Dan Orlovsky calls Rams QB Jared Goff a kid who wants to be very good

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff had a rough rookie year, but his sophomore season showed an amazing turnaround.  Former LA quarterback and journeyman Dan Orlovsky shares why.

Last week, we looked at the comments that the third string quarterback in training camp last year, Dan Orlovsky, made about Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay.  Today we look at his impressions he shared with Ross Tucker on being in the same meeting room with now third year QB Jared Goff.

It’s worth a reminder that Orlovsky was priamrily charged with being a mentor and film room guy while he was in LA. That said, the insight on what was happening with what would become one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses is worth reading about.

"With Jared I saw a kid that genuinely wanted to be really good. Now I can’t sit here and tell you that he wants to be great because I didn’t spend enough time with him, but in the short amount it was obvious to me that he wanted to be good. We were always talking football, I would spend time at his house, we would watch film together, he’s got all that set up. That’s not fake. When I walked into his house he’s got his room set up with film and he’s got his dry erase boards and his dry erase boards are littered with notes. That’s not fake. That’s someone that when they’re watching film is doing their homework."

This is so important for a fanbase to see: the starting quarterback putting in the study time.  Watching film on one’s own time does not guarantee a quarterback will be good, but it is almost impossible to be a difference maker without it. Goff doing all the little things is a likely indicator he has his eyes on the bigger picture. For Los Angeles heading into a season with such high expectations, those little things could be a huge factor.

"He threw the ball very naturally. To me that’s a big deal because it’s rare when you find some guy that’s going to be really good that doesn’t throw the ball naturally. When I say naturally I mean like a natural throwing motion, when you watch the person throw you go, “Now that guy was born to throw a football.” There are guys who break the mold. Phillip Rivers is a guy that has an abnormal throwing motion but Jared had a really natural throwing motion."

Goff being a “natural thrower of the football” is probably not a surprise, as it was part of the makeup the Los Angeles Rams liked when they moved up to take a quarterback with the top pick in 2016.  This next part, however, I found the most interesting, and really speaks to the demeanor of a young quarterback still learning his craft:

"And then the last thing that stood out to me, this was kind of a unique thing but we would go stretches in practice where Jared would have a rough four or five play stretches, and I’m talking rough rough, like plays where you would scratch your head and go, “Jared what are you doing? What do you see? How did that ball come out of your hand like that?” and he wouldn’t blink he would just go on to the next play.  And he just had this really good ability to not have a memory when it came to the bad stuff and he would just go on and move on."

Goff has the demeanor of the kid from California that comes across in interviews too.  He is calm, relaxed, and takes things as they come.  At the same time, he has the drive to be great. If there was a knock on him entering the 2017 season, it was not being sure the calm California demeanor would translate to Sunday afternoon in the National Football League.

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It will be interesting to see how a full year in McVay’s system allows him to take the next step in his performance.  The Los Angeles Rams need him to be good in order to make a run deep in the playoffs. It’s fair to say he’s still a work in progress, so let’s hope that a year later Goff is still working just as hard.