(Poll) Who would you start this weekend? The Wolford/Goff Collection Thread

[OC_Ram]

Axl put together a nice link with Wolford's plays all in one vid: https://www.kermanyf.com/rams.html

Thanks! It was just as exciting as it was Sunday.

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

Actually I guarantee you Carroll prefers to see Goff. He's coming off surgery. He's the devil they know and the guy they have their best gameplan in place for. Of course he still has to prepare for Wolford too but point is I don't think Carroll prefers to see the backup in this situation.

Agree to disagree, not to worry this will play out soon enough so no need for “reasons”

 

[SteezyEndo]

7:13-7:25 that audible was nice. He saw something had Everett move first down...

 

[Ellard80]

No offense, my opinion is based off what I’ve watched of him. In the AAF, in college a few times, and now with the Rams. So being in my late 40’s, having played and tracked football since my early teens I’ll trust my opinion over your objection.

You should put in your app for gm positions - alot of them open.

 

[dieterbrock]

With Seattle weather, I'd say the one with bigger hands, healthy thumbs, who can escape pressure the best.

Russell Wilson? I meant on the Rams

 

[BriansRams]

If my decision, I'd start Goff ONLY IF HE can make all the throws in warm ups.

If we start him, and he plays badly ... pull him for Wolford mid 2nd quarter. We NEED to win our playoff game, not worry if we might make Goff sad. So we cannot wait until the 4th quarter to pull him. It'll be too late.

But I'd start Goff.

 

[Neil039]

You should put in your app for gm positions - alot of them open.

Sure, I’ll use you as a reference. Likely be back in the board tomorrow.

 

[OregonRamsFan]

Agreed that Goff has more natural talent than Wolford.

But who is the better QB for the Rams RIGHT NOW?

The "vibe" surrounding these two QB's feels completely different. If you did a private interview in the Rams locker room right now about whom to start, I really wonder what the responses would be. All the shots of Goff I saw on the sidelines showed him alone and looking despondent. Meanwhile, Wolford gets the hero's welcome in the victory party.

And yes, I think Goff's recent miscues have gotten into his head. He may say he doesn't feel it, but I guarantee he does. One big mistake by Goff and.... tension city.

It's hard for me not to notice how giddy McVay was about Wolford in the postgame. Felt like McVay had discovered a shiny new toy, and he was absolutely loving the idea of creating new play designs to suit Wolford's strengths. I really think McVay was affected by Belichik's move in the last SB... Belichik installed a last-minute, completely new defensive gameplan that they hadn't shown before in the entire season. By the same token, I could totally see McVay loving the idea of completely re-tooling his offense just in time for the Tournament. All new looks, all new plays, all new strategy. Designing an O around Wolford could give the Rams a strategic advantage IMHO. On the other hand, the Rams O with Goff seems to get more and more stale, with McVay seemingly having to "protect" Goff because opposing defenses have found strategies to exploit Goff's weaknesses.

"An elite D and a solid run game wins Championships." How many times have we heard this before? IMHO Wolford could represent a HUGE upgrade to the Rams overall running game. The Rams absolutely destroyed the Cards in time of possession, by 38 minutes to 22. With an elite D and the Rams O churning out long, mistake-free, time-killing drives, this is an established recipe for playoff success.

I acknowledge I might be overstating things a bit here... I've been a big Goff supporter for several years, and I'm still aware of his elite talent.

But for the Rams to win it all this year, they're gonna need a fairy tale. And I think the "magic of the unexpected" is more likely to happen with Wolford than Goff.

Nailed it.

 

[BatteringRambo]

I remember @jrry32 mentioned the honest comparison to Jeff Garcia a few days ago pre-Sundays game. Nailed it again dude!

 

[OregonRamsFan]

They just played a team without a QB. A team that could not sustain a drive as the Rams defense kept handing the ball back to our offense.

Despite that, our offense put up 9 points. NINE!

That won't work against Russell Wilson. We need to be able to pass the ball consistently and sustain drives to keep Wilson off the field.

Preferably get up on them and make them abandon their ground game because whoever runs it the best will likely win.

So how does Wolford do when he falls behind and must air it out on predictable passing downs?

That is the concern for such an inexperienced QB... Not his fault, just the facts.

If Goff is 85-90% and can take center snaps, you have to start him.

Did we forget the trip down the field that ended in zero points due to a fumble on the goal line?

 

[oldnotdead]

If Goff is anywhere near 100% he will start. That said if he shows problems with that hand I think he would get a quick hook. The problem I'm most concerned with is Goff not fumbling with that thumb. IMO this game will come down to ball security for the Rams. That thumb creating possible fumbles is a legit concern.

With Wolford they know they have a QB they can win with so even if Goff starts he could be on a short leash in regards to ball security. Don't discount the cold weather effect on an injured thumb. With or without Goff the Rams can win by simply playing a clean game and simply turning the dogs loose up front on the d-line.

