Swift was a good RB. He also always seemed to get hurt and it seemed like he was always trying to avoid injury.
Monty and Gibbs run hard and don’t seem to always be trying to avoid injury. They’ve both gotten banged up but the offense doesn’t skip a beat as both are complete backs.
Depends on your definition of success is… If it means winning a single game… Then no. If it means having a successful season, the it’s a resounding YES! Teams know the Lions can run, so they have to respect it… If they weren’t a dominate running team, Goff would have a much harder time throwing the ball week to week. But since they are, teams know they have to honor the run. Also, the run game gives the defense time to rear, without it, they’re bock on the field faster, wear down faster, and give up more points. A great run game does more than just helping the QB.
I will 100% disagree and so would Dan Campbell.
Every QB needs a productive run game. It’s extremely difficult to consistently win without one. Especially in the cold and rain.
The reason Goff has success passing is because defenses have to respect the run. They load the box and Goff gets 1on1 matchups with his receivers.
Without a productive run game teams will just rush 3 down linemen, (who can pin their ears back), also run two deep safeties and double team your best receivers. This is what happened to Matt Stafford and the Lions when he was here.
You need a run game. That’s why the Lions have spent so much effort on building one. It’s extremely important.
Hoo boy. Communication is hard. The question is whether in the rare game that the run game isn’t being productive, is the Lions’ O doomed or can Jared and the passing game carry the day? That’s why I included the “in any given game” part below. And, even more specifically, is Goff LESS able to carry the offensive load in such (rare) games than other top-10 QBs?
We regret the confusion!
Goff is a top level pocket passer. Period. Pre snap reads, changing the play, post snap reads, moving around the pocket, making decisions, accuracy, timing, throwing into tight window. Everything is on point.
What really makes him so good is his consistency, week to week and play to play and no matter the situation in the game. How many times has he opened a game this season 10/10 or 9/10 for completions? And then he just keeps it up all game. That’s one thing Stafford never had, in pretty much every game Stafford has a period where something’s just off and he misses several throws. Stafford at his very best is probably slightly better, but overall I would take Goff in a heartbeat because he’s just so damn consistent, you get 15 good plays and 2 great ones a game compared to Stafford’s 7 good plays and 3 or 4 great ones.
A top level pocket passer doesn’t need a run game, but a top level offense does. Goff benefits from it, but he doesn’t need it because he has all the skills to succeed without it. It’s also worth remembering that if we didn’t have a great run game, Goff would have more TDs because we run in so many TDs from inside the 5.
Actually, it was the position of the guy I quoted.
And I didn’t just cite individual games. I didn’t cherry-pick. I cited JG’s stats from the three games over two years in which the run game was least productive. I didn’t look at any more. (The Lions have few such games.) The fact is that JG absolutely thrived in such games - which counters a lot of people’s expectations.
But in none of this do I mean to suggest that a strong running game doesn’t benefit Goff and the passing game generally. Or that the threat of the running game even in those three specific games didn’t help the passing game. But since there’s no sample of Lions games in which the running game poses no threat we’re kind of stuck.
He’s just in full control at all times. Really reminds me of Drew Brees.
I know who you are quoting on the Rams board and that poster became a big Goff hater before the trade. When the trade happened, he predicted that in 3 years Goff would be a bench-sitter or out of the league altogether.
Thinks he’s God’s gift to football analysis.
When the Rams lost to Lions in the playoffs, he said “Goff is having his little victory lap for now”.
Lol. He’s one that will never change his mind, unlike so many Lions fans who have been open and willing to see for themselves.
Haha. I knew someone on this board would know who it was.
10-4.
I’m out on this one. It was a lapse in judgement, getting involved in a QB conversation.
Yes they do. No slight on Jared.
Absolutely, no real debate there
That’s more a conversation with yourself rather than the one I was having. My conclusion was since Stafford’s SB ring, over the 3 years since that happened, Goff has been a superior QB. I wasn’t going year by year. I’m saying yes Stafford was better that first year - but overall Goff has been better since. One could almost come to the conclusion that McVay got too impatient with Goff and pulled the plug way too early. Anyone in the NFL would prefer Goff at 30 over Stafford at 36 if they were building a franchise right now moving forward.
That’s a little strong for me. How about we start with “if Stafford had a run game maybe he would have one a single playoff game” first lol
I think the are some QBs that want to pass the ball no matter what and their teams run game is always going to suffer because of it.
Fair. I just feel like we and Stafford got cheated in not having prime Stafford on a team that resembled anything like the 2023 or 2024 Lions. These last two years feel like the most complete teams we’ve ever had in my almost 40 years of fandom.
Looking back at the trade it’s obvious that, in a football sense, the Rams made a terrible deal. They traded us a QB who had success, was a former #1 draft pick, was 6 years younger, and led his team to the playoffs (with a playoff win) the year they dumped him. Not only did they trade the QB but they also traded a boatload of draft picks for a guy who was 6 years older and spent his 12 year career putting up lofty stats and highlight reel plays but never any sustained success and no playoff wins.
The Rams could’ve won the Super Bowl in 2021 with Goff. The issue was coaching. McVay didn’t want to coach Goff or couldn’t coach Goff for some reason I’ll never quite understand. So he dumped Goff and a boatload of picks for a player he felt he didn’t really have to coach too much in Stafford.
With all the rumors of McVay retiring if Stafford retires, I kind of get the impression that McVay doesn’t really have the ability or patience to coach young QBs. Yes, he was able to turn Goff’s initial poor year 1 into a good QB, but at some point he lost patience with Goff. It’s almost the opposite of Kyle Shanahan who seems to be able to coach up almost every QB he touches.
In the last 3 seasons, when rushing for 102 yards or less, the Lions are 5-7.
Good research. Interesting, not surprising though. We are at our best when the run game is humming.
Shanahan’s offense does not give much agency to the QB. It’s my understanding that they have to run the plays he calls and aren’t allowed to adjust protections, instead they designated the hot route to deal with free rushers. McVay ran a similar offense when Goff was there.
Goff has this stickiness to his persona that causes the narratives to always excuse away his good performances and pin everything bad on him.
It’s not fair but I blame his name. It kind of sounds clumsy. If an author is creating a cast of characters, Goff is probably the guy who wears a goofy hat and always trips and falls. The character who leans against a pedestal column and knocks the vase down, which alerts the monsters to their presence…
‘Dammit! Goff! Be more careful!’
If his name were ‘Steele’ ‘Armstrong’ or ‘Brockman’ the media would be fawning all over him
Goff was lucky his Cal career didn’t overlap with Brock Mansion’s. Jared may have never seen any action.
Everybody is better with a good run hand game, but right now we are in basketball mode and we need turnovers and stops to keep from just trading scores.