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Dougherty: How Jared Goff's game shares Aaron Rodgers' traits
Pete Dougherty, Packers News
Without prompting, an NFL scout this week was about to offer the name of an NFL quarterback that Jared Goff brought to mind.
The scout started with several caveats but couldn’t deny seeing a similarity in throwing talent and mechanics with none other than Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers quarterback Goff will be facing Sunday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
“I know they’re both Cal guys, which is the part that bothers me as much as anything,” the scout said. “’C’mon man, the same school and you’re going to lump them together?’ And comparing anybody to Aaron is unfair to them, especially in their second or third year in the league.
“(But) just the way (Goff) delivers the ball sometimes. The quickness of the release without setting his feet, combined with the accuracy, I think is pretty special.”
The Los Angeles Rams drafted Goff over Carson Wentz with the first pick overall in 2016, and after the ’16 season, it looked like they’d botched the pick.
As a starter in the final seven games of his rookie season Goff was winless and looked horribly overmatched with a 63.6 rating, whereas Wentz, who went No. 2 overall, won the starting job with the Philadelphia Eagles and showed great promise while going 7-9 with a 79.3 rating.
But two seasons later Goff is the toast of the NFL, whereas Wentz is still getting back to form after the torn ACL that ended his fantastic 2017 season early.
The Rams are the NFL’s lone undefeated team and rank third in the NFL in scoring (33.6 points). Goff ranks No. 6 in the league in passer rating (112.8), ahead of Wentz (108.1) and Rodgers (100.2).
Packers' LB Clay Matthews addresses the media following practice on what it will take for the defense to break Rams' QB Jared Goff down. Packers News
The scout knows Goff’s game especially well because his team was looking hard at the quarterbacks at the top of the first round in ’16. He watched 12 college games each of Goff and Wentz.
To the scout it was clear Wentz was more ready-made for the NFL. Though he’d been the starter for only 1½ seasons in college at a lower-level school (North Dakota), he played in a pro-style offense and had an NFL physique (6-5¼, 237 pounds).
In a pre-draft interview, Wentz blew away the team’s coaches when quizzed on identifying defensive alignments, protection calls and play changes.
Goff, on the other hand, had never even huddled in college at Cal. Play calls came from the sidelines after the team had lined up, as did audibles. Goff didn’t even have to identify the Mike linebacker.
But what jumped out to the scout was Goff’s throwing talent and ability to keep his eyes downfield in the face of an unrelenting pass rush.
Cal had a bad offensive line, and Goff usually couldn’t step into his throws because of rushers in his face. Yet he got the ball out with a quick, compact delivery and still put it on the money.
After that rocky rookie year, Goff has become a most promising quarterback the last two seasons playing for the NFL’s prodigal coach, Sean McVay.
Last year Goff went 11-4 and had a 100.5 rating, and this season he’s gashing defenses with the second-best average per attempt (9.77 yards) and sixth-best completion percentage (69.7 percent).
McVay has accelerated Goff’s growth by often running a no-huddle offense and helping his quarterback with audibles before the coach-quarterback headset cuts off with 15 seconds left on the play clock.
Still, comparing any young quarterback’s throwing talent to Rodgers is saying a lot. Rodgers ranks among the great pure passers in league history with his quick delivery and accuracy regardless of whether he sets his feet.
“There are some similarities from a mechanical standpoint between the two guys,” the scout said. “Aaron does the same thing, very seldom does he step into a throw.
Everything he does is from the hips. Jared is the same way. It’s almost a flick of the wrist rather than load it up and throw it. Jared is very similar. Watch it and you tell me if I’m full of it.
There are some similarities there, and none of it has to do with the fact that they went to the same school.”
In Rodgers’ media session at his locker this week, he didn’t note any similarities with Goff, but he did mention the quality that jumps out most.
“He’s got some weapons to throw to, but he’s been extremely accurate (throwing),” Rodgers said.
The biggest difference between the two is athleticism, at least in how they tested at the NFL scouting combine.
Rodgers is a little shorter (6-feet-2 to Goff’s 6-4) but ran a faster 40 (4.71 to 4.82) and jumped higher (34 1/2 inches to 27 inches). Goff was a little quicker in the three cone (7.17 seconds to Rodgers’ 7.38).
Rodgers is a more athletic quarterback than scouts thought he was coming out of Cal. His ability to make plays outside the pocket is what separates him from the increasing number of good pocket passers in the league.
Goff can’t do that as well as Rodgers, but the pocket presence he showed with those undermanned Cal teams has carried over to the NFL.
https://www.packersnews.com/story/s...-game-shares-aaron-rodgers-traits/1753984002/
Former Cal QBs Goff, Rodgers Will Square Off for First Time
You likely know that quarterback Jared Goff grew up in the Bay Area. And largely because his parents attended the university, Goff was a big Cal fan.
