Are We at the Point Now Where

[Ram77]

Are we at the point now where NFL teams should avoid giving multi-year contracts to Non-Elite QBs? When certain sportswriters were writing columns about how the Rams should draft Goffs replacement before his extension came due people were laughing. However, these mega QB deals truly do decimate depth and talent on the rest of the team. The Rams were the most if not one of the most talented teams from top to bottom while he was on his Rookie deal. Now after losing lots of depth and talent especially on defense and OLine should we in hindsight have thought about trading Goff and drafting his replacement last year? Daniel Jones and Drew Lock may have been there. I know Goff is better than both of those guys but with Mcgenius calling the plays I think they would have been good in this system. Very controversial subject I know. Love Goff but hate losing studs in other areas. (And I know Goffs deal wasnt the only huge one-Cooks, Gurley, Donald)

 

[bluecoconuts]

How many of the consistently good teams (teams that for the last decade you've seen make regular playoff appearances) have QB's who haven't been in place for a while/aren't getting second contracts?

I can't think of any.

 

[thirteen28]

Are we at the point now where NFL teams should avoid giving multi-year contracts to Non-Elite QBs? When certain sportswriters were writing columns about how the Rams should draft Goffs replacement before his extension came due people were laughing. However, these mega QB deals truly do decimate depth and talent on the rest of the team. The Rams were the most if not one of the most talented teams from top to bottom while he was on his Rookie deal. Now after losing lots of depth and talent especially on defense and OLine should we in hindsight have thought about trading Goff and drafting his replacement last year? Daniel Jones and Drew Lock may have been there. I know Goff is better than both of those guys but with Mcgenius calling the plays I think they would have been good in this system. Very controversial subject I know. Love Goff but hate losing studs in other areas. (And I know Goffs deal wasnt the only huge one-Cooks, Gurley, Donald)

No. We're not in that place.

And with the eventual deals that others get (Mahomes, Dak, etc.), Goff is going to look like a steal in a season or two.

 

[UKram]

May I take this point to remind you goff hasn’t actually had a losing season since he became a starter ..

 

[jrry32]

I'd rather take my chances with Goff than risk losing him.

 

[thirteen28]

May I take this point to remind you goff hasn’t actually had a losing season since he became a starter ..

Not to mention last season, with an OL that struggled for much of it, big chunks of the season without one of his top weapons (Cooks), a running game that was reduced in its effectiveness, and a playcaller that was discombobulated for the first 8-10 games, the Rams offense still finished 7th in total yards, 5th in passing yards, and 11th in scoring - with Goff at the helm for all 16 games.

And we around here call that a down year.

 

[simonblaze]

I'd rather take my chances with Goff than risk losing him.

Goff, for all of his faults, has one hell of a ceiling that i dont think he's even close to yet. Once McVay gets shit together (adequate offensive coaching for Goff - QB coach, offensive coordinator) and has the line atleast back to the point where theyre playing average...Goff will start looking like the guy who took us to the superbowl again...

 

[FrantikRam]

How many of the consistently good teams (teams that for the last decade you've seen make regular playoff appearances) have QB's who haven't been in place for a while/aren't getting second contracts?

I can't think of any.

No team has ever done this though.

This meaning that we have a championship caliber roster and choose to let the QB go and keep most everyone else.

It usually goes like this:

Bad team drafts high for years and accumulates talent, finds a QB, wins prior to that QB getting huge payday. Pay the QB, slowly crash and burn over the years:

Falcons
Packers
Saints
Colts
Rams (premature to say we're slowly crashing and burning, but we were obviously worse this year than last)
Eagles (see Rams comment)
Seahawks
Ravens
Niners (Harbaugh)
Panthers

All of these teams made at least one Super Bowl, and after paying their QBs (new mega bucks money, not what QBs got in the early 2000s), have slowly or abruptly gotten worse.

