at quarterback, Gurley’s production wouldn’t have taken as much of a hit this season. Hopefully, these remaining five games with Goff as the quarterback will benefit Gurley in the ground game to at least make the team feel better about the potential surrounding the offense heading into next year.
Nov 20, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff (16) passes against the Miami Dolphins during the first half of a NFL football game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Goff Needs Experience
One of the most frustrating factors behind the decision to trade up for Goff in this year’s draft is seeing the Rams give up all those draft picks to the Titans, only to have the top pick watching from the sidelines.
It’s understandable as to why Los Angeles wanted to make sure Goff was ready to handle the duties at quarterback, but Fisher should have been more open to taking risks with the rookie. When looking at the success other teams are having with rookie quarterbacks like the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, it was frustrating to see the Rams hold off on letting Goff play.
It’s clear Goff is the future of this organization, and when seeing how much he struggled in the preseason, he obviously needs all of the experience he can get this early in his career. He may not have been as effective as Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott, but the Rams should have taken more of a risk by allowing Goff to start sooner rather than later.
Instead, Rams fans are left wondering how many more games Los Angeles could have won this season with if their rookie quarterback in Goff had been in the lineup over Keenum.
Nov 27, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher talks to officials in the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Rams Had Nothing to Lose
With a top-10 defense along with a 7-9 record, the only thing holding the Rams back last season was a lack of offense as the team ranked near the bottom of the league. With the right quarterback, Los Angeles at least seemed capable of being contenders in the NFC this season, assuming the defense picked up right where they left off last year.
Even though Keenum was the quarterback when this team started off the year with a 3-1 record, it was clear he was far from being the answer this team needed to get to the next level as the Rams have lost six of seven games since then. To think that Keenum, one of the league’s most inexperienced quarterbacks to begin with, was a better option at the beginning of the season over Goff was one of the biggest mistakes Fisher could have made.
When looking at how terrible the offense was in 2015, it seemed impossible Los Angeles would be capable of taking a step back this year, but it happened. Fisher may have believed this team was talented enough on paper to possibly make a run at the playoffs, but the truth is the Rams were still a year or two away from reaching that level.
For a team that had nothing to lose by taking a shot with a rookie quarterback at the beginning of the season, Fisher messed up this decision big time by waiting this long to finally put Goff in. Now, it will be interesting to see if Fisher is even around for the long run to help develop Goff when considering the head coach has been on the hot seat for a few weeks.
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