The 24-year-old signal-caller noted he was “very young” when now-Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was tearing up the Pac-10 in Berkeley, but also growing up as a 49ers fan — which, clearly, he’s lost at this point.
Goff said he remembers not being very happy on Draft Day 2005 when San Francisco took Alex Smith No. 1 overall over Rodgers.
“He was upset, but with that being said, I'm a fan of Alex as well. But yeah, 10-year-old Jared was very upset when he found out they didn't take Aaron,” Goff said with a smile on Wednesday.
Now, Goff will be on the opposite sideline of Rodgers on Sunday afternoon as the Rams take on the Packers.
“Obviously, his greatness has been documented for years now,” Goff said. “He's a great player and a guy I watched in college and then moved onto the NFL. I've followed his whole career, big fan of his.
Yeah, there are times where we're watching him play against the defense and you get stuck on watching him. He's a great player. I've got a lot of respect for him and it'll be fun to get a chance to go against him.”
While the two Cal quarterbacks were drafted over a decade apart, Goff said he’s been able to strike up a bit of a relationship with Rodgers over time.
“I've gotten to know him a little bit the past few years,” Goff said. “Just crossed paths on a few different things and he's been nothing but great to me.”
Sunday will represent the first time Rodgers has faced another starting Cal quarterback.
But ironically, when Rodgers faced the Rams in 2009, he was on the opposite sideline of another former Cal signal-caller, Kyle Boller, who came on in relief of an injured Marc Bulger.
Boller was the Ravens’ No. 19 overall pick back in 2003. Rodgers also came into a game late for Green Bay back in December 2005 when the Packers lost 48-3 to Baltimore.
But it’s been a long time since two Cal QBs have met in the NFL. And that’s no small feat for the program in Berkeley.
“Yeah, I'm sure it'll be exciting. I'm sure they'll be excited to watch it,” Goff said. “It's the first time I've played against a guy that went to my college. I don't know for him if that's the case, but it'll be cool.
It'll be fun and I'm sure they're excited about it. I'm sure Cal football will post some pictures about it or something and it'll be fun.”
https://www.therams.com/news/former-cal-qbs-goff-rodgers-will-square-off-for-first-time
Pete Dougherty, Packers News
Without prompting, an NFL scout this week was about to offer the name of an NFL quarterback that Jared Goff brought to mind.
The scout started with several caveats but couldn’t deny seeing a similarity in throwing talent and mechanics with none other than Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers quarterback Goff will be facing Sunday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
“I know they’re both Cal guys, which is the part that bothers me as much as anything,” the scout said. “’C’mon man, the same school and you’re going to lump them together?’ And comparing anybody to Aaron is unfair to them, especially in their second or third year in the league.
“(But) just the way (Goff) delivers the ball sometimes. The quickness of the release without setting his feet, combined with the accuracy, I think is pretty special.”
The Los Angeles Rams drafted Goff over Carson Wentz with the first pick overall in 2016, and after the ’16 season, it looked like they’d botched the pick.
As a starter in the final seven games of his rookie season Goff was winless and looked horribly overmatched with a 63.6 rating, whereas Wentz, who went No. 2 overall, won the starting job with the Philadelphia Eagles and showed great promise while going 7-9 with a 79.3 rating.
But two seasons later Goff is the toast of the NFL, whereas Wentz is still getting back to form after the torn ACL that ended his fantastic 2017 season early.
The Rams are the NFL’s lone undefeated team and rank third in the NFL in scoring (33.6 points). Goff ranks No. 6 in the league in passer rating (112.8), ahead of Wentz (108.1) and Rodgers (100.2).
Packers' LB Clay Matthews addresses the media following practice on what it will take for the defense to break Rams' QB Jared Goff down. Packers News
The scout knows Goff’s game especially well because his team was looking hard at the quarterbacks at the top of the first round in ’16. He watched 12 college games each of Goff and Wentz.
To the scout it was clear Wentz was more ready-made for the NFL. Though he’d been the starter for only 1½ seasons in college at a lower-level school (North Dakota), he played in a pro-style offense and had an NFL physique (6-5¼, 237 pounds).
In a pre-draft interview, Wentz blew away the team’s coaches when quizzed on identifying defensive alignments, protection calls and play changes.
Goff, on the other hand, had never even huddled in college at Cal. Play calls came from the sidelines after the team had lined up, as did audibles. Goff didn’t even have to identify the Mike linebacker.
