Sean McVay hints ex-QB Jared Goff can’t read defenses
You can bet head coach Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams are thrilled to land a massive upgrade at quarterback in Matthew Stafford for the 2021 season and beyond.
McVay confirmed this notion in a recent interview on The Rich Eisen Show, which was as much about what the wunderkind coach said as what he didn’t say about departed Detroit Lions signal-caller Jared Goff.
While McVay acknowledged during the discussion that Goff showed grit by coming back from surgery on his right thumb to win a playoff game this past postseason, he also gushed about his new QB and implied that Stafford can do fundamental things at a high level that Goff, frankly, can’t.
“You’re able to execute your play-actions, your movements, and those things, but when you get into third down and those known passing [situations]…the two-minute drills at the end of the half, end of the game…The way that [Stafford]’s able to move and manipulate the pocket…to recognize and understand coverage and make all five eligibles come alive, the way that he can create off-schedule in the pocket, out of the pocket, and just the overall competitiveness and command.
“Those are the things that I think he brings to the table. […] When you’re asked to get through progressions, recognize reads, solve problems protection-wise, you’re seeing him do a lot of those things.”
McVay owned up to his role in the deterioration of his relationship with Goff, namely chalking it up to a communication breakdown.
I mean, if I were McVay, drawing up genius plays and making the game so simple for Goff to the point where I’m literally reading the defense for him pre-snap, and he still couldn’t execute and kept turning the ball over, squandering a great running game and the NFL’s No. 1 defense in the process, I think I’d be pretty unwilling to communicate, too.
That was a long but necessary sentence.
Goff was just downright horrible over the past two seasons. Whenever a hint of pressure crept into the pocket, the former No. 1 overall pick froze. Now, he’s expected to elevate a mess of an organization in Detroit that’s in the midst of probably the biggest rebuild in the NFL right now with a new regime.
While it helps that longtime Rams front office member Brad Holmes is the Lions’ new general manager, you can bet Goff doesn’t have a very long leash. Maybe a crack at the starting gig this coming season. Beyond that, who knows?
