Gurley Named NFC Offensive Player of the Month, Game Preview vs. the Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams Weekly, Between The Horns, Goff is No. 3 in quarterback rating at 118.2, Diary Of A Ram Fan
Goff Off to Strong Start in 2017. By every measure, quarterback Jared Goff has gotten off to a strong start in his second professional season.
Across the board, his numbers are toward the top of the league. He’s completed 70.4 percent of his passes for 817 yards, with five touchdowns and one interception. He’s No. 3 in quarterback rating at 118.2 — behind only Kansas City’s Alex Smith and New England’s Tom Brady. He’s No. 7 in yards passing. He’s No. 3 in completion percentage. And he’s No. 1 at 10.1 yards per attempt.
These results indicate a player taking a significant step from Year 1 to Year 2 — something that’s resonated with Goff’s teammates.
“What’s crazy is how much he humbled himself and just went to work,” left guard Rodger Saffold said after last week’s victory. “He is just gradually becoming the quarterback that we want him to be and the way that he’s supposed to be.”
Should folks be surprised by those numbers? Well, that’s not really on Goff’s radar.
“Like I’ve said before, I don’t really care what people think,” Goff said wryly on Wednesday. “We just come out here and try to get better every day in practice and try to execute and go out on Sunday.”
Goff did give much of the credit for his success to those around him. He mentioned head coach Sean McVay’s ability as a play caller, as well as players like running back Todd Gurley and wideouts Robert Woods, Sammy Watkins, Tavon Austin, and Cooper Kupp making things happen after the catch. Goff is currently fourth in the league, receiving an average of 6.84 of his passing yards after the catch.
But it’s the offensive line that makes the unit tick, and it’s a group Goff feels hasn’t gotten enough praise for its play. The quarterback is also No. 6 in average length of his completions at 7.49 yards, which speaks to the way he’s been protected up front.
“I can’t say enough about those guys. They haven’t gotten any credit and it’s been mainly them,” Goff said. “I know Todd would say the same thing — he’s been running well but he’s not running anywhere without any holes. He’s not catching the ball out of the backfield and Robert, and Sammy, and Cooper, and Tavon, and all the guys we got aren’t catching the ball if we don’t have time.”
Even though Woods was not with the team in 2016, he’s noticed ways in which Goff has grown even since the spring, describing the quarterback as poised and confident.
“I would say the biggest thing is his confidence,” Woods said. “You see it at practice, you see it in games and we just have to keep it high. There’s really no stopping him when he’s feeling himself and feeling good.”
Woods is one of the skill players who has helped Goff develop that sense of confidence, along with many of the club’s offseason — and in Watkins’ case in-season — additions. And seeing success both on the practice field and in games has built trust and belief in one another.
“I think the whole team is feeling pretty good right now. We’re very grounded and understand we need to get better, but we believe in each other. I think that’s the biggest part of it,” Goff said. “I believe in Sammy, Sammy believes in me — and vice versa with every receiver on the team and the O-line. And I think that’s the most important thing. I think you can build that confidence through, like I said, success on the practice field and success when communicating and stuff like that.”
While the team may be feeling good, it’s not like anyone is content with being 2-1. It wasn’t long ago the Rams held that same record after three games.
“We started off 3-1 last year and saw the way that went, so it doesn’t mean much,” Goff said. “It means we started off well, but you break the season into quarters. And if we are able to finish this one with the win, it would be a good quarter for us and [we’ll] be ready to go for another good second quarter — [that] is the plan. But right now we’re just focused on going out there Sunday and playing as best we can.” Kristen Lago contributed reporting.
Gurley Named NFC Offensive Player of the Month
After a strong start to the 2017 season, Rams running back Todd Gurley has been named NFC Player of the Month for September.
Gurley currently leads the conference in yards from scrimmage with 381, and is tied for the league lead with six total touchdowns. In last week’s game against San Francisco, Gurley finished with 149 total yards and three touchdowns to help lead Los Angeles to a 41-39 victory.
It’s the first Player of the Month award in Gurley’s career, and he is now the fourth running back in franchise history to receive the honor joining Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, and Steven Jackson.
These results indicate a player taking a significant step from Year 1 to Year 2 — something that’s resonated with Goff’s teammates.
“What’s crazy is how much he humbled himself and just went to work,” left guard Rodger Saffold said after last week’s victory. “He is just gradually becoming the quarterback that we want him to be and the way that he’s supposed to be.”
Should folks be surprised by those numbers? Well, that’s not really on Goff’s radar.
“Like I’ve said before, I don’t really care what people think,” Goff said wryly on Wednesday. “We just come out here and try to get better every day in practice and try to execute and go out on Sunday.”
