Winning is a priority for the Rams, just not the first one

Are the Los Angeles Rams willing to sacrifice wins in order to make sure Jared Goff gets a chance to be a starting quarterback? Since an open competition is out  of the question in LA, it’s a fair question to ask.

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay said a lot without saying much when queried about Sean Mannion starting over Jared Goff.

This is McVay according to Alden Gonzalez at ESPN:

"“You can see that Sean’s a conscientious guy where he was really working on some of the little things from the offseason program and he was able to translate it to where he built on what he did in the offseason as opposed to starting over,” says McVay."

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Reading between the lines is not required. Jared Goff is the starting quarterback for the Rams in 2017, and short of an injury, nothing prevents that scenario.

My question is this: why is winning the second priority next to auditioning Goff? I get that there is a need to validate the trade that made his selection possible. But with a defense as good as theirs, and a chance some of that personnel is not in Los Angeles after this season, why not try and win this season?

The Rams have created a mess at the quarterback position with more legitimate questions than reasonable answers for them. It’s not a reach Los Angeles could go anywhere from 1-7 to 2-6 to open the first half of the 2017 season. Does that kind of record keep Goff on the field working out his quest towards being an NFL quarterback AND giving the LA front office some needed cover?

Let’s not forget some of those horrible numbers from 2016: The fourth lowest completion percentage (54.6), fourth worst TD to interception ratio (0.71), second worst QBR (22.2), and last but not least, the fewest passing yards per attempt at 5.31 yds.

To listen to Jerry Goff, Jared’s father, Mr. Goff should be reminded that this is the Los Angeles Rams, not the California Golden Bears, and the PAC-12 isn’t the NFC West.

It’s a different reality in LA, and the question will be how long is the leash that McVay provides, or more accurately, that Les Snead provides, who desperately needs this pick to pay off.

I’ve written that McVay, the Rams, and specifically Jared Goff, get a free pass in 2017. After last season and all the changes that came after, I get that, and most fans do as well. But the window of good faith will start to close pretty quickly if this season gets upside again before Halloween.

My question remains, is Mannion better than Goff?

That’s not the question the Rams want you asking because they hope that never comes up in Los Angeles.

But that’s the problem. LA is more interested in making sure the organization can say they got it right, no matter the losses.

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Winning MAY be a casualty in 2017, and few seem to consider that so long as Jared gets his shot to be “the guy.”

If any team deserved a wide open competition at quarterback, it’s the Rams. Problem is, competition is the last thing they want in Los Angeles.

Even if it means winning has to wait a year, or even two.