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http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angele...t-have-the-offensive-pieces-around-jared-goff
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots began the game with the ball, so Jared Goff made it a point to watch Tom Brady.
"Just to see him," Goff said, "and watch him play."
It all ended in a 26-10 Patriots win that was a lot more lopsided than the score would indicate. It gave Brady an NFL-record 201st career win and left Goff, the Los Angeles Rams' rookie quarterback and 2016 No. 1 overall pick, searching for his first.
It also reminded us of something: Having a franchise quarterback doesn't mean much if he does not have the proper pieces around him.
Kenny Britt, which came on fourth-and-11 with less than two minutes remaining.
But Goff didn't get much help.
Britt, who caught a 1-yard touchdown pass shortly after his 66-yard reception, dropped three catchable balls from Goff, two of them right after absorbing hits. Brian Quick dropped a couple of balls too, one on a throw a little high and another behind him. Rookie Pharoh Cooper dropped a ball to his chest after taking a hit from Malcolm Butler. And Lance Kendricks made the biggest gaffe of all as the first quarter was winding down.
The Rams tight end was wide open while coming across the field, but Goff's throw went through his hands, shot up in the air and was caught by Butler, giving the Patriots the ball at the Rams' 30-yard line and eventually leading to their second score.
"They are drops, and it's hard on a quarterback," said Rams coach Jeff Fisher, who confirmed that he agreed on a contract extension "well before" the start of the season. "We will be realistic when we evaluate the plays, but just offhand, my perspective on the sideline was he was making the reads. You are going to miss some. Tom threw some throws away today, but when you hit someone in the chest with the football, you've got to hang on to it, even though there is contact involved."
Goff's second interception was the result of poor protection, as Fisher pointed out. Defensive end Jabaal Sheard successfully got off the edge and was able to tip the football as Goff was throwing it, creating a wobbly pass toward the middle of the field that was intercepted by linebacker Kyle Van Noy.
Goff was hit nine times on Sunday, with the Patriots recording four sacks against an offensive line that was without veteran Rodger Saffold and has struggled mightily throughout the season.
"Just the way they mix everything up," Goff said of how the Patriots were able to penetrate the line of scrimmage so frequently. "They don’t really do the same thing twice often."
Goff, 22, has shown surprising mobility to escape pressure, but the Rams are allowing way too much of it. In his three starts, all losses, Goff has the NFL's second-lowest Total QBR (32.9), fourth-lowest completion percentage (53.7) and the second-fewest passing yards per attempt (5.36). He has thrown four touchdowns to three interceptions and has taken eight sacks, tied for fourth-most in that span.
But those numbers aren't totally reflective of the way Goff has played.
"He's a tough kid," said Patriots defensive end Chris Long, the longtime member of the Rams who recorded a sack of Goff on Sunday. "We hit him a lot, and he's getting better every week. He's only been in there a couple of weeks, but you can see him continuing to progress. He kept getting back up today, and I credit him a lot with that."
The Rams made a litany of mistakes throughout the first half, even outside of the drops.
Safety Maurice Alexander had poor pursuit of LeGarrette Blount on the fourth-and-1 carry that resulted in a 43-yard touchdown run during the opening drive. Blake Countess collided with Cooper as he was preparing to fair catch a punt. And the Rams missed two premium opportunities to come up with turnovers, first on a muffed punt and then on a tipped ball that sailed in the air.
"We just have to find a way to get better," Rams defensive end William Hayes said. "It's just getting frustrating. Week in and week out, everybody’s taking their turns making mistakes."
Really, though, this loss -- the Rams' seventh in a stretch of eight games, dropping them to 4-8 -- stemmed from an inability to generate offense, as has been the case far too many times this season.
It happened with Case Keenum, and now it's happening with Goff under center. Todd Gurley was held to a mere 38 yards on the ground and is averaging 3.22 rushing yards per carry this season, ranked 38th among 40 qualified running backs. The receivers hauled in only 14 of their 32 targets. And the offense overall had picked up just five first downs and 96 yards from scrimmage -- 96! -- before Goff's late heave to Britt. While the Patriots consistently marched down the field, the Rams got into enemy territory only twice all game.
The Patriots' offense held the ball nearly 16 minutes longer than the Rams.
"Our defense is great," Gurley said. "As an offensive player, I know we’re not helping them out by giving them 16, 17 plays in the first half, or not even putting points up. It’s frustrating. I definitely feel for the defense, because I feel like we’re not doing a good enough job to help those guys out. It goes both ways, but at the end of the day, you've got to look at yourself and say, ‘We’re just not doing a good enough job.’"
