How the Rams' offense went from joke to juggernaut
Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast." Find him on Twitter @WilliamsonNFL.
One of the absolute hardest offenses to watch in 2016 has emerged as one of the most fun through two games this season.
The Los Angeles Rams have put up a whopping 66 points so far, but have just a 1-1 record to show for it after a tough loss to the Washington Redskins that featured a terrible late-game interception from Jared Goff.
But don't pin the blame on the young quarterback. The Redskins are the team most familiar with Sean McVay's brand of offense, the Rams couldn’t stop the run, and the first-time head coach didn’t show the best clock management at crucial times.
In fact, Goff looks like a totally different player from his rookie year. He deserves a lot of credit for the offensive turnaround, along with McVay and the Rams' organization as a whole.
See also: Is Rams' McVay getting the credit he deserves?
Nearly everything the team has done since the 2016 season ended has been geared toward making Goff's transition to the NFL easier and successful. This is what good organizations do with highly drafted quarterbacks. McVay, who along with Jay Gruden, absolutely got the most out of Kirk Cousins in Washington, was the perfect hire for Goff, and stands in stark contrast to what Jeff Fisher brought in this regard.
Los Angeles didn’t stop there, also bringing in established offensive linemen in Andrew Whitworth and John Sullivan. Not only are both already paying dividends on the field, but their veteran leadership is surely paying off as part of an otherwise young unit.
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
The Rams also got Goff what's now a very respectable group of receivers to throw to. Sammy Watkins is the biggest name, but Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Josh Reynolds, and Gerald Everett all bring distinct similarities to the setup surrounding Cousins in Washington.
The Redskins used a ton of multiple tight-end sets with McVay running the offense, and Everett is being groomed as another Jordan Reed. He complements another youngster, Tyler Higbee, well in this regard, as they've seen the field a lot together.
Watkins is the big-play guy in the DeSean Jackson mold, but he's a more well-rounded wide receiver and might be closer to A.J. Green, who Gruden had in Cincinnati, in his ability to take over a game. Watkins' numbers haven’t been superb with the Rams yet, but he looks great on tape and could be on the verge of an explosion as soon as this Thursday Night in San Francisco.
Los Angeles is throwing deep quite a bit this year, often off play-action (which worked so very well in Washington), and Watkins is sure to reap those benefits sooner than later.
The Redskins comparisons go even further, with Woods playing the role of Pierre Garcon and Kupp as a similar weapon to Jamison Crowder. All of these supporting-cast members have played well and are fitting in with Goff nicely. The quarterback has also been an excellent distributor of the football.
Five Rams have caught at least four passes over this two-game opening stretch - including running back Todd Gurley, who's been adeptly reinvented into a premium weapon in the short passing game. As you might have guessed, that too is a very Goff-friendly development.
In McVay’s scheme, Goff has a lot of defined reads and the route combinations utilize the talent at hand very well. The running game and passing attack feed off one another, without demanding too much from the quarterback position. Still, Goff isn’t just making easy dump-offs and has already completed plenty of difficult throws at all levels of the defense.
Goff and the Rams' offense are for real. This isn’t smoke and mirrors, but instead great coaching and a lot of young talent that should develop together. Of course there will be further growing pains, especially for Goff, but what we've seen thus far has been extremely encouraging. Expect that to continue Thursday night.