LA Rams McVay’s ambiguity fuels concerns over Goff’s future

McVay calls out Goff over ball security

After the second loss to the San Francisco 49ers, head coach Sean McVay called out his starting quarterback Jared Goff nationally for the lack of ball security. Of course, Ramblin Fan contributor Tareq Rafiq did as well.  Up to an including that game, Goff had thrown for 10 interceptions and had fumbled the ball seven times in just 11 games.  For the last six games, including two post-season games, Goff had just three interceptions and no fumbles.

So something has clicked.

But something did not for much of the season.  17 turnovers in the first 11 games are horrific. And it required a  national shaming by the head coach to halt that rate of gaffes. But by that time, trust was broken. Many had been hurt too deeply and too frequently.  And with that shattered trust with the fans, can it be so different for the coaching staff?

Not enough improvement?

But was it too little too late?  The Rams relationship with RB Todd Gurley soured after the team tried to manage his workload but really did not see any evidence of a return to his former production. Ultimately, the Rams parted ways with Gurley. That set up the Rams to follow up with the trade of WR Brandin Cooks, whose megadeal made no economic sense when his production regressed as well.

Now Jared Goff is on the same hot seat. The Rams can test the trade market. To some teams, Goff remains the young sharpshooter who led the Rams to the Super Bowl in just his third year, and he is still so young. That’s why the Rams hired OC Kevin O’Connell, to get his positive development back on track.

But Goff seemed to struggle just as much as he had in 2019 at times. It wasn’t long before McVay was commenting that Goff needed to take his shots downfield. Goff eventually did take more shots, but that led to a serious uptick in turnovers. In fact, while Goff’s accuracy showed a nice improvement, his TD/INT ratio did not. Even more alarming, Goff threw for the fewest passing touchdowns in his career since his nightmarish rookie season.  So did O’Connell help, or hurt Goff’s season?

The Rams have a lot to discuss and sort out this offseason. But a comment from the head coach in the last postgame press conference that is ambiguous about the franchise quarterback’s future is one helluva way to end the season.  Is Jared Goff the starting quarterback of the LA Rams?

In the words of LA Rams head coach Sean McVay: ‘Yes, he’s the starting quarterback, RIGHT NOW.’