After watching Case Keenum author one of the least effective season openers of the 21st century, Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Tuesday that he had no plans to change his starting quarterback for Sunday's home opener versus the Seattle Seahawks.
The obvious followup question is when will No. 1 overall draft pick Jared Goff be ready to move up from third on the depth chart?
Fisher told NFL Network's Steve Wyche last week that the plan was for Goff to ascend to the backup role in Week 2, flipping with Sean Mannion.
That plan is not set in stone, however.
During Monday's press conference, Fisher said only that there is a chance Goff will advance enough to handle backup duties this week.
Until he surpasses Mannion, Goff won't be a candidate to see game action.
The conundrum for Fisher and his offensive coaches is that Keenum has thoroughly outplayed Goff, who struggled with pre-snap reads, post-snap reads and the overall speed of the NFL game during August.
"Goff will one day be the starter but not until he is ready," Fisher emphasized to Wyche last week.
Will the rookie's timetable be accelerated after Keenum's Monday night faceplant?
The problems go beyond the quarterback in Los Angeles' offense.
One 49ers player told Wyche that San Francisco's defense could tell by alignment and backfield motion after the snap exactly what the Rams route tree was, Wyche relayed on Tuesday's edition of NFL Network's Up to the Minute with Andrew Siciliano.
If that predictably was a scheming issue, offensive coordinator Rob Boras will have to go back to the drawing board. If it was partially the result of Keenum's obvious physical limitations, there's a danger of rushing Goff into the starting lineup.
The Rams firmly believe their top draft pick will be a "great player" some day. It has been clear for five months, though, that he's going to need time to master his craft with more practice reps before he's ready to orchestrate an NFL offense.
