Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff is suffering from the unfair power of narrative

[Riverumbbq]

Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff walks off the field after throwing an interception against the New England Patriots during Super Bowl LIII, Feb. 3, 2019.
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Facts (or the lack thereof) mean very little to people caught up in storylines. The best way to teach true understanding is not by teaching students facts (although that is still a valuable lesson); it is to teach them to analyze, as one does with elements of narrative.

That was Ashley Lamb-Sinclair in a powerful piece in the Atlantic that looked at the decreasing value of facts in the market when compared to narrative.

In that article, she talks about the value of facts, of information pushed up against narrative. Stories. And the power of story as a conduit for us to learn. Heading into the 2019 season, there’s a narrative I’ve seen often. And it’s butting up against fact.

It suggests that Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff played horribly in Super Bowl LIII. That he was the pilot of the plane with a course charted by Head Coach Sean McVay that was derailed by the brilliant defensive structure overseen and remade throughout the game by New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick. That the Rams, young and new and upward, were stalled out by the long-worn Patriots who were somehow ready for the new despite decades of experience.

That Goff was simply overwhelmed.

This is from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio last month previewing the Rams’ 2019 season:

"It’s one thing for McVay to come up with new concepts and plays; it’s another for Goff to execute them. Goff’s failure to spot and then to deliver an accurate throw to a wide-ass open Brandin Cooks in Super Bowl LIII should haunt Goff and McVay, and it should raise questions as to whether, when confronted with a championship opportunity, Goff will be suited to seize it."

Think about what Florio is suggesting, because it represents a large portion of the populace looking at the 2019 season. A single throw from Jared Goff, one pass from a season of 561 passes throughout the regular season and 106 passes in the postseason deserves to be distilled to a single through in the Super Bowl.

Think about that.


It’s not entirely unwarranted. The idea that you can take a whole season, an entire work of 19 games and 667 throws and reduce it down to a single play is possible. It’s crazy, but it is!

The problem is that doing that for Goff in that single play is inaccurate. But of course it is.

Jared Goff passed for 4,688 yards last season. That’s the 40th-highest passing yard total in a single season of all time.

If somehow you’ve missed it, this is the 100th season in NFL history. Even if there were just one team every year, finishing 40th would be commendable. I sadly might shock you to note that there have been more than one team in the NFL in the 100 years of its existence! In fact, there have been several!

Jared Goff put in the 40th-best season in the history of the NFL in terms of passing yards, passing for 4,688 yards. That has nothing to do with the 1994 season from Dallas Cowboys QB Troy Aikman in which he 2,676 yards, a season in which the Cowboys went 12-4 and disappointingly lost the NFC Conference Championship in a four-year stretch in which they won the other three Super Bowls.

Jared Goff put in the 40th-best season in the history of the NFL in terms of passing yards, passing for 4,688 yards. That has nothing to do with the 2018 season from Patriots QB Tom Brady in which he threw for 4,355 yards, a season in which the Patriots went 11-5 and won Super Bowl LIII.

Seasons are long.

Games are short.

Moments are shorter.

The Rams lost Super Bowl LIII to the Patriots. That wasn’t entirely, though it was partially (and perhaps largely) due to the performance of Jared Goff.

The Patriots won Super Bowl LIII over the Rams. That wasn’t entirely, though it was largely (and perhaps entirely) due to the performance of Brady.

Jared Goff finished the Super Bowl 19/38 for 229 yards with 0 TDs and 1 interception.

Tom Brady finished the Super Bowl 21/35 for 262 yards with 0 TDs and 1 interception.

What are we doing here?

What value are we providing to a narrative that’s hailing a quarterback as the greatest of all time for two more receptions in three less passes for 33 more yards?

We know there’s more context. Much, much, much, much, much, much, much (I could keep going), much, much, much, much, much (I should keep going), much, much, much, much, much (I’ll stop) more context.

Go back and watch Brady’s missed throws in Super Bowl LIII.

I did.

2:24 remaining in the 1st behind Chris Hogan. 1:30 in the 2nd away from James White. 11:02 in the 3rd to Hogan.

All of those were missed throws from Brady. Which is being categorized as a “failure to spot and then to deliver an accurate throw to a wide-ass open” Patriot? Which of those should haunt [Brady] and [Belichick] and should “raise questions as to whether, when confronted with a championship opportunity, [Brady] will be suited to seize it?”

Football is a sport of small sample sizes. As such, it invites the availability for narrative misanalysis based on distilling the larger sample size down to a single game.

A single drive.

A single throw.

For many, Jared Goff is being derided for being a system quarterback, a function of the talent around him and the coach he has overseeing the environment he operates in. For some, he’s being castigated because of a single play in Super Bowl LIII.

