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Practice Report 11/16: The Gameplan with Goff
Myles Simmons
The announcement came down on Tuesday: Rookie quarterback Jared Goff will be the starting quarterback against the Dolphins on Sunday. According to head coach Jeff Fisher, the time is right and the No. 1 overall pick is ready.
So now that we all have heard and processed the news, how is offensive coordinator Rob Boras anticipating his unit to play with its new signal-caller?
“I think, offensively, obviously we need to rally around Jared, which I know that they will — we’re excited about it,” Boras said after Wednesday’s session. “He’s been preparing as if he’s been the starter for the first nine games. Again, we all recognize it’s different than actually playing. The volume of the plays, it’s the same amount of plays, the same package, we trust with where he is mentally —that’s what we’ve kept commenting on, how well he’s handling everything.”
There have been a few major checkpoints over the course of the season for Goff, one of which was the practice during the bye a few weeks ago. In that session, the rookie received the majority of first-team snaps, demonstrating what he’d been able to glean about the offense to that point.
“I think it was one of the turning points. Obviously any time that you get extended reps, you have a better time to evaluate,” Boras said. “We kept talking about the classroom, classroom, classroom, but now you got more reps against the first team defense. So it definitely helped us see where he was and helped part of the evaluation process.”
One of the shifts Boras will make with the new quarterback is marking down more plays with which Goff is more familiar and likes. It’s the same thing he would do with Case Keenum for the previous nine games.
“I would have a call sheet with my rankings that Case had given me as well if Jared had gone in, so no different there except I’ll have a couple call sheets marked up for Jared and one marked up for Case,” Boras said.
Because it is Goff’s first time out, no one quite knows what — if any — added dimensions the rookie can bring to the offense. Everyone has an idea based on what the quarterback did in college and the preseason, but it’s certainly different when it counts for the first time.
“We’re going to find out,” Boras said. “He’s tall — again, it’s a big-man’s game at a lot of positions. he’s tall, he can see, everything we talked about — his delivery, how quick he is, he’s decisive. We saw how tough he was at Cal. We hope he doesn’t have to be that tough and take hits, but we saw his toughness. His ability to escape and extend plays, his intelligence — we’re excited about seeing it take off on Sunday.”
KEENUM CONTINUES AS STRONG TEAMMATE
In the NFL, for every promotion, there is also a demotion. And this week, by all accounts, Keenum is handling the situation perhaps even better than might be expected.
“My heart goes out to Case,” Boras said. “Case is a teammate and a great leader and he’s going to be great in that room. That’s a compliment to him and his family with the type of person and character that he is. There is nothing odd in that classroom. He’s going to handle it great. He will help Jared every way that he can, because that’s who he is. I can’t say enough good things about Case and the person he is.”
“I can’t stress enough how awesome Case has been before this, in training camp, in OTAs, now this has happened after,” Goff said Tuesday. “On and off the field, I can’t stress enough how good of a teammate and how awesome he’s been with it.”
If you know Keenum or have ever heard much about him, this is likely no surprise as he clearly takes his role as a teammate seriously. And while he is no longer Los Angeles’ starter, Keenum is still a captain. And so even though there’s a sense of surprise, disappointment, and frustration, that doesn’t change how Keenum will go about doing his job.
“Honestly, I wasn’t happy. I want to play. That’s why I play football — is to play football. To be the quarterback, to be the guy with the ball in his hands,” Keenum said Wednesday. “So, with that being said, I trust coach Fisher. I trust the coaches and their decision. I’m a leader — I’m a captain on this team. So I’m going to do my job. And my job is whatever they tell me my job is.”
That includes being there to help Goff whenever he needs it.
“I’m going to be the same guy I always am. I’m always there for him if he asks questions in the meeting room, on the practice field, [watching] game film. So I’m going to be the same guy I always am — that’s a leader, that’s a good teammate, and being the best teammate that I can be. And that’s who I am. That’s who I’m going to be.”
INJURY REPORT
The Rams listed five players on their Wednesday injury report.
Center Tim Barnes (foot), defensive back Lamarcus Joyner (ankle), defensive end Robert Quinn (illness), defensive end Eugene Sims (concussion), and wide receiver Nelson Spruce (calf) all did not participate in Wednesday’s session.
Quinn was at practice on the sidelines once again on Wednesday, and Fisher sounded positive about his status.
“Rob was much better, yeah,” Fisher said. “He did a bunch of stuff inside. We didn’t clear him to practice, but tomorrow he’ll move around outside on the field.
