It's funny to see some already expressing serious doubts about Goff and even contemplating throwing in the towel. I still remember how many people wrote off Sam Bradford. Yet, this year he proved that he can be a solid starting QB in the NFL. He's 29 years old. His career went the way that Alex Smith's did. It took him until his late 20s to establish himself as a solid starting QB who you can win with.
I get it. With what we invested, we don't want to wait that long. I hope we don't have to wait that long. But there are certain realities of the QB position. One of those realities is that many QBs take years to develop. While they are young, you get a lot of uneven play. Let's consider Ben Roethlisberger. He had arguably the best rookie season of all time. Yet, Roethlisberger threw 18 TDs to 23 Ints in his third year in the NFL. Roethlisberger didn't develop into a consistently great QB until he was 27 to 28 years old.
Let's talk Peyton Manning. Manning had a very shaky rookie year. He followed that up with two stellar seasons. He followed those two stellar seasons up with two very average seasons (he averaged 21 picks over his 4th and 5th years in the NFL). Manning didn't develop into a consistently great QB until he was 27 to 28 years old.
Let's talk Drew Brees. Drew Brees sat his entire rookie year. He followed that up with two very mediocre seasons. The Chargers were ready to move on. Drew put together two good seasons in his 4th and 5th year in the NFL. It wasn't until he was 27 to 28 years old that he developed into the consistently great QB we know today.
Let's talk Matt Stafford. Like Jared Goff, he was a #1 overall pick. His rookie stats have some similarities to Goff's. Stafford put together some good and average seasons his first few years in the NFL. He was considered to be an inconsistent average to below average QB prior to the past two years. The past two years Stafford really turned a corner and has developed into one of the better starting QBs in the NFL. Coincidentally, that happened when he was 27 to 28 years old.
Let's talk Eli Manning. Manning was also a #1 overall pick. His rookie year was eerily similar to Goff. Eli's first four years in the NFL were very up and down. Some Giants fans were ready to move on until he led them to a Super Bowl win over the Patriots in 2007. In his 5th and 6th years in the NFL, Eli finally developed into the consistently good QB we know today. Eli was 27 to 28 years old at that point in his career.
I hope people are seeing the pattern here.
What's my point? Jared Goff is 22 years old. He has started 7 games on the offense that ranked 32nd in the NFL prior to him taking over. He started the majority of those 7 games with a bunch of guys who had given up on the season. He started those 7 games with poor pass protection, no running game, struggling WRs and TEs, and the worst OC in the NFL.
If you want to give up on him, go for it. It's an easy stance to take right now with no true downsides. If you're wrong, the Rams have a franchise QB and nobody cares. If you're right, you get to say, "Look, I told you so."
But I think it's absolutely silly to write a guy off after 7 starts. He doesn't look like Blaine Gabbert; he's not afraid to get hit. He isn't a lazy turd like JaMarcus Russell. At this point in time, there's no indication that this kid can't be exactly what everyone hopes he can be.
I hate to break it to you, but he's 22 years old. Unless Goff completely bombs, we won't know what he's capable of for at least another 5 or 6 years. That's simply the nature of QBing in the NFL. It takes guys a very long time to master the position. The simple truth is that even if Goff develops into a franchise QB, he'll likely be up and down over the next 4 to 6 years before finally settling in.
There is one tried and true method to speed that process up. It's surrounding Goff with talent. If you give him great protection and talented WRs, it'll make it a bit easier for him to be a more consistent QB.
I could sit here and show you all of the guys who struggled in their first 7 starts to prove that Goff's struggles don't close the book on his career. But it's unnecessary. The people who are ready to write him off won't care either ways. Some football fans are patient; some aren't.