The Rams built a team for Jared Goff, and it’s starting to pay off

Update: Goff and the Rams showed again Thursday night in 41-39 win over the 49ers just what a difference this all makes. Goff was nearly flawless on Thursday night, completing 22 of 28 passes for 292 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Jared Goff was the first pick in the 2016 NFL draft, by the Los Angeles Rams, because he’s uber talented. He’s got a lively arm, he can make all the throws, and he understands the game. He also wasn’t ready to play in 2016. He came from a college offense that was nothing like what he’d have to run the NFL, and he was drafted by a staff that wasn’t designed to help him achieve success in his first season.

I believe it’s imperative for young quarterbacks in the modern style of football to play under offensive-minded head coaches. The learning curve for a quarterback can be steep because of the college systems they play in.

When you have an offensive-minded head coach, the entire operation in the building is geared towards the offense. Practice is set up with a nod towards the offense. The free agent pick ups are geared towards helping and protecting the quarterback.

Look no further than the Rams. Out is Jeff Fisher and in is Sean McVay, the youngest head coach in the NFL. He was brought in to fix Jared Goff. What did the Rams do right away? They signed left tackle Andrew Whitworth and center John Sullivan. Give Goff protection. They drafted Cooper Kupp, signed Robert Woods and traded for Sammy Watkins. Give Goff weapons.

Next in line to help Jared Goff start reaching his potential is the offensive scheme. This is why Sean McVay was hired. Coach McVay worked wonders in Washington with Kirk Cousins.

With McVay calling the plays, Cousins threw for 4,166 and 4,917 yards in 2015 and 2016. Washington ran a steady diet of play-action passes off its zone run game. This gives easy reads for the quarterback and opportunities for big-chunk plays. It builds confidence in a young quarterback

This is exactly what the Rams offense was last week against the Colts. Steady run game, followed up with play action passes. In 2016, Goff had a dreadful 5.3 yards per pass attempt. In the first game of the 2017 season, that number jumped to 10.6. Yes, it’s a small sample size, but this is just the start of this offense.

Let’s dive into some of those completions.

This first play is something that should fire up Rams fans. Goff is under center, turns his back to fake a handoff to Gurley, squares around, and without hesitation, throws a dart for a completion.

This is important because it shows that Goff read the defense correctly, and knew the timing of the route. There was zero doubt when he turned around, he was slinging the rock into that open window. This is much improved from last season.

Here’s a long play-action pass to Cooper Kupp, one of his new weapons. Kupp was a great pickup for the Rams, a reliable route runner with great hands

One more easy pitch and catch for Goff. Setting him and the offense up for success.

The Rams also used formations to help Goff with defensive reads and he did the rest. Here the Rams line up their tight end in a 1x3 formation, allowing him to be alone on the top of the field. This lets Goff to see it’s man coverage, with a linebacker trying to man up the tight end. He recognizes this, as he should, and drops off a dime. This is the special arm talent that got Goff drafted so high.

This was my favorite play of the game for the Rams offense.

1) Look at the protection. What a difference for a young quarterback. Goff has all day to throw.

2) Goff has all day to throw, goes through his progression and throws a dart to Kupp for a touchdown. His mechanics are maybe not the best here, but the throw was outstanding. You can work on the footwork.

This play right here should get Rams fans fired up!

This wasn’t a perfect game for Goff. He still has room for improvement. He needs to continue to work on throwing on the run.

Here he gets a tad bit of pressure, moves to his right, has room to work and throws a worm finder into the turf. Making these types of throws when the pocket breaks down will take his game to whole another level.

Week 1 was a huge improvement for Jared Goff. Sure, it was against the lowly Colts, but Goff looked confident and the offense looks to be in a good rhythm. He’ll have some ups and downs this season, but if I were a Rams fan, I’d be excited about where this is headed.