[www.therams.com]
Myles Simmons
The announcement came down on Tuesday: Rookie quarterback Jared Goff will be the starting quarterback against the Dolphins on Sunday. According to head coach Jeff Fisher, the time is right and the No. 1 overall pick is ready.
So now that we all have heard and processed the news, how is offensive coordinator Rob Boras anticipating his unit to play with its new signal-caller?
“I think, offensively, obviously we need to rally around Jared, which I know that they will — we’re excited about it,” Boras said after Wednesday’s session. “He’s been preparing as if he’s been the starter for the first nine games. Again, we all recognize it’s different than actually playing. The volume of the plays, it’s the same amount of plays, the same package, we trust with where he is mentally —that’s what we’ve kept commenting on, how well he’s handling everything.”
There have been a few major checkpoints over the course of the season for Goff, one of which was the practice during the bye a few weeks ago. In that session, the rookie received the majority of first-team snaps, demonstrating what he’d been able to glean about the offense to that point.
“I think it was one of the turning points. Obviously any time that you get extended reps, you have a better time to evaluate,” Boras said. “We kept talking about the classroom, classroom, classroom, but now you got more reps against the first team defense. So it definitely helped us see where he was and helped part of the evaluation process.”
One of the shifts Boras will make with the new quarterback is marking down more plays with which Goff is more familiar and likes. It’s the same thing he would do with Case Keenum for the previous nine games.
“I would have a call sheet with my rankings that Case had given me as well if Jared had gone in, so no different there except I’ll have a couple call sheets marked up for Jared and one marked up for Case,” Boras said.
Because it is Goff’s first time out, no one quite knows what — if any — added dimensions the rookie can bring to the offense. Everyone has an idea based on what the quarterback did in college and the preseason, but it’s certainly different when it counts for the first time.
“We’re going to find out,” Boras said. “He’s tall — again, it’s a big-man’s game at a lot of positions. he’s tall, he can see, everything we talked about — his delivery, how quick he is, he’s decisive. We saw how tough he was at Cal. We hope he doesn’t have to be that tough and take hits, but we saw his toughness. His ability to escape and extend plays, his intelligence — we’re excited about seeing it take off on Sunday.”
KEENUM CONTINUES AS STRONG TEAMMATE
In the NFL, for every promotion, there is also a demotion. And this week, by all accounts, Keenum is handling the situation perhaps even better than might be expected.
“My heart goes out to Case,” Boras said. “Case is a teammate and a great leader and he’s going to be great in that room. That’s a compliment to him and his family with the type of person and character that he is. There is nothing odd in that classroom. He’s going to handle it great. He will help Jared every way that he can, because that’s who he is. I can’t say enough good things about Case and the person he is.”
“I can’t stress enough how awesome Case has been before this, in training camp, in OTAs, now this has happened after,” Goff said Tuesday. “On and off the field, I can’t stress enough how good of a teammate and how awesome he’s been with it.”
If you know Keenum or have ever heard much about him, this is likely no surprise as he clearly takes his role as a teammate seriously. And while he is no longer Los Angeles’ starter, Keenum is still a captain. And so even though there’s a sense of surprise, disappointment, and frustration, that doesn’t change how Keenum will go about doing his job.
“Honestly, I wasn’t happy. I want to play. That’s why I play football — is to play football. To be the quarterback, to be the guy with the ball in his hands,” Keenum said Wednesday. “So, with that being said, I trust coach Fisher. I trust the coaches and their decision. I’m a leader — I’m a captain on this team. So I’m going to do my job. And my job is whatever they tell me my job is.”
That includes being there to help Goff whenever he needs it.
“I’m going to be the same guy I always am. I’m always there for him if he asks questions in the meeting room, on the practice field, [watching] game film. So I’m going to be the same guy I always am — that’s a leader, that’s a good teammate, and being the best teammate that I can be. And that’s who I am. That’s who I’m going to be.”
INJURY REPORT
The Rams listed five players on their Wednesday injury report.
Center Tim Barnes (foot), defensive back Lamarcus Joyner (ankle), defensive end Robert Quinn (illness), defensive end Eugene Sims (concussion), and wide receiver Nelson Spruce (calf) all did not participate in Wednesday’s session.
Quinn was at practice on the sidelines once again on Wednesday, and Fisher sounded positive about his status.
“Rob was much better, yeah,” Fisher said. “He did a bunch of stuff inside. We didn’t clear him to practice, but tomorrow he’ll move around outside on the field.
[www.therams.com]
