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Elliot Harrison on GMFB, explains #2 Rams Ranking

People keep talking about Gurley being back to how he was in his rookie year but he’s even better than that.
I agree, after looking up the numbers through the first 7 games of the season Gurley is close to the type of season David Johnson had last year. I mention Johnson because he was in the running for some awards last season. The biggest difference between the two is that Gurley's team is actually winning games.

Gurley- 627 rushing yards, 5 TD, 293 receiving yards, 3 TD
Johnson- 681 rushing, 8 TD, 323 receiving, 0 TD

Photographic evidence that Jared Goff is a much better QB

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angele...-evidence-that-jared-goff-is-a-much-better-qb

By: Alden Gonzalez ESPN Writer


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Jared Goff won zero games through seven starts in 2016, but has won five games through seven starts in 2017.

He absorbed 26 sacks in the Los Angeles Rams' final seven games last season, but only 10 in the first seven this season.

As a rookie, the former No. 1 overall pick completed 54.6 percent of his passes, averaged 4.3 yards per attempt, threw five touchdowns to seven interceptions and posted a Total QBR of 18.3. As a second-year player, he has completed 59.9 percent of his passes, averaged 7.7 yards per attempt, thrown nine touchdowns to four interceptions and posted a Total QBR of 53.6.

So, yeah, things are looking up for Goff.

He isn't an elite quarterback yet, but there's restored hope in the belief that he someday might be. And there's comfort in knowing that he is at least serviceable now, while less than two weeks removed from his 23rd birthday. A lot of the credit for the improvement has been directed at Goff's surroundings: He's operating under a friendlier scheme, while taking snaps behind a better offensive line, and throwing to a more dynamic group of receivers.

But Goff himself got better, too.

"He's done a good job of improving throughout this first part of the season," Rams first-year head coach Sean McVay said. "I think he's gotten better and better. Any time that you're able to learn from your experiences, both good and bad, you're going to give yourself a chance for growth."

Below are five screen grabs to help illustrate that growth. Three were taken from the best game of Goff's professional life, when he went 22-of-28 for 292 yards and three touchdowns in a win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 21. Two others were taken from Goff's worst performance of the year, when he turned the ball over three times in an Oct. 8 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
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While he sat through the first half last year, former Rams quarterback Jim Everett identified Goff as someone who can "visualize the deep ball better than anyone on that roster." After studying film from 2016, McVay saw past Goff's struggles and continually referenced his "arm talent."

It showed in the throw above, a 47-yard completion to Sammy Watkins.

Watkins made a nice over-the-shoulder catch. But Goff stepped up into the pocket off play-action and dropped that throw in the only place he could, right between two defenders downfield. Goff has already completed 27 passes that have traveled at least 15 yards through the air, third-most in the NFL. Last year, he completed only 10 such passes.

On that play, Watkins said Goff "threw a great ball to protect me from the safety."
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There may not be a more impressive Goff throw than this one, which somehow resulted in a 31-yard completion to Robert Woods.

49ers defensive lineman Arik Armstead found himself free on a stunt and was bearing down on Goff. But Goff moved to his right, then uncorked a deep ball to the right sideline off one foot. The throw was perfectly placed in Woods' back shoulder, allowing him to make the catch despite very tight coverage.

Goff has only completed 36.7 percent of his passes outside the pocket this year (ranked 26th among 32 qualified quarterbacks) and only 37.7 percent of his passes when pressured (24th). But that throw was proof that he has the talent to get it done in those situations, too.
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Goff may not have Carson Wentz's athleticism, but he has been known to surprise people with the way he moves. And this year, his pocket awareness and overall patience has allowed him to run free when things break down.

The play above is a prime example. It was 3rd and 10 from midfield at the 13-minute mark of the third quarter, and the Seahawks brought the blitz. Six defenders went after Goff, but they left the middle of the field wide open. Goff dropped back, then immediately sprinted ahead, navigating towards the sideline and running safely out of bounds for a 22-yard run, the longest of his career.

Goff has run for 45 yards this year, nearly three times what he ran for as a rookie. Two weeks after that game, in a 33-0 win over the Arizona Cardinals from London, he had a nine-yard run that resulted in his first rushing touchdown of the season -- on a read-option.

"I've been begging them to call that for a long time now," Goff said. "For a few weeks. I keep going, 'Call it, call it, call it.' And so when it came in, I was like, 'All right, here we go.'"
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This play resulted in an incompletion, but it could've easily been the game-winning score -- largely because of what Goff did before getting rid of the football. Trailing by six with 67 seconds remaining and no timeouts, Goff hit on a 35-yard pass and a 20-yard pass to get to the Seahawks' 20-yard line. That brings us to the play pictured above, on 3rd and 10 with 12 seconds left.

