Jared Goff's NFL debut could have gone better.
The Rams rookie quarterback threw a pick on his first preseason pass before exiting early due to shoulder precautions. However, Goff's departure didn't come before he displayed why Los Angeles took him first overall in the draft, tossing a handful of impressive passes to the Rams' less-than-sure-handed receivers before getting pulled.
It appears Goff has taken the momentum of his last few throws into this week of practice.
After enduring constructive criticism, playing behind veteran Case Keenum and being grilled on his knowledge of cardinal directions, Goff put together one of his "best practices" while running with the ones in 11-on-11's on Wednesday, per the team's website.
Goff received stirring reviews from offensive starters like Benny Cunningham and Kenny Britt, the latter of whom said that Goff is making "big strides" day-by-day. But the rookie is also hearing encouragement from Los Angeles' stronger unit.
"You can definitely tell the difference from the first day when he came out here to now," linebacker Alec Ogletree said Wednesday. "He's light years different from the first day. He's picking up the offense a lot faster, able to get in and out of the huddle and just do different stuff. You can tell he's learning a lot more. He knows where to throw the ball as it's gone on. So practice makes perfect. He's got a lot of work to do, but he's definitely getting better."
Trope alert? Maybe, but it says a lot that Goff is earning the respect of a top-10 defense. Wide receivers will praise a quarterback all day as long as they're seeing the ball, but a defense is impartial to the feelings of its signal-caller.
Thankfully for Goff, coach Jeff Fisher was paying attention. After a week of practice, the Rams skipper is eager to see Goff back in game action and in a more prominent role with the offense.
"Right now -- as we go into the discussions -- I'd like to get Jared a shot with the ones in this game," Fisher said. "Whether that's a series or two series -- I don't know. We'll try to be more specific for you."
We'll see if Goff earns the respect of the Chiefs' defense Saturday. Something tells us Kansas City's front seven will be less complimentary.