Goff did give much of the credit for his success to those around him. He mentioned head coach Sean McVay’s ability as a play caller, as well as players like running back Todd Gurley and wideouts Robert Woods, Sammy Watkins, Tavon Austin, and Cooper Kupp making things happen after the catch. Goff is currently fourth in the league, receiving an average of 6.84 of his passing yards after the catch.
But it’s the offensive line that makes the unit tick, and it’s a group Goff feels hasn’t gotten enough praise for its play. The quarterback is also No. 6 in average length of his completions at 7.49 yards, which speaks to the way he’s been protected up front.
“I can’t say enough about those guys. They haven’t gotten any credit and it’s been mainly them,” Goff said. “I know Todd would say the same thing — he’s been running well but he’s not running anywhere without any holes. He’s not catching the ball out of the backfield and Robert, and Sammy, and Cooper, and Tavon, and all the guys we got aren’t catching the ball if we don’t have time.”
Even though Woods was not with the team in 2016, he’s noticed ways in which Goff has grown even since the spring, describing the quarterback as poised and confident.
“I would say the biggest thing is his confidence,” Woods said. “You see it at practice, you see it in games and we just have to keep it high. There’s really no stopping him when he’s feeling himself and feeling good.”
Woods is one of the skill players who has helped Goff develop that sense of confidence, along with many of the club’s offseason — and in Watkins’ case in-season — additions. And seeing success both on the practice field and in games has built trust and belief in one another.
“I think the whole team is feeling pretty good right now. We’re very grounded and understand we need to get better, but we believe in each other. I think that’s the biggest part of it,” Goff said. “I believe in Sammy, Sammy believes in me — and vice versa with every receiver on the team and the O-line. And I think that’s the most important thing. I think you can build that confidence through, like I said, success on the practice field and success when communicating and stuff like that.”
While the team may be feeling good, it’s not like anyone is content with being 2-1. It wasn’t long ago the Rams held that same record after three games.
“We started off 3-1 last year and saw the way that went, so it doesn’t mean much,” Goff said. “It means we started off well, but you break the season into quarters. And if we are able to finish this one with the win, it would be a good quarter for us and [we’ll] be ready to go for another good second quarter — [that] is the plan. But right now we’re just focused on going out there Sunday and playing as best we can.” Kristen Lago contributed reporting.
Gurley Named NFC Offensive Player of the Month
Gurley currently leads the conference in yards from scrimmage with 381, and is tied for the league lead with six total touchdowns. In last week’s game against San Francisco, Gurley finished with 149 total yards and three touchdowns to help lead Los Angeles to a 41-39 victory.
It’s the first Player of the Month award in Gurley’s career, and he is now the fourth running back in franchise history to receive the honor joining Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, and Steven Jackson.
How to Watch: Week 4 vs. The Cowboys. The Rams will be on the road for the second week in a row as they travel to Arlington to face off against the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Week 4’s Sunday morning matchup against Dallas will be available on FOX and kickoff is set for 10 A.M.
BROADCAST INFO
- TELEVISION: The game will be available live on FOX. Play-by-play will be provided by: Chris Myers and Daryl Johnston, with sideline reporting from Laura Okmin.
- RADIO: ESPN English Radio on ESPN 710 AM and 100.3 The Sound FM will also broadcast the game (Play-by-play provided by: J.B. Long, Maurice Jones-Drew and D’Marco Farr). Plus, tune into 1330 AM for ESPN Deportes' live Spanish broadcast of the game with Troy Santiago and Ricardo Lopez on the call.
- ONLINE: The game will not be available live via NFL Game Pass*. However, fans will still be able to watch replays of every game and so much more! Click here to sign up for your FREE 7-day trial and start getting unprecedented access to every game, all year long.
*For domestic subscribers NFL Game Pass does not include live regular season, playoff, or Super Bowl game broadcasts, as well as some preseason games broadcasts. Access to these games is available within NFL Game Pass on an on-demand basis in the NFL Game Pass archives. International subscribers are able to watch both preseason and regular season games as they happen with certain restrictions. Audio feeds may be subject to availability. 2009-2011 games are temporarily unavailable. For a full description of features, requirement, limitations, and other information, visit our FAQ at NFL.com/help/GamePass.
Diary Of A Ram Fan. A satirical look at more than 75 years of Football's Rams history, combined with discussions of American Exceptionalism and almost 50 years of personal experience in the life of a Rams Fan. The history parallels and intertwines life to form a humorous, yet serious look at American History, World History, an American Football team, and Political Science.