But for me, he’s on a trajectory to become one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Someone who can deal with the public and media-laden pressures while ensuring he leads his team through the ridiculous roller coaster of the NFL season and come out on the other side looking better individually while also looking capable of taking his team to the ultimate symbol of success.

Tom Brady missed several throws six months ago. He remains Tom Brady.

Jared Goff missed several throws six months ago. He remains Jared Goff.

The only thing that remains unfair is that Goff’s narrative revolves around the throw/s he missed in the Super Bowl while Brady’s is able to sweep those under the rug.

Brady’s earned as much through his fantastic career.

But Goff shouldn’t be disabused of as much through his early career.

That might escape Florio.

It shouldn’t escape the rest of us.

https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2019/...uper-bowl-liii-new-england-patriots-tom-brady


My synopsis :

Mike Florio is a stupid dick.

 

[Merlin]

Mike Florio is a stupid dick.

Don't forget moron. And he's in for a very uncomfortable future where Goff proves him wrong.

 

[fearsomefour]

It is what it is.
It was a huge moment and Goff crapped the bed.
It’s (the narrative) is as much about perception of franchises as anything. Brady has won a lot of titles. Also lost a lot.
Their are franchises that are “loser” franchises. The Bills, the Vikings. Each 0-4 in Super Bowls. The obvious truth is, of course, those teams had to be very good and win conference titles (4 in a row for the Bills) to be in that spot.
The Rams are now 1-3 in Super Bowls.
The two Patriot losses were there for the winning. This is the separation of perception for two franchises.
This last loss was a game the team should have won. The Rams were the better more talented team. The D played great. The O didn’t show.
For everyone but the Patriots these opportunities are rare.
For now, the Rams are one of those “loser” franchises. It’s a vapid perception of course. Teams like the Lions have never smelled a Super Bowl. 13 or so (going off memory) teams in the NFL have never won a Super Bowl. It took a lot of winning to win those four NFC Titles. Never the less, the perception is the same.
Fairly or not this will be tied to McVay and Goff. In terms of the one Super Bowl it is completely fair. In terms of legacy, it is not.
Time will tell.
Hopefully there are more chances on the horizon.

 

[fearsomefour]

Don't forget moron. And he's in for a very uncomfortable future where Goff proves him wrong.

Naw.
He will just write articles about the “resurrection” of Jared Goff and never acknowledge what he said before.

 

[Merlin]

For everyone but the Patriots these opportunities are rare.

This is a good point, and it's also where I think the Rams over the next few years are going to be in deep playoff contention every season like the Patriots. And the reason I think that is McVay & Phillips. We have top coordination on both sides of the ball.

IMO that is the Patriots' secret. It's Belichick. He's a little bit better than everyone else. To beat him you need a top roster and top coordination on both sides of the ball because he's been taking away what teams do best for a long time now from all the way back to his Giants days.

Rams have the coaches now and are stable and secure against those two guys being poached. They have most of the key pieces in place. In the NFC there aren't a lot of teams who can say that.

 

[I like Rams]

I think McVay not adjusting throughout the game is what killed us. Seemed like he was dead set on trying to get SOMETHING going through the air, and left out a lot of the creative plays used through out the season.

Oh well, new season. Time to move on.

 

[Faceplant]

Brandin Cooks dropped some balls that could have turned the tide. Does that make him a bad WR?

 

[Ram65]

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Nice article by Jason Getz.

For many, Jared Goff is being derided for being a system quarterback, a function of the talent around him and the coach he has overseeing the environment he operates in. For some, he’s being castigated because of a single play in Super Bowl LIII.

Goff has to overcome that missed throw in the Super Bowl. Hopefully, it isn't a defining moment to his career. Let's not forget the pass on the hands to Cooks when he was held and dropped the ball late in the game. So far he has gone from bust to Super Bowl quarterback from year one to year three. Even with that success he still gets little credit as he is seen as a product of his coach and team around him. This is the year Jared Goff turns the media corner as he takes on more of the mental game while he upped his physical abilities.

All early camp reports show Goff has added some muscle and flicking the ball quicker with less motion. Goff has been preparing for the lose of veteran Center John Sullivan who made the line calls the past two seasons. He has commented on improving his reads both pre-snap and post-snap reads. He will be involved in line calls with his new Center Brian Allen. So many media types are dismissing Goff and the Rams this year before they have played a preseason game. They better be ready as Goff takes his game to the next level.

