Why even mention Sean Mannion? I swear, he'll start Hekker before Mannion at QB. I'd put even money he's not even sure where Mannion's locker is.
As for Goff, I've been thinking about this...a LOT... and this is how I think it went down.
Fisher saw Goff years ago and "fell in love" with him AND his potential. Wentz was never really in the picture, although, as we've seen...he really SHOULD have been.
But... the last season at Cal and the Combine, Pro Day and private workouts... all combined with the confirmation bias (we all have it with something) showed that Goff had TREMENDOUS potential...AND...he was raw. Not just game raw, but young raw. He was young and a bit goofy. And while he is a very hard worker, he had a VERY long way to go from a system at Cal that had NEVER produced a caliber of QB that Fisher believed and believes Goff can be. Fisher didn't care about him being raw. He didn't start Rookies, anyway, and has as much stability as anyone other than maybe Belichick and Tomlin.
So, what does he do? He bets the farm on this young man with SO MUCH potential who he thinks he saw before anyone else and who he thinks he understands better than anyone else (and if I were a betting person, I'd bet real money that he really DOES believe THAT). He believes Case Keenum is competent enough to lead the team until Goff is ready.
Truth is that he doesn't know how long Goff will take. He knew Goff was way more raw in many aspects than he let on and he was complicit in generating the hype that's giving him headaches now.
Now, IF Fisher was right about Goff's potential AND Weinke and Boras are doing a good job developing not just his body, but his mental acuity for the Pro game, then Goff truly has the potential to be so special that...and I tread holy Rams ground here... he has the potential to eclipse Warner, Waterfield and Van Brocklin as THE Rams Greatest QB. Even with Fisher's F'd up, broken scheme...it's all there.
And even the thought of that has fans almost rabid for it to happen NOW.
I think Fisher sees this differently. It seems he sees this situation more akin to a soufflé. The ingredients, prep and all the steps including the timing have to be just right...or it's all going to fall flat. A perfect soufflé is sublime. One that falls flat? At best, it's meh. At worst, it's a waste of time and ingredients.
I don't really talk about Wentz anymore because while Wentz was the logical Lego fit to who Fisher IS...consistently...based on actions and results... Fisher was always...ALWAYS...enamored beyond enamored with the prospect and promise of Goff.
And he's going to do ANYTHING to prove that he's found the GOAT. If that means sitting Goff for two years? That's what that means. I hardly think it will take that long (for those who's heart stopped), but Fisher's consistency once again shows through.
Fisher's got to be Fisher. He's done this time and again with DBs (letting Rodney McLeod go because Mo Alexander was ready) and DL and he THINKS he's finally gonna be able to do this with a QB.
I think he LOVES (present tense) Steve McNair, even in his grave for all he was. That said, Kerry Collins notwithstanding, he's NEVER had that pure pocket passer to go with his Eddie George that coupled with his D, he thinks would make him unstoppable...and he has bet the farm that Goff is that QB.
The LAST thing he's going to allow to happen is to have him get David Carr'd behind an OL that doesn't always protect. Especially if that QB is so raw that he's still working out the Center exchange or having issues calling the plays (although, in Goff's defense, I think you have to be a rapper to call some of these nightmarish plays. Yet ANOTHER advantage of the Perkins Earhardt offense...)
I'm not sure Keenum means anything to Goff's development. We could be undefeated, but if Goff is ready, Goff will take the reins. THAT is how much Fisher is on Goff's bandwagon. Normally, you don't mess with undefeated, even ugly undefeated. When Goff is READY, ready.... they'll put him in.
The PROOF...will be the day he starts. All the rest is Fisher being Fisher.
Well, and I'm still shocked he remembered Mannion was on the roster...