Check out where Goff's eyes were directed. Five-time Pro Bowler Earl Thomas, lined up as the single-high safety, was trying to bait Goff into an interception. But Goff looked him off, making Thomas dart to his right. That allowed Cooper Kupp to get free on a skinny post near the middle of the end zone. Goff reset, then delivered the throw on time and on target. But it went off Kupp's fingertips and fell harmlessly to the ground.

The Rams lost, but Thomas was impressed with the way he was taken out of that play.

"Hats off to Goff," Thomas said after the game. "He's way better than last year."
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Of all the plays Goff made in that Thursday night game near his hometown, this is the one his coaches raved about.

It wasn't flashy, but it came in a big spot and was the product of sensible decision-making. Facing 3rd and 10, with the Rams up by eight from the 49ers' 46-yard line in the fourth quarter, Goff dropped back and scanned the field. He quickly went through all of his progressions, didn't see anyone open and instead dumped it off to Todd Gurley, who turned it into a 27-yard gain to help set up another touchdown.

Goff kept it simple and didn't force it, which might be the area where he has made the biggest strides as a second-year quarterback. Goff has combined for only three turnovers in six of his seven games. His 2.25 touchdown-to-interception ratio is only slightly above the NFL average (1.92), but it's significantly better than the 0.71 mark he carried as a rookie.

McVay has made it a point not to heap effusive praise on Goff, but he has also made sure not to set the expectations too high.

"We just want him to continue to take those daily steps, and he's done that and been receptive," McVay said, crediting offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur and quarterbacks coach Greg Olson for Goff's continued development. "We're in a good place. By no means are we where we want to be, but I think he's doing a great job of leading. And that's a credit to Jared.”

The most cringe worthy video of all time

And McVay was 15 :LOL:

I'm just a tad younger than Mcvay turning 30 soon. But I remember the Janet Jackson thing. Maybe it's because I'm from Utah. The small world I lived in went nuts for a little while.

I would also note that I have heard people say "Mcvay remembers plays from before he was born" and this could honestly be an argument tossed either way.

Mcvay. . . . Game Tape vs. Half time show. . .

I'd wager that he saw it or at least is familiar with it. But I'd also wager that he doesn't really care for whatever the half time show boat is. . .

Louis Reddick: Jared Goff has limitless potential [Reminds him of Joe Montana].

Goff's always going to throw some ducks, and that's no big deal when you have the arm he's got.

Riddick is like a lot of these experts where he tends to "see" what players can do only once they've shown it a bit on the field at the NFL level. But he was nowhere to be seen on the Rams in general this offseason that I can recall, other than he didn't bash on Jared like his contemporaries. Seem to remember him suckin up to the whiners as well, because I recall thinking his spin on their personnel was ridiculously positive.

Bottom line is the talent evaluators who have the ability to see talent on rosters even when things around them aren't good, who can properly guesstimate what players are capable of, are the types who are employed by clubs. And in this stretch of asinine groupthink re: Jared Goff in the media, it's going to serve as a nice lesson for a lot of them that you might want to do your homework in those jobs.

I tend to be a kool-aid drinker so not gonna act all knowing just because I was finally right about some things wrt the Rams this year. But I don't get paid to analyze football. The guys who do, however, should have been able to see the pieces the Rams had in place even though the team had crashed and burned in 2016, and should have understood what so many of us here on this board did, that this past offseason fixed a lot of the wrongs and actually had a chance to win some games.

And this is why I just don't waste my time listening to these clowns, because tbh I think without the resources of a club around them they're just straight ignorant of what team rosters are, their relative strengths and weaknesses. By that I mean I'd trust the, say, Redskins message board fan opinions on their roster over some talking head that happens to be covering them for an article. Just my take.

I think Riddick was the one (maybe the only one) that was supportive even throughout last year's debacle. I think I recall a couple times where Riddick said last year was a wash and shouldn't be considered when evaluating Goff, due to the train wreck. He's always been optimistic on this team, for some reason.

I don't think there is anybody that watched Goff last year that did not come out at least a little concerned. However, after going back and watching the college tapes and seeing how he navigated and stood in the pocket, I saw some of those same things even last year, despite the circumstances. I was guarded in regards to how he would respond, and I don't even care about the numbers right now, he just looks great in the pocket, period. His accuracy and decision making will improve as he gets more and more live reps.