 

[tempests]

Narratives change. No greater example than Florio himself.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/09/28/jared-goff-franchise-quarterback/

Jared Goff, franchise quarterback
Posted by Mike Florio on September 28, 2018, 7:51 AM EDT

Getty Images

When the Eagles and the Rams got together last December, the consensus was that the second pick in the 2016 draft (Carson Wentz) had become a franchise quarterback, and that the first pick in the 2016 (Jared Goff) hadn’t. This morning, and in light of the injury suffered by Wentz in that game from last December, would anyone take Wentz over Goff?

And don’t give me the “Goff has Sean McVay” nonsense. Wentz has Doug Pederson. Most franchise quarterbacks enjoy above average to great coaching. And that helps franchise quarterbacks become even greater.

What football witnessed last night from Goff was greatness.

“I think just a comfort level,” McVay told reporters after the 38-31 win over Minnesota. “I think he’s got such a great command right now and you know he’s intentional about getting better. [Quarterbacks coach] Zac Taylor has done a great job with him. Really just having him make sure that he has an ownership of the game plan, understands what we’re trying to get done and you know that constant dialogue, that communication that we talk about being on the same page. At the end of the day I think he’s just thrown the ball extremely well. When things are in rhythm he’s been outstanding, giving guys a chance to run after the catch. Then you look at a couple of plays where we ended up running some bootlegs. He’s going to his left, getting his shoulders around, hitting [Brandin] Cooks in stride, hitting Robert Woods, so there’s a handful of plays that he made tonight that are just a great player making great plays, but then also when things were there in rhythm I thought he was outstanding.”

Goff, a mild-mannered, soft-spoken gunslinger who will rip out the heart of a defense and show it to them, was mild-mannered and soft spoken after he ripped out the heart of the Vikings defense and showed it to them.

“It felt pretty good all night,” Goff said after the win that moved his team to 4-0. “I thought we did a great job protecting, as we’ve done most of the season this year and, really, all of the season this year. Just keeping me upright and anytime that happens, we’ve got such good guys on the outside and try to get the ball in their hands and let them make plays. Tonight, we were able to do that.”

On one of the most impressive throws anyone will make — a pigskin through the eye of a needle touchdown throw to Cooper Kupp — Goff was humble.

“You know, kind of taking a little bit of a chance there and got away with it, but that’s what happens when you’ve got good players,” Goff said. “I trust Cooper [Kupp] and he ran right through it. Wasn’t sure if he was in bounds or not, but he made a good catch on it. I think that just shows kind of my trust in him.”

Every year, Goff has gotten better. Every week this season, Goff has gotten better. And the Rams have gotten better. Last night, he generated the oddly-precise perfect passer rating of 158.3, completing 26 of 43 throws for 465 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions.

And it actually looked like Goff would do even better than that, based on the first half of the game. He finished the second quarter with 251 yards and four touchdowns, putting him in position to challenge the all-time single-game yardage record (554 from former Rams quarterback Norm Van Brocklin, in 1951) and the all-time single-game passing touchdown record (seven, from multiple players).

It looked a lot like the football equivalent of the basketball team that used to play in the venue located near the team’s new stadium in Inglewood.

“I don’t know,” Goff told reporters after the game with a laugh. “I wasn’t alive.”

He is now, and what a time it is to be alive and be an NFL fan. There’s a golden age of young quarterbacks, from Goff to Wentz to Patrick Mahomes to Baker Mayfield to Josh Allen to Sam Darnold to Deshaun Watson to Josh Rosen (maybe) to Lamar Jackson (maybe) to Dak Prescott (maybe) to whoever else keeps emerging from a pipeline that is suddenly bubbling more crude than Jed Clampett’s back 40.

 

[majrleaged]

Nice article by Jason Getz.



Goff has to overcome that missed throw in the Super Bowl. Hopefully, it isn't a defining moment to his career. Let's not forget the pass on the hands to Cooks when he was held and dropped the ball late in the game. So far he has gone from bust to Super Bowl quarterback from year one to year three. Even with that success he still gets little credit as he is seen as a product of his coach and team around him. This is the year Jared Goff turns the media corner as he takes on more of the mental game while he upped his physical abilities.

All early camp reports show Goff has added some muscle and flicking the ball quicker with less motion. Goff has been preparing for the lose of veteran Center John Sullivan who made the line calls the past two seasons. He has commented on improving his reads both pre-snap and post-snap reads. He will be involved in line calls with his new Center Brian Allen. So many media types are dismissing Goff and the Rams this year before they have played a preseason game. They better be ready as Goff takes his game to the next level.

