hypothetical Goff from day 1 fun

[Fatbot]

Here's my fantasy of the season if Goff started from day 1...

1. @ SF L28-0 (no change)

Part of me wants to think the Rams would have had a different game plan and easily beat this terrible team, but I am going to assume the exact same Dolphins game plan -- for Goff's first real game -- would have been used, which is exactly what the Rams did in this game for real anyway so no change. The torches and pitchforks are out with people screaming "why did he start a rookie so obviously not ready and not even try to win this season?" 0-1

2. v. Seattle W9-3 (changes to loss)

I think we would have seen more Fisherball here despite fan sarcasm that we can't even open up the offense for the #1 pick. The play-not-to-lose strategy worked thanks to Wilson's bad wheel and Keenum successfully protecting the football, but I do not think the rookie would have been ready for this test. The Seachix would have found a way to get to Goff and force some turnovers and another ugly loss. 0-2

3. @ TB W37-32 (no change)

I think this is where the Rams would have let the reins loose a bit more and we would have seen the Goff we saw flashes of in the NO game. Not great, but a couple TDs and a couple dimes/darts. Tampa hadn't found their footing yet, so I think a relatively high score in the 20s happens, but the defense allows less and the Rams still come out on top. 1-2

4. @ AZ W17-13 (changes to loss)

I see this as pretty much the Seattle summary. Goff makes an extra rookie mistake or two; meanwhile Arizona probably doesn't turn it over 5 times to let Fisherball succeed. A pretty comfortable Cards win instead, the pitchforks come out again over another lost "7-9 b.s." season. 1-3

5. v. Buffalo L30-19 (changes to win)

This is the first game that I think it clicks and Goff becomes "NFL ready", and he starts to equal what the Rams were getting from the QB position with Keenum. I don't think Goff lights it up but plays a game manager well, the defense doesn't collapse and it's a much lower scoring close game that the Rams find a way to win at home. 2-3

6. @ Detroilet L31-28 (changes to win)

Obviously the Detroit secondary is awful in this game, and I think Goff puts up his first big numbers of his career (300+, 3 TDs) and the Rams win this one by a couple scores. 3-3

7. v. Giants L17-10 (no change)

There's just something about the Giants, and I think Fisherball plays into them and Goff struggles. Pretty much see the same result with a similar score, but maybe the Giants even winning more easily. A solid step backwards from the Rams fans excitement of the previous weeks. 3-4

8. v. Carolina L13-10 (no change)

Another game I see playing out pretty much exactly the same, Carolina somehow eeking out a win. A rookie QB bump game where Goff takes a step backwards. 3-5

9. @ Jets W9-6 (changes to loss)

There's something about Rex that just makes this game tough, and I think Goff presses in this game to try to right the ship and mistakes give away the winnable game. 3-6

10. v. Miama L14-10 (changes to win)

Goff ends the three game losing streak with a solid game. Without the handcuffs we saw on him in this real game, I think the offense has decent success to complement a good defensive showing and the Rams win this by a couple scores. 4-6

11. @ NO L49-21 (no change)

I think this game is competitive instead of a laugher with Goff now having 10 games of experience under his belt. Sure he makes mistakes and of course is still fighting Fisherball, but overall the team is stronger and more confident. In the end though the Saints just have too much firepower and still win a close game at home. 4-7

Wulp that's it, a long way to end up right back at the same 4-7. And looking at the rest of the schedule I don't think there would be much difference between Goff with 11 games experience and Goff with 2 games experience in terms of win-loss chances to close out the year.

Maybe this is a stupid exercise and feel free to put dislikes and shoot me's (I don't get offended), but it's actually my way of putting a positive spin on things. I've been so angry about Fisher not starting Goff from the day he was drafted, but I think in the end it just ends up the same diff. Either way, Goff is going to go into next season with some valuable game experience under his belt. The focus will shift to how to improve the o-line, get Gurley untracked, get some WR weapons, plug the defense holes and somehow do it with fewer draft picks. In short, all the usual offseason fun.. but at least without the QB specter looming over it all, finally. I've gotta take that as a win.

 

[DaveFan'51]

Looking back .. Does no good!

 

[thirteen28]

Hard to say because of one repeated word in your post - Fisherball. It's entirely possible that our W-L record would be the same.

But I will say this - Fisher would have been cut a lot more slack for early losses to which rookie mistakes at QB were a contributor had Goff been the starter from day one. His insistence on sticking with Keenum even after Keenum's limitations became so painfully obvious really added to the negative opinions of his coaching this year. This is especially true after Keenum's disastrous performance against the Giants in London.

Furthermore, I think our scoring output would be higher. For example there have been a few occasions this year where either Quick or Austin got open behind the defense and Keenum couldn't even get the ball in the same zip code ... those were missed scoring opportunities. If Goff sees the same thing, I have a lot of confidence that he puts the ball where it needs to be and those plays go for six. The effect of such plays would have also echoed long after they were over, as teams would have had to do more to respect the deep ball, backing off from the LOS and giving Gurley more running room.

But we know what happened instead, and we know why Fisher's seat is getting hot.