Is Wolford a legit top end backup QB?

[FrantikRam]

I tried that, but the context of how bad Arizona's defense was/is, along with how dominating the Rams offense had been against them previously, compared to how poorly the results were offensively, doesnt resonate. Seems to me that the only context that matters was Goff could do no right, and Wolford could do no wrong.
These dropped passes? What ones? The passes that were thrown poorly and missed wide open guys? How about the great catches that were made? Woods made a great catch on the sideline, Everett of all people made a great catch of a pass behind him, and Higbee was wide open, but the ball was thrown so poorly that he had to stop to catch it, a well thrown ball may have been 6. Funny how that works, how "context" get left out. As for the fumble, the shame there was that Wolford had failed at the goal line on the previous possession, ended up only getting 3. So they ran Akers instead, and he coughed it up. Context indeed. Defense scored 9, ST saved 3. The offense literally didnt need to do anything.

I thought there was more than just the bad TD drop by Everett, but that was the only one, so I shouldn't have pluralized it. You're also ignoring every reason I gave for why I felt it was a decent performance: first career start, missing Kupp, playoffs on the line. If there's another QB whose first start came with this much pressure, I'd be surprised.

It's odd that some people bash Wolford for this game more than they did Goff who had much worse games. And none of those were his first career start.

And I want to be clear: the only reason I'm saying he played well is because of the situation and pressure. But in saying that, any time Goff put up Wolford's numbers after the INT (not including it), I've never bashed Goff for that performance.

 

[FrantikRam]

I tried that, but the context of how bad Arizona's defense was/is, along with how dominating the Rams offense had been against them previously, compared to how poorly the results were offensively, doesnt resonate. Seems to me that the only context that matters was Goff could do no right, and Wolford could do no wrong.
These dropped passes? What ones? The passes that were thrown poorly and missed wide open guys? How about the great catches that were made? Woods made a great catch on the sideline, Everett of all people made a great catch of a pass behind him, and Higbee was wide open, but the ball was thrown so poorly that he had to stop to catch it, a well thrown ball may have been 6. Funny how that works, how "context" get left out. As for the fumble, the shame there was that Wolford had failed at the goal line on the previous possession, ended up only getting 3. So they ran Akers instead, and he coughed it up. Context indeed. Defense scored 9, ST saved 3. The offense literally didnt need to do anything.

Also, while we dominated Arizona earlier in the year, they did have the 12th ranked defense by both yards and points. Also were top 8 in sacks. They were an above average defense last year.

 

[Cjcinec]

Wolford is a serviceable/ cheap backup for the Rams. That being said I hope he doesn’t take a snap in 2021

 

[dieterbrock]

Also, while we dominated Arizona earlier in the year, they did have the 12th ranked defense by both yards and points. Also were top 8 in sacks. They were an above average defense last year.

They gave up over 30 points in 5 games, and had been giving up 28 per game in previous 8 before the Rams game.
Only the Giants 7 point outing against the Cards was worse than the Rams 9 offensive points in that game. They were not above average at the end of the year

 

[dieterbrock]

I thought there was more than just the bad TD drop by Everett, but that was the only one, so I shouldn't have pluralized it. You're also ignoring every reason I gave for why I felt it was a decent performance: first career start, missing Kupp, playoffs on the line. If there's another QB whose first start came with this much pressure, I'd be surprised.

Plenty of QB played better in their first start. How about Bulger? 3 TD passes in upset win on National TV. Austin Davis, 3rd string qb, leads Rams on road to 5 scoring drives including a drive to win the game with a field goal with seconds left, and even Case Keenum, after the Rams knocked out Houston's QB so they were forced to start Keenum, the 3rd stringer against KC and he almost lead an upset.
All much better performance than #9 on the jersey and on the scoreboard.
Those are just Rams related guys, there's a ton more
All I know is that if Murray plays the whole game, and they score 20 points (Murray's average vs the Rams) while the Rams D doesnt score the 9 points, they lose the game 20-9 and I guarantee nobody is applauding that performance

 

[FrantikRam]

Plenty of QB played better in their first start. How about Bulger? 3 TD passes in upset win on National TV. Austin Davis, 3rd string qb, leads Rams on road to 5 scoring drives including a drive to win the game with a field goal with seconds left, and even Case Keenum, after the Rams knocked out Houston's QB so they were forced to start Keenum, the 3rd stringer against KC and he almost lead an upset.
All much better performance than #9 on the jersey and on the scoreboard.
Those are just Rams related guys, there's a ton more
All I know is that if Murray plays the whole game, and they score 20 points (Murray's average vs the Rams) while the Rams D doesnt score the 9 points, they lose the game 20-9 and I guarantee nobody is applauding that performance

Yes those were better performances. That has absolutely nothing to do with the post you quoted.

I didn't say his performance was great. Didn't say it was the best ever.

What I said was that the pressure he faced was rare - few QBs make their first start in a do or die game, missing their best WR and LT, against a top 12 defense.

When I consider those things I think he played well - not the best first start by any means. But well enough that I wouldn't trade him for any other backup QB right now, which is what this thread is about (his value as a backup).

 

[dieterbrock]

Yes those were better performances. That has absolutely nothing to do with the post you quoted.

I didn't say his performance was great. Didn't say it was the best ever.

What I said was that the pressure he faced was rare - few QBs make their first start in a do or die game, missing their best WR and LT, against a top 12 defense.

When I consider those things I think he played well - not the best first start by any means. But well enough that I wouldn't trade him for any other backup QB right now, which is what this thread is about (his value as a backup).

