The subtle hints of a divorce between Rams coach Sean McVay and quarterback Jared Goff increased slowly as the season progressed, culminating Saturday when an agreement was reached to swap the quarterback for the Detroit Lions , along with the first rounds of 2022 and 2023, Selection in the third round of 2021, in exchange for Matthew Stafford.
But there is perhaps no better illustration of what went wrong and what needs to be fixed than what happened in a two-game series against the unbeaten New York Jets in December.
The Rams trailed 23-20 late in the fourth quarter and were on the New York 37 that needed four yards on the third back to convert a first, but McVay saw opportunity for more.
The coach, who is often praised for his offensive prowess, saw the opportunity to take advantage of the Jets’ male coverage and shoot at the third and fourth shots for the end zone, with alternative shorter options.
On both plays, Goff stuck to his primary target and missed open receivers on under routes. McVay admitted after the game that these were aggressive calls, but believed they would somehow convert.
“Obviously I need to be able to progress there,” McVay said after the game. “In the end, we did not make the plays.”
This may have been the culmination of the Rams’ frustrations over the attack, but Goff was unstoppable all season. He passed twenty times, his least since his rookie season, and turned the ball over 17 times. He stumbled three more times, but the Rams recovered.
This is the kind of game that coaches stop at night.
His three conversions against the San Francisco 49ers in November cost the Rams the game and spurred McVay to deliver a rare public criticism that Goff ‘should take better care of football’.
Stafford have intercepted fewer passes in the last three seasons than Goff, and it’s a bad Detroit team that often plays from behind and is forced to throw. Stafford had 26 in those seasons, just five in 2019 (in eight games played), and Goff 41.
Last season, Stafford averaged 7.7 yards per passing effort and Goff 7.2. It may not seem like much, but consider it: Stafford throws 13 touchdowns on passes of 20 yards or more, according to Next Gen Stats / Zebra Technologies. Goff throws only four such touches.
After the Rams traded the fast-paced Brandin Cooks to create room for salary caps, they no longer posed a deep threat to defense. This sharpened the cover and forced the Rams to endure long slides.
It was also a downfall in their NFC Division Round result against Green Bay Packers.
The Packers defender had Rams full-back Jared Goff on the run during their playoff game that Green Bay won.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
“This is not the world I want to live in,” McVay said a day after the Green Bay loss. “I think you need to create explosives. I do think it’s important to have catch-and-run opportunities, but the margin of error is so slim, and if you are not effective with the first discount, it seems like it’s way too much to overcome. ”
Receivers Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods finish with 974 yards and 936 yards, respectively, but most of the production comes on short or intermediate routes. The free agents that the Rams can target in their price range to increase speed include Nelson Agholor and Marvin Jones, the former Stafford teammate.
“There’s an element in the skills that players bring that is more than the catches and the yards and the touchdowns, but they come alive over a 60-game game,” said Rams general manager Les Snead. “The way you have to defend yourself – things open up.”
Goff thrived in a game-action system with shooter and a solid game, and it does not seem coincidental that the Rams’ offense was in tune with the deterioration of Todd Gurley’s left knee.
In his place, newcomers Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson struggled to stay healthy, though Akers still rushed 625 yards and scored five times, despite missing three games and being delayed by injury. Henderson ended the season for the second consecutive season on the injured reserve. but rushed for 624 yards and five touchdowns.
Compared to what Stafford is used to in Detroit, it looks like a mother’s room. In his twelve seasons, the Lions have had a running top 100 yards in a game only 11 times.
Since 2016, when Goff entered the league, Stafford has won 18 games in a team with a 32-47-1 record. Goff produced eight. More intriguing, only 1,738 of Stafford’s 4,084 yards that passed last season came to the catch. Goff throws for 3,952 yards and 2,131 come after the catch.
Stafford was successful in the field.
“The long explosive and some of the shots in the field were not as common as years ago,” McVay said the day after the Rams season ended. “I think it made it a lot harder, and your margin of error is much slimmer than a foul if you feel you have to play 10 and 13 times to score touchdowns.”