Interesting Tidbit

Steve Dils. Wow. That's the one. Monday nite. I think i still have that game recorded on VHS.
I remember it well. I hated Dils, he was terrible. When the Rams traded for Everett, I couldnt wait for him to play. It was kind of similar to last season when I wanted the Everett to play, but Bartkowski was playing ok enough and the team was winning, so he kept playing. Then he got hurt and I was sure Jimbo would play but it was Dils. God awful Dils....

Well, I think we’re just 3 items short of being an elite team, y’all...

Not counting the usual disclaimer about avoiding too many injuries, of course.

Please bear with me for a moment as I do a quickie review from 30,000 feet...

First, Wade’s D. Somehow, some way, Wade has molded this unit that has only one All Pro on it into a kick butt scoring D. Moving Brockers, moving Joyner, starting JJ are looking like brilliant decisions. Some of us were worried about Tree and Barron, but not anymore. Even Barwin has stepped up lately and Quinn showed some signs of life vs the Cards. It’s been a wade synergy thing.

Here’s the bottom line. Last 14 consecutive quarters they’ve yielded 39 points. And that includes 7 points from that gifted run to Fournette on the blown gap assignment on the Jag first play. This outstanding little D scoring run averages out to around 11 points per game. THAT will get the danged job done, huh? I don’t expect that 11 ppg average to continue, but then again, I do expect these players to continue to improve as a unit as they further gel together. Love me some Wade! Take a bow, sir.


Second, Fassel’s ST. Wouldn’t trade these guys for anyone else in the league. Hekker is simply the best, a definite All Pro. GZ is leading the danged league in scoring! Missed only one attempt through 7 games. Pharoh has been outstanding on KOR and has been an upgrade since taking over PR duties. Our coverage and return units have been outstanding. Take a bow, coach Fassel!


Thirdly, McVay’s O. What an improvement! Worst to first in scoring. Hardly recognize the “new” Goff and Gurley. Kromer’s job with this OL can’t be overstated, another worst to top 5 effort. Kupp and Woods have been beyond impressive and have mastered the O since camp, at least. McVay’s play calling and creation of mismatches has been superb. We rarely get outcoached, anymore. The entire O coaching staff deserves to take a bow, too.


Helluva job by all of the above, so far.

So, what are my 3 items needed to get us to elite status? (No, I didn’t stutter. I did say elite).

1) Get Watkins fully incorporated into this O. He’s just not there, yet. He needs to fully grasp this O, the audible options, and his sight adjustments such that he and Goff are on the same damned page at all times. Goes without saying that he needs to demonstrate 100% effort with good body language. Watkins is potentially an O beast for us. He can threaten the D short, medium, and deep on every single snap and force the D to gameplan just for him, loosening things up even more for our other weapons. Somehow, our staff needs to reach Watkins and see that he “gets it”, and the sooner the better. Watkins is a scoring machine waiting to happen.

2) Next is Higbee/Everett. McVay is known as a TE whisperer, but so far all we’ve seen from these 2 are occasional flashes. I think both are capable of much more. I can’t wait to see our 2 TE’s become the terrors that some other teams enjoy. I think this will come, but if it comes soon, look out! Opposing DC’s won’t know whether to crap or wind their watch! Lol.

3) Last, but not least is improving our red zone scoring. It’s baffling that with this OL, this QB, these TE’s and WR’s, not to mention Gurley, that this team should struggle down there. This is the item of my 3 that I think may be most difficult to achieve. McVay reportedly struggled with this in Washington, too. But if he can get a handle on this shortcoming, Katie bar the door!

The good news is that I think it’s looking like a short 3 step hop, skip, and a jump from very good to elite status for us. NOBODY could have foreseen this back in July. More good news is that I suspect all 3 of these items can and will be addressed before the playoffs begin. See what I did there? Lol.

Thoughts or comments welcome, y’all.

Overall it's a very good enjoyable post.

1. Defense has improved greatly. The run defense has stepped up and is setting the tone. The pass defense still needs improvement. I see Webster giving way too much cushion. He makes plays in the run game and support but, his coverage needs to be much tighter. When given some time opposing QBs have had success. Against teams that don't drop the ball and make mistakes it could be a problem. Would be good if Quinn can pick it up. If not the others have to do it.

2. The offense has been so much improved. It still has it's problems which you addressed. I agree that Watkins and Goff need to get on the same page. A little TE improvement would be great. We have seen some glimpses. The Goff run option TD could help the red zone scoring, That's the second time he has run IIRC. Need to improve the third and short conversions as well. A steady improvement would be great.

3. Nearly perfect special teams.

If all three phases of the game are running near optimum the Rams can play with anyone.

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