 

[jrry32]

Agreed that Goff has more natural talent than Wolford.

But who is the better QB for the Rams RIGHT NOW?

If Goff is anywhere near 100%, he is easily the better QB right now. He should start. If he's not healthy, sit him. Wolford is a large downgrade in the passing department.

 

[BatteringRambo]

 

[PressureD41]

Goff can throw the ball, the real question is can the thumb handle snap under the center. The snap pressure on his thumb is the real question? Will it lead to a fumble, or stress as the game moves along.

 

[XXXIVwin]

If Goff is anywhere near 100%, he is easily the better QB right now. He should start. If he's not healthy, sit him. Wolford is a large downgrade in the passing department.

TBH I’m more worried about Goff’s head than his thumb.

I’m worried about confidence in Goff— from his teammates, from his head coach, and from himself. The way McVay talks about Goff now really concerns me...the frustration is palpable. And if Goff dismisses the concerns about his play and says he doesn’t pay attention to it, I call bullshit.

I’m a diehard Ram fan, and if Goff gets the start, I’ll be hoping like hell he delivers a great performance. But psychologically, I think Goff’s in a tough spot right now. “Don’t fuck things up!” is not a good place to be heading into the playoffs.

Bottom line, I’ll trust McVay to make the right choice

 

[BatteringRambo]

No thumb intended... Oh wait.

 

[Giles]

I'll start jg. Just run the offense out of the gun which jg might prefer anyway.

 

[jrry32]

TBH I’m more worried about Goff’s head than his thumb.

I’m worried about confidence in Goff— from his teammates, from his head coach, and from himself. The way McVay talks about Goff now really concerns me...the frustration is palpable. And if Goff dismisses the concerns about his play and says he doesn’t pay attention to it, I call bullshit.

I’m a diehard Ram fan, and if Goff gets the start, I’ll be hoping like hell he delivers a great performance. But psychologically, I think Goff’s in a tough spot right now. “Don’t fuck things up!” is not a good place to be heading into the playoffs.

Bottom line, I’ll trust McVay to make the right choice

Goff in his psychologically tough spot is still a better QB. I think we can all respect that Wolford helped the team win. It was a lot to ask of a backup in his first NFL snaps. But he didn't have a good game. None of us can project what he'll do against Seattle if given the opportunity, but based on what he did against Arizona, I'd rather have Goff if he can go. Simply put, McVay is going to hold Goff to a very different standard than Wolford.

 

[Mackeyser]

People keep mentioning this play but it was the right call to not take the hit on that. There was 40 seconds left before halftime and the Rams had no timeouts and were on Seattle's 20. Not only would the clock not stop but the probability of even getting a field goal was extremely remote. All the risk for virtually no reward.

Sometimes a play isn't just a play.

It sets the tone. It rips Big Mo's jersey from the opponents' backs. It fails, but in so doing, like a feint, sets up a bigger play for success later.

Any time a QB decides not to take a hit, it's the smart move. No question.

At the same time, there are times when a QB has to take a chance... he's got to block that much bigger guy or make a tackle or... fight for a first down.

I don't begrudge Goff anything. I think he's off and I dunno if there's a parallax error between how he sees McVay's intention and McVay's actual intention for a particular play or if McVay's hyper-emphasis on not turning the ball over has created paralysis by analysis not just for Goff, but sometimes for McVay himself. Or whatever...

I think Goff's our QB going forward and I feel pretty good about that, even as I lament the current state of his play which isn't as bad as it looks, but feels worse than it is.

My point is that Goff was the smart, scrappy kid at one point and this team rallied around him. He fought and battled and the team never wavered.

But especially this year, Goff hasn't been playing like he did. And when Wolford came in and started playing smart and scrappy, the team has rallied around him.

My point was more a question which only McVay can answer is will McVay ride the energy that Wolford brings and brings out in the team or will he focus on Goff and his better ability to execute while hopefully learning a bit from Wolford's successes against AZ?

We'll find out on Saturday. I can see the case for both and I don't really care which it is, I just want to win.

Actually, if I could write the outcome, the Rams would battle and win the Super Bowl with Goff at the helm. Having our Franchise QB back to being a Franchise QB would be super.

That said, having the Rams replicate the Eagles with Foles doesn't hurt my feelings, either b/c there's no way we're drafting a QB in the 2nd round and Goff's just not Wentz. He's much better.

 

[CGI_Ram]

IMO, the Rams should start the QB least likely to turn the ball over.

With Seattle weather, I'd say the one with bigger hands, healthy thumbs, who can escape pressure the best.

I am glad you answered, Memphis, because I was going to ask how the heck do you predict this?

The counter to your answer is; it is a playoff game and the backup has 1 career start. That is a safer turnover play?

So, again... heads or tails?