Super Bowl LIII--Patriots vs. Rams

[wlu_lax6]

So why did the Rams not use their timeouts at the end of the 1st half with New England inside the 1? I am not saying that New England would have botched a snap, but they did not have a whole lot of space to take a knee without a safety and risk of something bad happening.

[Gunpowder]

Didn't see this one (was flying), but from everything I've heard it seems that Goff's wilting under pressure is going to severely hamstring his career. He really is a great thrower when he has time, but pressure seems to affect him more than just about every QB in the NFL right now.

[Nonlinear FC]

I think Brady taking the snap the way he did convinced the Rams it was pointless, but I'm not saying it's wrong to bring it up.

[Nonlinear FC]

Didn't see this one (was flying), but from everything I've heard it seems that Goff's wilting under pressure is going to severely hamstring his career. He really is a great thrower when he has time, but pressure seems to affect him more than just about every QB in the NFL right now.

I don't really follow the League close enough to speak with too much authority, but...

Goff is the fourth-youngest quarterback to start in this game, and he’s made the jump from first overall pick to Super Bowl in three years, faster than any other quarterback ever has.

Lots of guys with a lot more experience haven't gotten their teams to the SB.

[Rams Fanny]

My unasked-for postmortem on my team:

Goff: It's hard to reconcile the last three qtrs of the NO game with yesterday. I do think the Patriots figured out tendencies in his decision making. The D was perfectly timing his own-the-middle throws too often to simply be instinct/athleticism. I'm fine with him leading the way going forward. He is only a two year starter.

Gurley: Has to be hurt. No way he gets used that little in the two most important games otherwise. The was a 7-8 yd run (2nd qtr?) where he just didn't hit the hole with the explosiveness of the beginning of the year. I'm sure he and the team don't want him labelled "injury-prone" like he was in college but if the shoe fits...

Hekker: How good was he? 9 punts with a 46.3 ave and 5 punts inside the 20. Consistently undervalued in importance.

McVay: He said he got outcoached and I think that's a fair assessment. His gameplan in last year's WC game was dogshit when he abandoned all the things that got them there. Yesterday he seemed so determined to be clever that they seemingly forgot basics like properly running a draw play. He does lots of good things but I think he's going through Goff-like growing pains on the coaching level.

Defense: Aside from needing to be more consistent on stopping the run, I thought they were great. Like Brian said right after the game "if you told every Rams fan before the game they would hold NE to 13 points with no Brady TD passes, they would have started celebrating the win". That about sums it up.

Needs: Talib and Suh are almost certainly gone and they need to find their next LT even if Whitworth doesn't retire. They probably take a step back replacing those guys but should be able to get back to the SB.

I waited 17 years for my team to get another crack at Brady in a SB. They certainly had their chances and if Cooks holds on in the end zone, this thread might be entirely different. Congrats to the Pats and their fans. Same time next year?

[HaulCitgo]

He was definitely rattled but all QBs are rattled with their offensive line miss on blitzes. Seemed like even when they picked it up was still hands up and pressure up the middle. Maybe a couple of overload types but mostly just pressure because of stunts and what not and Goff didnt get into the right reads when they did bring DBs, etc. He stood in there more than a few times just couldnt deliver for the most part. Hit on a couple. Really think it was as much line/backs and NE changing tendencies defensively as it was Goff.

[Nonlinear FC]

As an aside, the overall coverage of the game kind of sucked. So busy with their prepared stuff they didn't do nearly enough replay breakdowns.

The point in the context of this thread discussion, is that Goff certainly had time on some important plays, and I think rather than "didn't make the right read" the receivers were covered up. Not that you could tell from replays, mind you, so my comment is some what speculative.

[Ryan]

There are about 37 articles an hour coming out today showing all his missed reads

[Nonlinear FC]

There are about 37 articles an hour coming out today showing all his missed reads

https://deadspin.com/jared-goff-blew-it-1832331726

Yeah.

[Joe K]

Seeing articles like that Deadspin one make me wonder if McVay really got outcoached as badly as most are saying. The Rams defense was great and they had guys running wide open on a number of key plays where Goff either didn’t see them or was late delivering the ball. Also, I’d bet my 401(k) that Gurley has a significant injury that they were keeping under wraps.