Goff has failed many times in his football career, but show me one time he did not improve and learn from his failures. The bigger the failure, the bigger the improvement.
The first season under McVay he threw a terrible interception at the end of the game against the Redskins because he tracked his receiver and gave away where he was throwing. That didn't happen again. Just one of many examples. Everyone fails, not everyone recovers. As always people who want him to fail only see failure. We know better

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

It literally took me until July to finally rewatch the SB ( I have their complete season DVRd)

And I gotta say, Jered Goff wasn’t the reason the Rams lost, in fact I feel he played pretty darn well considering how the interior OLine was pretty much manhandled by NE

He hung in the what seemed to be a constantly collapsing pocket and threw some darts downfield... some were caught, others were dropped (a particular “dime” was flat out dropped 4th quarter in the end zone)

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

It is what it is.
It was a huge moment and Goff crapped the bed.
It’s (the narrative) is as much about perception of franchises as anything. Brady has won a lot of titles. Also lost a lot.
Their are franchises that are “loser” franchises. The Bills, the Vikings. Each 0-4 in Super Bowls. The obvious truth is, of course, those teams had to be very good and win conference titles (4 in a row for the Bills) to be in that spot.
The Rams are now 1-3 in Super Bowls.
The two Patriot losses were there for the winning. This is the separation of perception for two franchises.
This last loss was a game the team should have won. The Rams were the better more talented team. The D played great. The O didn’t show.
For everyone but the Patriots these opportunities are rare.
For now, the Rams are one of those “loser” franchises. It’s a vapid perception of course. Teams like the Lions have never smelled a Super Bowl. 13 or so (going off memory) teams in the NFL have never won a Super Bowl. It took a lot of winning to win those four NFC Titles. Never the less, the perception is the same.
Fairly or not this will be tied to McVay and Goff. In terms of the one Super Bowl it is completely fair. In terms of legacy, it is not.
Time will tell.
Hopefully there are more chances on the horizon.

“Goff crapped the bed”

Sigh

And of course crapping the bed had zero to do with the interior Oline getting blown up the entire freaking game... good news is only one of the three return, unfortunately the one returning was THEE weak link in the SB... crap!!!

Not really sure if that’s your take or the general consensus, either way it’s a little harsh thru my perspective

Carry on

 

[majrleaged]

Jared Goff will be a great QB.

 

[Ramlock]

Goff crapped the bed.

In case you’re wondering about the Different Opinion.alm:

 

[Karate61]

These negatrons would bitch about Goff even if the Rams won the Super Bowl!

 

[fearsomefour]

This is a good point, and it's also where I think the Rams over the next few years are going to be in deep playoff contention every season like the Patriots. And the reason I think that is McVay & Phillips. We have top coordination on both sides of the ball.

IMO that is the Patriots' secret. It's Belichick. He's a little bit better than everyone else. To beat him you need a top roster and top coordination on both sides of the ball because he's been taking away what teams do best for a long time now from all the way back to his Giants days.

Rams have the coaches now and are stable and secure against those two guys being poached. They have most of the key pieces in place. In the NFC there aren't a lot of teams who can say that.

You could well be right and I am very optimistic.
For the reasons you listed.
Because successful teams gets cherry picked for FAs the team has to draft well. Really well.
Noteboom and Allen will go a long way to determining that success in the short term.
I liked last years draft.
I love this years draft.

 

[fearsomefour]

In case you’re wondering about the Different Opinion.alm:

Haha.
I wasn’t really.
Different opinions are good and healthy.

 

[fearsomefour]

“Goff crapped the bed”

Sigh

And of course crapping the bed had zero to do with the interior Oline getting blown up the entire freaking game... good news is only one of the three return, unfortunately the one returning was THEE weak link in the SB... crap!!!

Not really sure if that’s your take or the general consensus, either way it’s a little harsh thru my perspective

Carry on

Certainly contributed.
But, not really what I was speaking to.
Have discussed it before. Don’t need to again.
Replacing Saffold is huge.
Going to be interesting early in the year to see how Noteboom and Allen play.

 

[bluecoconuts]

Goff didn't miss the bomb to Woods today. He's fine, NFL players think he's a top 10 QB, a select few in the media (Florio, Simms among a few others) just like pushing the narrative because they don't know shit and they think it makes them look smarter.

Florio especially always looks so fucking smug when he goes off, like a little brat shit kid who'll be a little dick because he knows mommy wont do anything. That's a guy that deserves to get punched in the face, he's practically begging for it.

 

[jap]

Don't forget moron. And he's in for a very uncomfortable future where Goff proves him wrong.

Jared will prove him wrong and do so repeatedly! Can you say LA dynasty? Todd's injury woes last postseason will force Jared to grow up as an NFL QB this coming season. If we can keep our top three WRs healthy, if Gerald Everett will improve his blocking so that his on-field presence no longer flags a passing play to opposing defenses, if our young starters on the OL can be reasonably seamlessly integrated with the veteran starters, the rampaging Horns will be a load to handle on offense, defense, AND special teams.