The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has knocked the NFL's offseason off its usually sturdy tracks, but some teams believe their challenge isn't as great as others'.
Take Jared Goff, for example. The Rams quarterback hasn't had to attempt to learn an entirely new offensive system remotely, even with the addition of new offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell. O'Connell joined the staff in an offseason in which head coach Sean McVay decided to fill the role that he'd left vacant in their last two seasons, but he's retaining the scheme that was already in place. That familiarity should help the Rams at least a little bit amid uncertainity in almost every other facet of their lives both on and off the field.
"It's so fluid, it changes every week at this point," Goff said in a conference call with local reporters, per the Los Angeles Daily News. "It'll be good that the whole league will have to stick to a similar program, so there won't be any disadvantage in that way.
"I do think we (the Rams) have an advantage offensively with the same system, the same players and everything. Our defense is obviously going to have to get on the grass and learn their new system.
"But it's an advantage for us running into the season where you've got teams that are trying to install new systems on both offense and defense, which is damn near impossible."
There are changes to be implemented, though. Goff will take the field without Todd Gurley in the backfield in 2020, and his receiving corps won't have Brandin Cooks, either. Both exited Los Angeles in the offseason by way of release and trade, meaning Goff's claim that his offense has the same players isn't entirely true. But it will still have some key guys, namely Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods, among others.
There's still the task of getting comfortable with new running backs, which is usually only accomplished with on-field work, something no team in the NFL has been afforded in an official, organized setting. There's no advantage for the Rams in that area.
The familiarity will be a boost, though, as the Rams are a step or two ahead of other teams that are attempting to install new systems remotely. With everything still in flux, Goff doesn't have to lose sleep while trying to remember correct terminology. He just has to put what he knows into practice once his Rams can take the field in July.