[Johnnie]

Here's Drew Magary's take.

His salt can season my steak any day.

[Gunpowder]

Didn't see this one (was flying), but from everything I've heard it seems that Goff's wilting under pressure is going to severely hamstring his career. He really is a great thrower when he has time, but pressure seems to affect him more than just about every QB in the NFL right now.

I don't really follow the League close enough to speak with too much authority, but...

Goff is the fourth-youngest quarterback to start in this game, and he’s made the jump from first overall pick to Super Bowl in three years, faster than any other quarterback ever has.

Lots of guys with a lot more experience haven't gotten their teams to the SB.

Teams get to the Super Bowl. The Eagles made it and won last year with Nick Foles. Blake Bortles nearly took the Jags there. Do you want to put Bortles in that rarified air too? Because he's complete garbage and actively holds his team back.

[Gunpowder]

He was definitely rattled but all QBs are rattled with their offensive line miss on blitzes. Seemed like even when they picked it up was still hands up and pressure up the middle. Maybe a couple of overload types but mostly just pressure because of stunts and what not and Goff didnt get into the right reads when they did bring DBs, etc. He stood in there more than a few times just couldnt deliver for the most part. Hit on a couple. Really think it was as much line/backs and NE changing tendencies defensively as it was Goff.

Goff though seems to do this often when they play good defenses. I get that all QBs are rattled when free rushers get to them but Goff can go from looking like a guy who, when things are going right, can consistently make great throws that elevates the offense to a #1 NFL unit to a guy who looks like a bad version of Case Keenum.

It's like he's Drew Brees if you block everybody and Blake Bortles if you don't.

[Nonlinear FC]

Didn't see this one (was flying), but from everything I've heard it seems that Goff's wilting under pressure is going to severely hamstring his career. He really is a great thrower when he has time, but pressure seems to affect him more than just about every QB in the NFL right now.

I don't really follow the League close enough to speak with too much authority, but...

Goff is the fourth-youngest quarterback to start in this game, and he’s made the jump from first overall pick to Super Bowl in three years, faster than any other quarterback ever has.

Lots of guys with a lot more experience haven't gotten their teams to the SB.

Teams get to the Super Bowl. The Eagles made it and won last year with Nick Foles. Blake Bortles nearly took the Jags there. Do you want to put Bortles in that rarified air too? Because he's complete garbage and actively holds his team back.

Fair enough. My point is that he's played against tough defenses on the way to the SB... I assume. I'm gonna stop now, because I really don't watch enough games to be commenting. (Clearly, as evidenced above.)

[Gunpowder]

Seeing articles like that Deadspin one make me wonder if McVay really got outcoached as badly as most are saying. The Rams defense was great and they had guys running wide open on a number of key plays where Goff either didn’t see them or was late delivering the ball. Also, I’d bet my 401(k) that Gurley has a significant injury that they were keeping under wraps.

Hmm. Well, in a way it would and piggybacks with the way I see Goff. It's not just the pressure as in the direct pressure from rushers, it's if Goff's reads aren't open he struggles mightily. ie Goff has his progressions on each play and he does them as he is supposed to and when they are open, like they were against Minnesota in that Thursday game, he will absolutely dice you up and throw dimes all over the field to open guys and mismatches. When good teams cover them up, and he has to get away from the structure, he struggles.

That you would expect to get better with age, though for example Alex Smith before his injury was the same guy he's always been in that respect. This is why Pat Mahomes is so good; you can take away his preferred targets and he'll recognize it and go elsewhere. Goff struggles with this. I don't know NFL coaching even close to enough to have an opinion on McVay's culpability, but I mean it's reasonable that this could be primary result of the "Belichick beat McVay!" theory.

[Rex]

That’s exactly what it looked like—if the first read wasn’t there he was totally up shit’s creek. I don’t think you needed a Mahomes last night. I think Romo himself would have been perfect for a game like that and likely would have won the game if he was called down to play.

[Johnnie]

I don't know why, but I find Brandon Perna really funny.



(And now that I see that Aaron Donald tackle of Brady over and over, it was way worse than Goff's hit when he was going out of bounds.)

[Johnnie]