Detroit Lions: Jared Goff is not a bridge? Then prove it
By Robert Jones
The spotlight will be on Jared Goff this season
Brad Holmes has said that he doesn’t view Jared Goff as a placeholder. Holmes was part of the Los Angeles Rams brass that drafted Goff number one overall in 2016.
It wasn’t that long ago that Goff was one of the key components that fueled the Rams run to Super Bowl LIII. However, Goff did not play well on Super Sunday nor has he since. It’s been a downhill slide.
Now some will be quick to point out that the Rams struggled to run the ball consistently since then and there has been some flux along their offensive line as well. This obviously didn’t make the game any easier for Goff, but an elite quarterback can find a way to be productive.
After all, when Matthew Stafford was here the ground game was on life support and his offensive line did little to protect him. Yet even in a no-win situation like that Matthew made more plays than Goff over the last two seasons.
To Goff’s credit, however, with a better supporting cast overall, he won more games than Matthew did. Now Jared is the Lions quarterback with a very talented offensive line in front of him and gifted young D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams in the backfield.
Now, according to Brad Holmes, Jared Goff is the Lions’ answer at quarterback.
There are two ways we can take Holmes’ statement. The first is that he believes in Goff’s talent and mental toughness and truly thinks that Jared is ready to bounce back and be the player Holmes projected him to be when the Rams drafted him.
The second is that Holmes knows Goff is competent and can play at a serviceable level until Holmes finds the Lions’ quarterback of the future. If the second scenario is true, then Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell have no choice for the sake of team chemistry but to say Jared is the anointed one.
One way or another, Jared Goff will be under center for the Lions this fall and the spotlight will be focused on him. At that point, opinions and words won’t mean anything. The only thing that will matter is if Goff can prove himself.