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots began the game with the ball, so Jared Goff made it a point to watch Tom Brady.
"Just to see him," Goff said, "and watch him play."
It all ended in a 26-10 Patriots win that was a lot more lopsided than the score would indicate. It gave Brady an NFL-record 201st career win and left Goff, the Los Angeles Rams' rookie quarterback and 2016 No. 1 overall pick, searching for his first.
It also reminded us of something: Having a franchise quarterback doesn't mean much if he does not have the proper pieces around him.
Kenny Britt, which came on fourth-and-11 with less than two minutes remaining.
But Goff didn't get much help.
Britt, who caught a 1-yard touchdown pass shortly after his 66-yard reception, dropped three catchable balls from Goff, two of them right after absorbing hits. Brian Quick dropped a couple of balls too, one on a throw a little high and another behind him. Rookie Pharoh Cooper dropped a ball to his chest after taking a hit from Malcolm Butler. And Lance Kendricks made the biggest gaffe of all as the first quarter was winding down.
The Rams tight end was wide open while coming across the field, but Goff's throw went through his hands, shot up in the air and was caught by Butler, giving the Patriots the ball at the Rams' 30-yard line and eventually leading to their second score.
"They are drops, and it's hard on a quarterback," said Rams coach Jeff Fisher, who confirmed that he agreed on a contract extension "well before" the start of the season. "We will be realistic when we evaluate the plays, but just offhand, my perspective on the sideline was he was making the reads. You are going to miss some. Tom threw some throws away today, but when you hit someone in the chest with the football, you've got to hang on to it, even though there is contact involved."
Goff's second interception was the result of poor protection, as Fisher pointed out. Defensive end Jabaal Sheard successfully got off the edge and was able to tip the football as Goff was throwing it, creating a wobbly pass toward the middle of the field that was intercepted by linebacker Kyle Van Noy.
Goff was hit nine times on Sunday, with the Patriots recording four sacks against an offensive line that was without veteran Rodger Saffold and has struggled mightily throughout the season.
"Just the way they mix everything up," Goff said of how the Patriots were able to penetrate the line of scrimmage so frequently. "They don’t really do the same thing twice often."
Goff, 22, has shown surprising mobility to escape pressure, but the Rams are allowing way too much of it. In his three starts, all losses, Goff has the NFL's second-lowest Total QBR (32.9), fourth-lowest completion percentage (53.7) and the second-fewest passing yards per attempt (5.36). He has thrown four touchdowns to three interceptions and has taken eight sacks, tied for fourth-most in that span.
But those numbers aren't totally reflective of the way Goff has played.
"He's a tough kid," said Patriots defensive end Chris Long, the longtime member of the Rams who recorded a sack of Goff on Sunday. "We hit him a lot, and he's getting better every week. He's only been in there a couple of weeks, but you can see him continuing to progress. He kept getting back up today, and I credit him a lot with that."
The Rams made a litany of mistakes throughout the first half, even outside of the drops.
Safety Maurice Alexander had poor pursuit of LeGarrette Blount on the fourth-and-1 carry that resulted in a 43-yard touchdown run during the opening drive. Blake Countess collided with Cooper as he was preparing to fair catch a punt. And the Rams missed two premium opportunities to come up with turnovers, first on a muffed punt and then on a tipped ball that sailed in the air.
"We just have to find a way to get better," Rams defensive end William Hayes said. "It's just getting frustrating. Week in and week out, everybody’s taking their turns making mistakes."
Really, though, this loss -- the Rams' seventh in a stretch of eight games, dropping them to 4-8 -- stemmed from an inability to generate offense, as has been the case far too many times this season.
It happened with Case Keenum, and now it's happening with Goff under center. Todd Gurley was held to a mere 38 yards on the ground and is averaging 3.22 rushing yards per carry this season, ranked 38th among 40 qualified running backs. The receivers hauled in only 14 of their 32 targets. And the offense overall had picked up just five first downs and 96 yards from scrimmage -- 96! -- before Goff's late heave to Britt. While the Patriots consistently marched down the field, the Rams got into enemy territory only twice all game.
The Patriots' offense held the ball nearly 16 minutes longer than the Rams.
"Our defense is great," Gurley said. "As an offensive player, I know we’re not helping them out by giving them 16, 17 plays in the first half, or not even putting points up. It’s frustrating. I definitely feel for the defense, because I feel like we’re not doing a good enough job to help those guys out. It goes both ways, but at the end of the day, you've got to look at yourself and say, ‘We’re just not doing a good enough job.’"
