[Drew31]

Goff is 24, but now will be going into his 4th year. Rams will not extend him. He needs to take another step next year. If he's "still learning to deal with pressure" at this point next year, I'd think hard before investing a big contract in him.

Going forward what is your preferred option? Draft a QB or look for trade/FA? Joe Flacco is being shipped.. would he be the ticket? Or Foles? Both guys have won the big one.

I am not being facetious, just wish to understand where the improvement under centre is coming from....because for me Goff has proven everything he needed to. He made big time clutch throws in the NFCC even after a rough start to the game and he has put up all-pro numbers under McVay.

I look around the league at younger passers and older ones and I am very happy with our lot. VERY happy.

He didn't have his best game, no, but yesterdays team offensive failure is not going to make me overlook the excellent work Goff has done to this point.

Going forward, there is not a chance in hell I would want rid of a just turned 24 year old who has kept improving under a coach who seems to be earnestly evaluating his mistakes and most importantly, has the capacity to correct them.

Call it faith, but I have a very strong belief that this QB/HC pair will be playing big games in the near future.

[HAL 9000]

any decent performance today and we're champs.

As far as the offense, this is very accurate. But I blame McVay and the O-line.

Cooks really dropped the ball in this game, pardon the pun. If he catches those two perfect passes from Goff the game is totally different. And don't get me started on the phantom hold that negated Gurleys big run for a first down.

Those three plays sealed the Rams fate.

[actionjack]

Fans can be very knee jerk with their post game reactions. If they were in charge there would be a new coach after every loss. Every losing quarterback would be traded along with other players across the board. Fortunately, teams operate with a bigger picture in mind.

Yes, Goff played poorly. Yes, McVay was out coached. Yes, the line played poorly. But you know what? They were pretty darn good most the season. One game isn't going to define them.


When they lost that playoff game to Atlanta it stung. But it taught them something. After an 11 win season and division title they came back this year a little smarter. They won 13 games and were the NFC champions.


You don't think when McVay woke up this morning he isn't already thinking about how they check this one last box? The Superbowl? Believe me, he's going to be determined. Maybe even obsessed with coming back and finishing the job.


This team is going to be a force for many years. Goff is going to be the quarterback of that force. For those in the shortsighted crowd, you might as well accept it. If it pains you that much to see Goff as their long term future you might wanna think about another bandwagon. He's going nowhere. Top 5 quarterbacks don't grow on trees.

Goff did not play poorly the o-line played poorly. The RAMS killed themselves with pre-snap penalties and the Pats d-line whipped our o-line. The o-line couldnt run block or pass block. All that being said if Cooks makes some catches could very well be different outcome. He played as good or better than TB.

[actionjack]

As far as the offense, this is very accurate. But I blame McVay and the O-line.

Cooks really dropped the ball in this game, pardon the pun. If he catches those two perfect passes from Goff the game is totally different. And don't get me started on the phantom hold that negated Gurleys big run for a first down.

Those three play sealed the Rams fate.

My thoughts exactly. Nailed it. Also no call on Reynolds getting clearly interfered with.

[SoCalRam78]

Going forward what is your preferred option? Draft a QB or look for trade/FA? Joe Flacco is being shipped.. would he be the ticket? Or Foles? Both guys have won the big one.

I am not being facetious, just wish to understand where the improvement under centre is coming from....because for me Goff has proven everything he needed to. He made big time clutch throws in the NFCC even after a rough start to the game and he has put up all-pro numbers under McVay.

I look around the league at younger passers and older ones and I am very happy with our lot. VERY happy.

He didn't have his best game, no, but yesterdays team offensive failure is not going to make me overlook the excellent work Goff has done to this point.

Going forward, there is not a chance in hell I would want rid of a just turned 24 year old who has kept improving under a coach who seems to be earnestly evaluating his mistakes and most importantly, has the capacity to correct them.

Call it faith, but I have a very strong belief that this QB/HC pair will be playing big games in the near future.

Honestly I think a veteran like Joe Flacco would thrive here. Someone like that. Obviously I'm not replacing Goff under his rookie deal, but he leaves a lot of plays on the field. He misses a lot of easy throws. A lot, even when the Rams were winning. He totally fudged up that first Cooks pass in the end zone. Late on the read and threw a duck. Cooks was wide open, scheme worked. Cooks dropped the other one. But this was a 1-2 play game.

