On the punt team thing, seems like huge emphasis on getting everyone together from snap to blocking assignments. Cohesion and timing.
A lot of new players working together on that unit now and they want to really make sure no mistakes.
Just a guess.
I definitely disagree with that. We are not the 2020 Rams in that respect.
We’ll find out one way or the other starting in September.
People confuse arm strength with deep ball accuracy. Putting the right trajectory on the deep crossing patterns or the sideline fades doesn’t need linear arm strength. I have watched Goff since he was at Berkeley and he throws those ok. That’s not the problem. What I think he struggles with is making quick sharp throws because he has a bigger windup and a slower than average release. Again, that’s not a show stopper because he can move the ball around to different targets. Making off base throws and muscling the ball around the yard has never been his game but he hasn’t needed to because he is good at seeing the field and using progressions etc. He can be good or bad depending on how they use him.
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When Williams and Perriman are on the IR by week three we will definitely see 
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I dont see that here. Opinions are all across the board on QBs. My general feel is that most believe Goff can do it, but he needs an open WR, and a clean pocket so he can step into it.
They seem to be concentrating on his blocking so when he was in on passing plays he always blocked. I haven’t seen him catch a pass yet except in drills. He looked fine doing it.
Of the two practices I went to he didn’t take any snaps in one. The other one he looked darn good. He took mostly snaps on the outside and beat Okudah on a couple plays. I though Cephus looked good.
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I thought I saw he hit his head on the ground the day before so they held him out as a precaution yesterday. They didn’t say the C word (not trying to jinx anything so I won’t say it) but I think it was precautionary. But definitely hoping for the best with him and maybe he’ll be able to take over the 1 or 2 outside spot this year! Maybe making or WR depth not so terrible
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Truth be told, I wouldn’t freak out if both go down and we end up with Ratley, the Sun God, Cephus, Raymond and Boldin. Those receivers will look good if our O Line and Big Three RBs including Jermar give us a serious running game, as I expect that they will do. We could still stretch the defense with the Rs and the other 3 have the quicks to get open.
That might could happen…
Think of all the ordinary receivers who burnt our defense last year because QBs had the luxury of time.
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Good point. And I hope Sewell lives up to his potential. I loved the pick but I’m still nervous that in two years we will all be wishing we took Parsons
Amon Ra is an interesting player. His youtube tape isn’t all that impressive. I’m not really seeing the pop there. He’s definitely not explosive. I hope we aren’t all getting our hopes up
I do though love hearing the stories about him being the hardest worker on the field. If he’s a solid technician who can stay healthy he might surprise a lot of people
But I have this nagging memory of when the Pistons writers said Matteem Cleaves was going to be great because of his work ethic and he was the last one off the court on practice and first one there on the morning
Still didn’t make up for the fact that he had the quickness and athleticism of a refrigerator repair man
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It makes sense. A quarterbacks style in the nfl is partially going to be Influenced by the team he comes up with. For 12 years stafford has mostly played on inferior teams. He had to develop a higher risk style for his teams to have a chance to win. Over his career his defenses have given up an average of 25 points per game. With a rushing attack that averaged around 87. Goff on the other hand has had much more complete teams surrounding him. He takes fewer risks because he doesn’t have to. The smart plays and game management style has won him a lot of games.
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Hope this is true. I know parts of it are, for sure…but what I’m really looking for is the willingness to take a shot and trust a badass. I’d be really happy if we could have a young Jones-type, a young Holliday-type, Hoch, and the St Brown…what does the saint turn into? Tate (please gawd), Morton? Brett Perriman?
There are lots of things that influence a QB’s style, and your points are well-made and certainly play a part in it.
That said, Stafford seems to just be wired to be among the more aggressive quarterbacks out there. That just seems to be who he is (for better and for worse).
I don’t feel like I know enough about Goff to really say how he’s wired.
Frankly, I think it’s more important that the offensive philosophy and personnel match the QB. If Goff isn’t Mr. Downfield, that’s fine. Just get some wideouts that have skills other than just straight line speed.
I think a team can go far with either guy, just don’t try to make Matt a precision quarterback and don’t count on Goff to throw guys open under pressure.
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Ding ding ding! That’s when QB’s truly flourish in my book.
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The problem isn’t WR getting open, the reports are that there getting open but Goff is choosing to check it down to the easiest throw. Witch is on him and goes back to reading the defense.
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That’s been my frustration for years with the offensive philosophy for Stafford. Yes, I know that he was a bit too reckless in his youth, but trying to turn him into a Drew Brees 99.9% accuracy low-risk guy wasn’t a great fit. I think the aggressive Bevell that we saw in 2019 and once he took the reins in 2020 was the perfect type of fit for Stafford. I’d have loved to see what he could do with the speed we have on the roster now.
Frankly, Goff’s skill set and accuracy in the short game is more conducive to the more prevalent conservative philosophies out there (including what I understand Lynn’s to be). We just need to get WRs to match that if Goff can’t step out of his comfort zone when necessary, because our current #1 and #2 don’t bring a lot to the table beyond the 9 route.
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This sums up the lions problems in a nutshell…you have an aggressive quarterback that throws a great deep ball, yet you surround him with possession type receivers most of his career? Not talking about Calvin obviously. But even Golden Tate and Marvin Jones didn’t have elite deep speed. It makes little sense when your quarterback has that kind of arm talent. We always seem to hire gm’s that try and build the team without a cohesive plan or clear vision. Take the best of what you have and build around it to play to their strengths.
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Great insights, Air, that we just don’t get otherwise. Like our kickers suck. Love the brutal honesty.
This along with the two back sets are going to make our RB’s get major receiving yards this year. I wouldn’t be shocked if all three of them break 400 yards receiving. Matt had trouble with these throws (i.e. screen passes), but he did get better over time.
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I think a lot of you look at risk-taking from too narrow a view.
Schwartz and Phillips are both risk-takers. Their style of defense would play risky between the 20’s and tighten up in the redzone. Offenses operate the same way. You stay ahead of the markers and you’re better able to take shots or riskier plays.
I’ve seen a few things described here so far…
Stafford fitting into tighter coverage… “risky” is in the eye of the beholder on that one.
Stafford having to make passes he shouldn’t because his team sucks… that’s more “desperation” than risky.
Risky, to me, are taking low-percentage shots because the payoff is huge. On defense it’s selling out on the pass-rush because a sack is as good as a turnover. On offense it’s taking deeper shots in tighter coverage and/or dropping back further and holding the ball longer for slower-developing routes.
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Many thanks for all the details Air. I know you’ve been asked already, but I am REALLY wanting to hear what’s going on with Onwuzurike. I was sky high on the dude, but I’ve heard like zippo about him. It’s all about McNeill. I know it’s super early, but he was a high second round pick and one of the top DT prospects in the draft. I’m really hoping you can see something good from him. Thanks!
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I think risk being in the eye of the beholder is definitely true. And I would also say risk is applied differently to different players depending on how they play or execute the risk. I’ve told the story about how Matt zipped the ball right by the earhole to Nate Burleson. Nate wondered what he was thinking making that pass and Matt said there was no way that guy was going to be able to turn around, locate the ball, adjust his body AND make the catch on a ball thrown that hard. And he was right. Someone like Stafford who has a rocket arm and throws a harder to catch ball can put the ball in places other can’t…because the chances of getting picked off are lower than someone like Jon Kitna. I love to pick on Jon Kitna but its partially out of love for the guy. In reality Kitna threw a very catchable ball. The problem is that it was so catchable that even DBs had very little issue reeling them in when Jon made a mistake.
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