The Saints, Packers and Manning-Colts are sort of exceptions to this - although it's worth noting that the Saints and Packers, with top 6 all time QBs, have each only made ONE Super Bowl. And Rodgers, Brees, Manning and Brady are four of the best to ever do it.

QB contracts are like NBA Super star max contracts - whether they are worth the money or not, players are going to get it - because teams have it and QB is the toughest position to play. But having LeBron, Steph, KD, etc. is a HUGE advantage to this -I mean we're paying Jared Goff similar money to what Drew Brees is being paid. C'mon guys.

My proposal would be to build a contender around a QB and let him go, while replacing him. I contend that Tim Couch, David Carr, Derek Carr, Teddy Bridgewater, Nick Foles, hell even Ryan Fitzpatrick - can all be good enough to win it all in the right circumstance. Well, having an elite OL and group of WRs fits the bill.

Case Keenum in Minnesota is a PERFECT example of this. He had arguably the best WR duo in the NFL that year, and lo and behold, they went 13-3 and made the NFCCG. And they lost to.......Nick Foles.



All these players that get drafted and turn out to be "busts" - so many GMs, fans and draft experts unanimously agree that they are first round picks - is everyone in the world wrong? Or did they go into a bad situation?

 

[Ram65]

Teams have to be smart about non-quarterback contracts. Get a system and stick with it. Rams just got a little over the top on top-end contracts for Gurley and Cooks. Even with Donald and Goff's contracts, they can still be contenders. Look at all the teams scrambling for a starting QB. I would rather have Goff and go from there.

 

[Ram77]

I’m defining an Elite QB as one where he is a difference maker when designed plays break down and that player can produce when plays go not as planned without making negative plays consistently. I can only think of about 5 of these QBs in the league right now where you take that QB and replace him with below average starter that teams win totals would go down by at least 3 wins regardless of system or coaching. I would define Goff as an average to good starter most of the time (Not sure about top 12). I would say Mahomes, Wilson, Rodgers, Watson, Brees (maybe not since Bridgewater filled in nicely) as Elite. You take those guys off and replace them with say Case Keenum or Nick Foles that team would lose at least 3 more games per season. Would we be way worse with Foles or Keenum right now as our starter? Just draft a young QB every couple years then flip until you find a truly Elite one. Very controversial I know

 

[AlphaRam]

For what he is, Goff is paid more than he should be. The positive is, we've seen he can play up to that contract. The other good thing is, we have a quarterback that isn't a liability at his worst. He's good enough to keep us in the mix and I'm honestly okay with that opposed to going back to square one with a "maybe."

What we need to do though is start taking care of our draft picks again. We gave up too much for Jalen Ramsey and we gave up too much for Brandin Cooks and now we're in a situation where we have too many of these established players that want to get paid and not enough space to afford them all. That's why the draft and in particular the first round is so critical. The salary you can get very good players at for multiple seasons.

 

[AZRams]

May I take this point to remind you goff hasn’t actually had a losing season since he became a starter ..

Um, 0-7 in '16?

 

[dang]

i’m looking for the league to institute a cap on contracts. i know there are many things to consider but something like...no player can consume more than 15% of a teams salary cap in a year.

 

[UKram]

Um, 0-7 in '16?

Ummm wasn’t a full season as a starter .. Jeff Fisher hamstrung him in the worse way .. no one is counting his rookie year

 

[thirteen28]

Ummm wasn’t a full season as a starter .. Jeff Fisher hamstrung him in the worse way .. no one is counting his rookie year

Exactly.

Maybe we should re-phrase to say he hasn't had a losing season while playing in an actual NFL offense (vs. the middle school offense of 2016).

 

[UKram]

Exactly.

Maybe we should re-phrase to say he hasn't had a losing season while playing in an actual NFL offense (vs. the middle school offense of 2016).

To be honest I thought the key word there was “season” .. 7 games does not a season make

 

[thirteen28]

To be honest I thought the key word there was “season” .. 7 games does not a season make

Same here, but somebody didn't so we have to clarify.