As LA Rams cool on Goff, NFL Rumors heat up on Texans’ Watson

As the LA Rams‘ view of starting quarterback Jared Goff cools, NFL Rumors about the possible imminent trade of Houston Texans Deshaun Watson heat up. Is it all mere coincidence? Or are the two separate stories somehow interrelated behind the scenes? Have the Rams soured to Goff because they are enamored at the possibility of acquiring Watson? Or has the chance, however remote, of landing quarterback Deshaun Watson now forced the Rams to examine Jared Goff by comparison, and force them to conclude that Watson is the better of the two.

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Right now, the LA Rams and starting quarterback Jared Goff do not have a lot of fire, smoke, or heat. In fact, the relationship between the LA Rams organization and Goff has chilled. If it was a flower or fruit in the garden, we’d expect that there would be a hard freeze warning alert. The tone of the Rams head coach Sean McVay about his quarterback took a turn for the worse.

Of course, that had a dramatically positive effect on Goff. After committing 17 turnovers in his first 11 games before McVay publicly shamed his quarterback, Goff committed just three turnovers in his last six games, including two appearances in the NFL Playoffs.  To many, that was just too much too little too late. Perhaps in the eyes of McVay and the LA Rams organization, it was as well.

Goff seemed to peak much too soon in a typical NFL quarterback’s career. He arrived in 2016 to a tepid rookie season. But after joining forces with newly hired head coach McVay in 2017, Goff carried the Rams to an 11-5 season and into the NFL Playoffs. In just two seasons together in the NFL, the Rams were 13-3, the top seed in the NFL, and competed in Super Bowl LIII.

Goff’s career hiccups, as does the Rams

And then the career of quarterback Jared Goff hiccuped. After three years of steady improvement of passing touchdowns, Jared Goff has now had two years where his passing touchdowns total has declined. Is he throwing too many passes? His 2020 number of passing attempts at 552 were nearly identical to his 2018 total of passing attempts of 561. And in neither case did they match his 2019 total of 626 attempts.

Goff is throwing more, but getting less. In some manner, much less.

So perhaps it’s the ratio of passes to runs. In 2018, Goff’s best statistical season, the LA Rams rushed 459 times for 2,231 yards and 23 touchdowns. In that same year, Goff threw 368 of 568 passes for 4,730 yards, 32 TDs, and 12 INTs.

By 2019, the Rams rushed 401 times for 1,499 yards and 20 TDs. In that year, Goff was 397 of 632 passes for 4,669 yards, 22 TDs, and 17 INTs.

Finally, in 2020, the Rams rushed 473 times for 2019 yards and 19 touchdowns. But it didn’t resurrect Goff, who threw 370 of 552 attempts for 3,952 yards, 20 TDs, and 13 INTs.

It wasn’t the offensive line. It wasn’t the running game. Even as Goff improved his accuracy in 2020 to a career-best 67 percent,  he regressed. McVay loves the passing game and only tolerates the run to set up his next pass. Goff right now is in a backslide.  But is there more to this story?

What ‘innovation’ to the offense have the Rams truly unleashed onto the NFL in 2019? In 2020? We know we certainly expected some of the late-season ‘fixes’ to appear more often in 2020 than they did. And we certainly were looking for the Rams to get more playing time out of their highly drafted skilled-players. In fact, the Rams 2020 offense was about as predictable and vanilla as ever.  Why?

LaFleur leaves, and the Rams offense regresses

But perhaps too little credit was given to then offensive coordinator Matt LeFleur. He was the offensive coordinator for the LA Rams in 2017, which coincides with the sudden showcase of Goff’s talent. Since he became the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, the Packers’ offense looks very Ram-esque with a strong and diverse running game used to set up a deadly passing game.

Since LeFleur’s departure, the Rams offense continued to improve in 2018 on momentum but has since fallen from the second-placed offense in 2018, to the seventh-placed offense in 2019, to the eleventh-placed offense in 2020. Of course, 2019 was masked behind a bad offensive line. Or was it? So much time passed before the Rams modified the offense to reflect the fact that 80 percent of the offensive line was injured,

This is not a scarecrow tactic to deflect criticism of Goff. But oftentimes we treat the symptoms and fail to cure the underlying problem. After all, the Rams discovered in December 2019 that tight end Tyler Higbee could flash the brilliance of elite play. His 522 yards receiving was outstanding. After the season, not only were the Rams hyped to get him back onto the field but were eager to line him up next to teammate TE Gerald Everett. The results?

The pair combined for under 1000 yards and just six, thwarting the bold preseason claims of getting one if not both to the 1000 yards plateau this season.  That was after the pair combined for over 1100 yards and five touchdowns in 2019.  The Rams simply forget about the tight end position in the postseason this year. Everett was absent in two games, while Higbee caught three of five passes for nine yards.  Was that all on Goff as well? Or did the Rams simply fall into the same old patterns of three and four wide receiver sets, just as they had done in 2018?

It was not until the Rams were forced to start backup quarterback John Wolford that the Rams offense showed flashes of ingenuity and innovation. And that finally led the Rams to break out the wildcat against the Packers. Where was that all season?