I want nothing more than to see Goff work on these deficiencies and get better at them in his 4th year. I'll gladly eat crow.

[SoCalRam78]

Tell me again how Goff wasn't at fault.

[Drew31]

Honestly I think a veteran like Joe Flacco would thrive here. Someone like that. Obviously I'm not replacing Goff under his rookie deal, but he leaves a lot of plays on the field. He misses a lot of easy throws. A lot, even when the Rams were winning. He totally fudged up that first Cooks pass in the end zone. Late on the read and threw a duck. Cooks was wide open, scheme worked. Cooks dropped the other one. But this was a 1-2 play game.

I want nothing more than to see Goff work on these deficiencies and get better at them in his 4th year. I'll gladly eat crow.

We'll agree to disagree on Flacco, because I watch a lot of Ravens games with my brother who is a fan and I have to say I feel he misses a lot of throws and his vision is poor (he tends to lock hard onto a target). I feel Goff is a far superior player.

But the last part is most interesting to me and something I want to follow up on if you will indulge?

Do you feel that Goff has improved from his first year under McVay or stayed the same?

And if you do think he improved, do you have any reason to believe that he has now reached the peak of his improvement (which forgive me if I am wrong, but I what i believe you are suggesting)?

Again with respect. Cheers

[Hacksaw]

As far as the offense, this is very accurate. But I blame McVay and the O-line.

Cooks really dropped the ball in this game, pardon the pun. If he catches those two perfect passes from Goff the game is totally different. And don't get me started on the phantom hold that negated Gurleys big run for a first down.

Those three plays sealed the Rams fate.

The ref's call for NRC's hit on a defenseless player showed the tone early on.

[Ramfan99]

With JG, I feel like the pattern is he takes step(s) forward, then step(s) backward:
At the begining of the season, he was on fire (took step forward compared to the previous year. I thought 'he arrived'). Then ran into very close games (could go either way such as Packers, 2 Seahawks games), and lopsided lost at Chicago, Phil.
He played good enough to beat the Saint, then poorly at SB.
His mental ‘rookie’ mistakes in his third year is what bothered me: Yesterday, he ran with the ball out of bound, result in lost yard, instead of dumping it away, no yard lost. Telegraphing the opponent was another one: I recalled in Phil game, he kept looking at one direction for just too long (I was yelling at the TV, “Please don’t throw there, please don’t”, but he did, resulted to INT at Phili 1 yard line, ended our any chance of a comeback. It was not the only time he telegraphed (commentator pointed out) and that’s why I was afraid he was likely to throw the ball there!
Compare to last year (first year with McVay), I can say he’s getting stronger, but overall not better, because of the above patterns. Another bad pattern is not playing well in cold weathers from my observation 2 years in a row. Who was the heck idea of allowing him to use gloves in Seattle? It’s a no, no to me, because no way he could feel it the same as he did bare-hand. My guess of the root cause is he does not have strong grips as other qb. In Southern Cal’s balmy temperature, his grip is adequate, but at low temperature, not much feeling, then his grip became inadequate.
If he was at his average (not his best, just average), we could see a different Super Bowl result, or at least made it entertaining or at least I could say to Saints fan “We deserve to represent NFC” (My afterthought is Saints could make a more entertaining game, but I would not watch SB if Saints vs. Cheaters). JG keeps said the right thing 'Learn from mistake' post game, but can you please learn and fix your mistakes during the games, not after the game? That’s what sport is all about: You are playing for that moment, that game, not for the next game.

[snackdaddy]

No one's disputing Goff played poorly. We're disputing the OP's idea of not picking up his 5th year option or even extending him. If you cut ties with a pro bowl quarterback because he had a bad game in the Superbowl, you're just asking to go into a losing rut. Quarterbacks don't grow on trees. Especially the ones who led their team to 13 wins and a Superbowl.

Like I said, fans like that would go through several coaches and quarterbacks a season if they were in charge. The professionals who make these decisions don't knee jerk react. They stay the course.

There is no reason to think Goff won't improve in these big games. He sure looked like a seasoned vet in the Saints game after falling behind early and dealing with that tough environment. Just because he didn't in the finale doesn't mean its time for a change. It means he's got to learn from this and come back more determined next season.