But what jumped out to the scout was Goff’s throwing talent and ability to keep his eyes downfield in the face of an unrelenting pass rush.
Cal had a bad offensive line, and Goff usually couldn’t step into his throws because of rushers in his face. Yet he got the ball out with a quick, compact delivery and still put it on the money.
After that rocky rookie year, Goff has become a most promising quarterback the last two seasons playing for the NFL’s prodigal coach, Sean McVay.
Last year Goff went 11-4 and had a 100.5 rating, and this season he’s gashing defenses with the second-best average per attempt (9.77 yards) and sixth-best completion percentage (69.7 percent).
McVay has accelerated Goff’s growth by often running a no-huddle offense and helping his quarterback with audibles before the coach-quarterback headset cuts off with 15 seconds left on the play clock.
Still, comparing any young quarterback’s throwing talent to Rodgers is saying a lot. Rodgers ranks among the great pure passers in league history with his quick delivery and accuracy regardless of whether he sets his feet.
“There are some similarities from a mechanical standpoint between the two guys,” the scout said. “Aaron does the same thing, very seldom does he step into a throw.
Everything he does is from the hips. Jared is the same way. It’s almost a flick of the wrist rather than load it up and throw it. Jared is very similar. Watch it and you tell me if I’m full of it.
There are some similarities there, and none of it has to do with the fact that they went to the same school.”
In Rodgers’ media session at his locker this week, he didn’t note any similarities with Goff, but he did mention the quality that jumps out most.
“He’s got some weapons to throw to, but he’s been extremely accurate (throwing),” Rodgers said.
The biggest difference between the two is athleticism, at least in how they tested at the NFL scouting combine.
Rodgers is a little shorter (6-feet-2 to Goff’s 6-4) but ran a faster 40 (4.71 to 4.82) and jumped higher (34 1/2 inches to 27 inches). Goff was a little quicker in the three cone (7.17 seconds to Rodgers’ 7.38).
Rodgers is a more athletic quarterback than scouts thought he was coming out of Cal. His ability to make plays outside the pocket is what separates him from the increasing number of good pocket passers in the league.
Goff can’t do that as well as Rodgers, but the pocket presence he showed with those undermanned Cal teams has carried over to the NFL.
https://www.packersnews.com/story/s...-game-shares-aaron-rodgers-traits/1753984002/
Former Cal QBs Goff, Rodgers Will Square Off for First Time
You likely know that quarterback Jared Goff grew up in the Bay Area. And largely because his parents attended the university, Goff was a big Cal fan.
The 24-year-old signal-caller noted he was “very young” when now-Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was tearing up the Pac-10 in Berkeley, but also growing up as a 49ers fan — which, clearly, he’s lost at this point.
Goff said he remembers not being very happy on Draft Day 2005 when San Francisco took Alex Smith No. 1 overall over Rodgers.
“He was upset, but with that being said, I'm a fan of Alex as well. But yeah, 10-year-old Jared was very upset when he found out they didn't take Aaron,” Goff said with a smile on Wednesday.
Now, Goff will be on the opposite sideline of Rodgers on Sunday afternoon as the Rams take on the Packers.
“Obviously, his greatness has been documented for years now,” Goff said. “He's a great player and a guy I watched in college and then moved onto the NFL. I've followed his whole career, big fan of his.
Yeah, there are times where we're watching him play against the defense and you get stuck on watching him. He's a great player. I've got a lot of respect for him and it'll be fun to get a chance to go against him.”
While the two Cal quarterbacks were drafted over a decade apart, Goff said he’s been able to strike up a bit of a relationship with Rodgers over time.
“I've gotten to know him a little bit the past few years,” Goff said. “Just crossed paths on a few different things and he's been nothing but great to me.”
Sunday will represent the first time Rodgers has faced another starting Cal quarterback.
But ironically, when Rodgers faced the Rams in 2009, he was on the opposite sideline of another former Cal signal-caller, Kyle Boller, who came on in relief of an injured Marc Bulger.
Boller was the Ravens’ No. 19 overall pick back in 2003. Rodgers also came into a game late for Green Bay back in December 2005 when the Packers lost 48-3 to Baltimore.
But it’s been a long time since two Cal QBs have met in the NFL. And that’s no small feat for the program in Berkeley.
“Yeah, I'm sure it'll be exciting. I'm sure they'll be excited to watch it,” Goff said. “It's the first time I've played against a guy that went to my college. I don't know for him if that's the case, but it'll be cool.
It'll be fun and I'm sure they're excited about it. I'm sure Cal football will post some pictures about it or something and it'll be fun.”
https://www.therams.com/news/former-cal-qbs-goff-rodgers-will-square-off-for-first-time
