Jared Goff Will Not Be The Next Sam Bradford For The Los Angeles Rams

With the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Rams selected Jared Goff to be their quarterback of the future. While the team is hoping everything works out, the last time the Rams selected a quarterback first overall it did not work out well as of course that was Sam Bradford.

Ironically, it was the Bradford trade that helped the team move up to the number one overall pick, however, hopefully that is the only connection that Bradford and Goff will ever share.

Bradford’s time with the Rams was complicated and while there was so much promise, it just never worked out.  There is no question that Bradford was a decent quarterback, not elite, not even good, but decent. A one-time Heismann-winner clearly possessed the natural abilities that would make him a serviceable starter in the NFL.

Bradford was by no means a bust in the same ball park as Ryan Leaf or Jamarcus Russell, but he failed to do what he was drafted to do, which was to lead his franchise to victory. It wasn’t entirely his fault though, as he was never given a fair shot. He had multiple offensive coordinators and was never given decent weapons. Unfortunately, due to injury, he was never able to relish the rewards of the RGIII trade.

The best way to describe the Sam Bradford situation is a tragedy. The destruction of a quarterback who had so much promise. In order for Jared Goff to have success in the NFL, they must do things differently, and believe it or not, they are already off to a good start.

When Bradford joined the Rams in 2010, he was joining arguably one of the worst team’s in NFL history. A team that had gone 1-15 the year before and the only win was against the Detroit Lions. He joined a roster that had Danny Amendola and Steven Jackson as the only legitimate offensive weapons. Not to mention he joined an offensive line that featured Jason Smith, Jacob Bell, and John Greco.

While Amendola and Jackson were decent weapons, that was the entire Rams offense. That was it. Jared Goff is coming into a much better situation. Steven Jackson was a good running back, but Gurley is on the verge of being elite. Tavon Austin is much more dynamic than Danny Amendola. Moving to the outside, the Rams have much better talent with Kenny Britt and Brian Quick considering Bradford had Laurent Robinson and Brandon Gibson as his primary targets.

Goff’s offensive line also contains Rob Havenstein, who proved to be a solid right tackle, Roger Saffold and Jamon Brown, both of which are decent guards inside, and while there are questions about Greg Robinson, his play got better at the end of last season and he’s put in a lot of work to get even better over the last few months.

To say Goff is joining a better offense talent-wise, is an understatement. The 2015 Rams may have struggled on a consistent basis having one of the worst offenses in the league and having one of the worst third down teams in league history, but it wasn’t because they didn’t have play-makers.

Last season, the Rams actually ranked 14th in passing plays of 40 or more yards, and ranked first in that category on running plays. Meanwhile, the 2009 Rams ranked last in passing plays and tied for 7th in running plays in the same category.

A rookie quarterback with a good defense to compliment him can also help him develop and the 2010 Rams defense was nowhere near the talent level of the 2016 Rams defense. While Bradford’s defense featured Chris Long, James Laurinaitis, Craig Dahl, and Bradley Fletcher, Goff’s Rams feature Aaron Donald, Robert Quinn, Alec Ogletree, and Trumaine Johnson.

While Bradford was joining a 1-15 team, Goff is joining a team that went 7-9 and has been on the verge of making the playoffs. The team that Goff is joining is much different from the team that Bradford was joining.

The key to Goff’s success will be to continue to give him weapons and build a team around him. That will be difficult as the Rams don’t have a lot of picks this year or next, but it’s not like this team was decimated of talent. They have the reigning offensive rookie of the year, former defensive rookie of they year, and play-makers on both sides of the ball.

It will also be important to keep everything around him consistent. A big reason for Bradford’s fall and really the fall of a lot of young quarterbacks, is having to change offensive coordinators every year. In both years under “Spags”, Bradford had two different offensive coordinators which is tough on any young player. Bradford then got his third offensive coordinator in as many years when Jeff Fisher and Brian Schottenheimer came to town.

That much change for any player is difficult, let alone a young quarterback in charge of a team. Eli Manning, who is considered an elite quarterback by many, underwent a coordinator change in 2014. In the first half of the season, Manning averaged 241.5 yards per game with 62.9 completion percentage and QBR of 59.6. In the second half of the year, the Giants quarterback averaged 309.75 yards per game, a completion percentage of 64.78%, and a QBR of 61.9. Over an 8-game span, that’s a significant difference and shows that Manning got better with a new offense as the season progressed.

The Rams just hired Rob Boras and Mike Groh to take over the offense. It’s only a matter of time before it’s seen what type of offense it is and how successful it can be, but for Goff’s sake and development, hopefully it works out as it’s the quarterbacks who have one offensive coordinator for multiple years that find success in the NFL.

Jared Goff, the kid from California, hopefully can be the savior that this team needs and take them back to the postseason for the first time in over a decade. The fans want to win and he wants to win. It’s only natural to make the comparison to Bradford, some have already started:

However, this Rams team and the Rams team in 2010 is like comparing apples and oranges. Fisher and Snead have overturned the roster and built a contending team that was missing a quarterback. They found their guy in Goff and traded up to go get him, it’s only a matter of time before we know how it turns out.

When all is said and done hopefully the Jared Goff story will be remembered more as the California kid who played in LA and became their savior than a tragedy and a bust.