Category: The All-22

Obviously, the ideal scenario for Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions would be for Goff to be playing at a level that would make Sunday’s Lions-Rams game a potential revenge matchup for Goff. The former Rams quarterback, selected first overall in the 2016 draft and cast aside this offseason as his former team traded a king’s ransom (Goff, two first-round picks, and a third-round pick) for Matthew Stafford, would be at least in competition in this quarterback switcheroo.

But that is not the case. While Stafford is redefining what Rams head coach Sean McVay’s offense is supposed to look like, Goff is coming off an awful home outing against the Bengals in which he was booed in the first half, and wound up with 28 completions in 42 attempts for 202 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 67.8. Goff’s stat line against the Vikings the week before was disturbingly similar — 21 completions in 35 attempts for 203 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 64.3 — and on the young season, he has 159 completions in 238 attempts for 1,505 yards, seven touchdowns, four interceptions, a passer rating of 86.9.

Goff’s touchdown rate of 2.9% is the lowest of his career since his rookie season, when he had one of the worst quarterback years in pro football history. As much as McVay’s offense and the players around him elevated Goff as high as he was going to go, it seems that in Detroit, Goff has regressed to his norm. Right now, Stafford ranks first in DVOA and third in DYAR among quarterbacks; Goff ranks 24th in DVOA and 25th in DYAR.

New Lions head coach Dan Campbell isn’t at all happy about the way this is going, and made that abundantly clear after the 34-11 loss to the Bengals.

“I don’t feel like we can accurately judge him one way or another,” Campbell said, when the subject of benching Goff came up. “I don’t feel that way yet. Now, I will say this—I feel like he needs to step up more than he has. And I think he needs to help us just like everybody else. I think he’s going to need to put a little bit of weight on his shoulders here and it’s time to step up, make some throws and do some things. But he needs help. He needs help. And look, I told him out there, he knows this, but some of that stuff. We’re getting these holding calls… well, it’s because he’s drifting back in the pocket 10 yards deep. That’s not fair to those guys either. If you hang on to the ball… it’s like I told you, this is a collective effort now. Everything goes hand-in-hand. But I want to see him step up, I do, I do because I think he can do it.”

The Lions have injury issues and talent deficits on their roster, but at a certain point, you either have a quarterback who can transcend that stuff, or you don’t.

Campbell’s comments following the Vikings loss the week before were perhaps even more damning. When asked about Goff’s turnovers… well, you never want to hear about a sixth-year NFL quarterback that it might be time to scale things back.

Yeah, that will certainly be something we look at,” Campbell said of the turnovers. “Because it has, it’s killed us a couple weeks in a row. Whether we’ve got to — you know, it could be as simple as trimming the calls back a little bit to where it’s a little bit more mainstream and to the point. Quick, easy. I see it in my head, we get lined up, it — you know, just a little less moving parts, if you will. Maybe that’s where we can help a little bit. So we’ll look at everything with it. But, you know, it hurts us.”

Goff was asked about the turnovers after the Vikings game, as well.

“I think each one of them, you have to look at individually, right? I think, you know, if I’m making poor decisions, I think that’s one thing. If it’s lack of ball security, that’s another thing. If it’s, you know, they’re making plays on defense, it’s another thing. I think you have to look at them all individually. Obviously, we need to limit them. They need to go away, right? But I need to keep playing aggressively like I always have and not allow, you know, things that may happen my way or their way, whatever it may be affect the way that I play each play.”

In the end, the Rams wanted Goff out of the building because they could only go so far with him, and the Stafford upgrade was worth the cost in their minds. That process took a few years, and McVay exhausting what talent Goff does have. With the Lions, the process has accelerated. Which is not something you can say about Goff’s own process. What shows on the field is a quarterback who is afraid to turn it loose for big plays. A quarterback who doesn’t understand the timing of his own passing game. A quarterback who now finds that the walls are closing in.

You always want to know in these situations if the problems can be fixed. I’m not sure about that, because in Goff’s case, he’s regressed in so many of the categories that are required of good-to-great quarterbacks. Goff is neither right now — not even close — and here’s why.