Prestidigitation

Of course, even if Goff had played his best in 2020, the opportunity to acquire Houston Texans quarterback would most certainly be a topic of discussion for the LA Rams front office and coaching staff. After all, if backup quarterback John Wolford can invigorate Sean McVay,

And so places a different spin on the developing scenario in the LA Rams organization right now. In the postgame press conference, Sean McVay made an uncharacteristically harsh-toned comment in regards to starting quarterback Jared Goff. Everyone who heard it reached the same conclusion: One of the discussions within the organization is the future of Goff. And part of that conversation will most definitely include other options for the Rams.

Right now, the latest reported NFL Rumors seem to confirm that the Texans are having similar conversations about quarterback Deshaun Watson’s future. Per Adam Schefter, Watson has played his last snap for the Texans.  And that’s not something that is just brushed aside.

As a follow-up, per Adam Schefter, the Texans had had discussions about trading Watson now. Clearly they believe his resolve to want out of Houston.  And while \tThat is a bit complicated because Watson has a no-trade clause in his newly signed contract, Watson will surely waive that for the right team.

So both sides seem primed to do something. And if you know anything about the LA Rams, you know that the team’s general manager, Les Snead, does not shy away from blockbuster trades. But is this the type of deal Snead would be part of? Where there is smoke, there is fire. But what smoke is there connecting the two teams?

ESPN Stephen a Smith spots smoke signals

Yes, there are reports of the LA Rams tossing their hat in the ring to the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes. And the unlikely source was none other than ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who announced getting a text message stating the Rams interest in acquiring Watson while broadcasting live on-air.

His announcement came almost as an interruption to the scheduled topics, as he announced the following:

"‘Charlie! (yep, yep) One of the things I will say, the Rams are another option because the Rams would entertain trading Goff AND picks to Houston. They’d send picks along with Goff to get themselves on Watson. We can’t ignore that. Somebody, a source, just texted me that information, guys. That’s not me and my opinion. A source just gave me that information a few minutes ago.’- per ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, on-air broadcast"

Can the Rams pull off a blockbuster trade?

Yes, they can, and have done so throughout their history under GM Les Snead. The Rams traded a host of picks for the right to draft QB Jared Goff in 2016.  In 2018, Goff was competing with the Rams in a Super Bowl.  The Rams traded another bundle of picks for defensive back Jalen Ramsey.

The pattern is undeniable. And so, NFL Rumors that mention the LA Rams involvement in discussing or negotiating a blockbuster deal is an undeniable pattern. The Rams get involved in big trades and make bold moves. They’ve only fallen as low as 9-7 in one season under McVay. McVay wins because Snead continues to load up the Rams team with elite talent. Right now, Stephen A. Smith is reporting that the Rams consider Watson an elite quarterback, and want him.

Believable yes. Valid? TBD.

And that is simply enough of a thread, valid or fictitious, to tie all of these separate elements into one large and comprehensive narrative.  Similar rumors became reality a year ago when the Rams were reportedly rumored to be moving on from star running back Todd Gurley.  Those rumors gained steam when WR Brandin Cooks’ name was added to the whispers.

The same doubts over the Rams’ likelihood of acting then are present now. Protesters argued: ‘The Rams will never move him, as they’ll take a huge hit in their salary cap to do so.’  and ‘Who else will the Rams get? They won’t do it because nobody will trade for that player with that hug contract.’  And yet, just weeks later, both were gone. The Rams cut Gurley outright. Several weeks later, the Rams traded Cooks.

But do the Rams have enough draft picks to pull it off? Well, the Rams return to round one in the 2022 NFL Draft and thereafter. And the 2022 NFL Draft will most likely be far more predictable than that of the 2021 variety. Not only will new scouting techniques be developed to emphasize virtual assessment, but the NCAAF league will likely return to normal in 2021.  The 2022 NFL Draft will be far more intriguing to NFL teams as a result.

Deals are not easy to pull off. While so many doubt the Rams’ ability to pry Watson from the Texans, there are many advantages to why a Goff + picks package could be the most tempting of all. Goff gives the Texans the ability to compete and win now. Despite his regression, he continues to be one of the most successful quarterbacks in the NFL. And with his inclusion in a host of first-round picks, the Texans not only get an immediate NFL starting quarterback on day one, but a bevy of NFL draft picks to build around him.

How much do the Texans value Rams QB Goff? If they discuss trading Watson to the Rams, likely far more than NFL Fans. Yes, Goff could be diminishing. But many elite quarterbacks click in years six through ten, and Goff is about to enter his sixth season.  In fact, Goff may already be doing exactly that.

The NFL salary cap won’t stop any trade between the Texans and the Rams. And no, a lack of draft picks won’t stop the Rams from compiling a very competitive package for the Texans’ quarterback Watson. There are only two factors that will stop this trade from happening? How interested are the Houston Texans is acquiring Rams quarterback Jared Goff in the exchange? And how interested are both teams in making this deal happen?

If both teams are highly motivated, a deal happens, just like it did when the LA Rams traded WR Brandin Cooks to the Texans. I don’t have any insider information. And I’m no soothsayer. That’s just how things work in the NFL. Buckle up. This story is growing some legs.