I get it, you are going to keep moving the goal posts so you can attempt to keep your narrative. Now you're creating a scenario that in your mind was unprecedented, that nobody else had ever been, and consequently stating he was the best at it. Well, duh, if he was the only one, of course he was the best, but also means he was the worst...
In any event, I can see that you still cant separate your dislike of Goff from discussing what ability/deficiency Wolford showed in that game. The point of this thread was discussing whether JW is a valid backup and whether he showed anything to suggest he is a guy to be comfortable with. Nothing to do with Goff, with being a backup for the team.
I say no, he didnt show anything in that game to leave a feeling of confidence. He was inaccurate, made some poor decisions, and couldnt complete drives. Those arent opinions, its cold hard facts. Can he get better? Well, if he's going to be the backup, I sure hope so. However given McVay's history, I dont see the backup QB being a position of importance, so if Wolford ends up being #2 is more of by attrition than by confidence. There was an opinion that McVay never pushed Goff by having competition at the position, well for sure there has been even less competition for the backup gig.

 

[FrantikRam]

Edit: not worth it

 

[Ramstien]

I never seen so much Bitching and Moaning about a player that is not a starter. How about giving us all a break, deter. The guy is a backup for a reason. He can improve his skills under McVay and with the Rams. I for one, am not ready to throw him under the bus. Oh, am I mistaken, I though the Rams won that game against the Cards. " just win baby".

 

[OldSchool]

I never seen so much Bitching and Moaning about a player that is not a starter. How about giving us all a break, deter. The guy is a backup for a reason. He can improve his skills under McVay and with the Rams. I for one, am not ready to throw him under the bus. Oh, am I mistaken, I though the Rams won that game against the Cards. " just win baby".

This is funny, question was asked thread was made people discuss. Deter has a strong opinion on it is willing to discuss it and people can't seem to debate it with him so they call him out. Classic ROD.

 

[NJRamsFan]

This is funny, question was asked thread was made people discuss. Deter has a strong opinion on it is willing to discuss it and people can't seem to debate it with him so they call him out. Classic ROD.

Yeah I genuinely don’t see why passionately and respectfully debating the actual topic of a thread is causing people to be upset.

 

[PARAM]

Yes those were better performances. That has absolutely nothing to do with the post you quoted.

I didn't say his performance was great. Didn't say it was the best ever.

What I said was that the pressure he faced was rare - few QBs make their first start in a do or die game, missing their best WR and LT, against a top 12 defense.

When I consider those things I think he played well - not the best first start by any means. But well enough that I wouldn't trade him for any other backup QB right now, which is what this thread is about (his value as a backup).

Absolutely. He did what he was supposed to do......"don't lose the game". Although, after that first pass, I thought, "shit, we're gonna lose this game". That's basically what you get from a backup QB....."win in spite of him". There are some backups who've been starters in the NFL and those are the guys you expect to come in for 3, 4 or 6 games and not miss a beat. Perhaps find a bit of that magic they displayed that made coaches believe they were once starting material. Given the choice, I'd prefer the latter. But the Rams situation is Wolford is the backup.....right now.

I never seen so much Bitching and Moaning about a player that is not a starter. How about giving us all a break, deter. The guy is a backup for a reason. He can improve his skills under McVay and with the Rams. I for one, am not ready to throw him under the bus. Oh, am I mistaken, I though the Rams won that game against the Cards. " just win baby".

Well I don't know which side the "bitching" is coming from......but, yes Wolford can improve his skills under McVay. Yes, he knows the playbook and has legs to give the offense a bonus option. But what he can't do is grow 3 inches or put on 25 lbs. And without the latter, I would hope he gets through his progressions quickly and makes a throw instead of running with his head down.

 

[dieterbrock]

I never seen so much Bitching and Moaning about a player that is not a starter. How about giving us all a break, deter. The guy is a backup for a reason. He can improve his skills under McVay and with the Rams. I for one, am not ready to throw him under the bus. Oh, am I mistaken, I though the Rams won that game against the Cards. " just win baby".

Looks like you are the only one bitching. And before you continue to do so, take a look at the thread title, maybe even read thru the thread. I think you'll learn something.

 

[PARAM]

.................take a look at the thread title.........................

The answer to the thread title is a resounding "NO". He's the current backup. "Top end backup"? Not at the moment.

 

[RamFan503]

My biggest concern is his style of play. We need a 3rd QB for sure with him as the back up. Does that take away from his standing? IMO yes. Yawlz can draw your own conclusions.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Yeah I genuinely don’t see why passionately and respectfully debating the actual topic of a thread is causing people to be upset.

Nothing we do here is that serious.

Keep on posting.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Wolford is a serviceable/ cheap backup for the Rams. That being said I hope he doesn’t take a snap in 2021

Stated perfectly.

If we can upgrade, I am sure we will. This just might not be the highest priority.

 

[Psycho_X]

Wolford is a serviceable/ cheap backup for the Rams. That being said I hope he doesn’t take a snap in 2021

Stated perfectly.

If we can upgrade, I am sure we will. This just might not be the highest priority.

My feelings as well. Wolford has a bit of spunk and energy that is nice to have there if he ever has to play god forbid which I really like about him. But backup QBs are a mystery no matter how much you think you know about them. I wouldn't bet real money on him (or any backup QB) being a successful NFL QB long term but if we have to see him there aren't a lot of backup QBs I'd like to see McVay play with over him currently. So if that makes him a top end backup so be it... not sure what that even means. Given cap space and a couple quarters of positive play from him I don't see him being replaced for 2021 at least.

 

[Ramstien]

what he can't do is grow 3 inches or put on 25 lbs. And without the latter, I would hope he gets through his progressions quickly and makes a throw instead of running with his head down.

Well no Crap.

 

[ProGen]

Guy has a higher career winning percentage than Tom Brady...and some of ya'll want to criticise him? Shame on you!