The Los Angeles faithful's "We want Goff!" chants are falling on deaf ears.
Coach Jeff Fisher confirmed during Monday's press conference that Case Keenum will remain the starting quarterback versus the New York Jets in Week 10.
Jared Goff began warming up at one point in Sunday's loss to the Carolina Panthers, per Fisher, because of an injury to Keenum's non-throwing arm. As it turned out, Keenum didn't miss a snap.
When might we see the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft?
"We're taking our time," Fisher said, via Joe Curley of the Ventura County Star. "We're being patient. When we feel it's the right time, he'll be under center."
Appearing on Good Morning Football, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported earlier in the day that the Rams have no plans to make a quarterback change as long as the postseason remains a possibility.
"My understanding of the Rams quarterback situation," Rapoport said, "is that they're not going to make a switch -- barring some sort of epic collapse by Case Keenum -- until they fall out of playoff contention."
NFL Network's Steve Wyche echoed that sentiment, reporting on NFL Network's Up to the Minute Live that the Rams simply don't believe Goff is ready to play.
That comes as no surprise to anyone who witnessed an overwhelmed Goff in August. Although the team's quarterback of the future has begun handling a portion of first-team practice reps, he still has a ways to go after failing to process quickly pre-snap and struggling to deal with the speed of NFL defenses post-snap in preseason action.
As the 3-5 Rams enter the 2016 stretch run, they are operating under the belief that Keenum is their best quarterback. They also believe, per Wyche, that the rest of the offense isn't functioning at a high-enough level to support the raw rookie.
Until the offensive line begins opening holes for Todd Gurley in the NFL's 30th-ranked rushing attack, the quarterback will continue to shoulder too much of the offensive load. The coaching staff knows they can't ask Goff to throw roughly 50 times per week -- as Keenum has the past two games.
As frustrating as it is, Rams fans will be asked to exercise an increasing level of patience.
Keenum tossed four interceptions in London and went more than six quarters across two games without scoring a point. If that doesn't qualify as the epic collapse necessary to instigate a changing of the guard, an already disappointing season is going to have to take a turn for the worse before we see Goff under center.
