Detroit Lions: Jared Goff is not a bridge? Then prove it

Goff has to  prove he can be a difference-maker

If Lions fans are being honest, they just want to see Detroit win the Super Bowl. They don’t really care whether it’s Jared Goff, Spencer Rattler, or some unknown we haven’t heard of yet who is quarterbacking them.

Jared Goff has worked hard this offseason and seems very driven to prove everyone wrong. He considers himself to be ‘the man’. He believes that the Detroit Lions are his team now and he intends to prove himself.

All of which is fine and dandy, but it still has to be proven on the field.

Goff would seem to have a handicap at receiver, where there is no proven go-to man. Tyrell Williams could be that guy, but injuries have plagued him. Inconsistency has plagued Breshad Perriman and no one else is a proven commodity.

One would have to believe that Goff will rely heavily on tight end T.J. Hockenson. D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams are both productive receivers out of the backfield and will also be counted on.

What Goff has to do is find a way to make it work.

Jared Goff is 26 years old. In today’s NFL that is still young for a quarterback. If he can do what he intends to do and actually proves himself, then his window of productivity, barring a major injury, is at least eight or nine more years.

If Goff can be ‘the man’, then that would mean draft resources can be used elsewhere to build this team and would make the rebuilding process quicker. Instead of having to break in a new passer, Brad Holmes could just add the pieces needed around Goff to create a contender.

In a perfect world, Goff proving himself would actually be in the Lions’ best interest.

So now all that’s left is one question; will Jared Goff prove himself? That is the question everyone has tried to answer this offseason.

No one can say for a certainty that Goff will succeed or fail. However, since we all continue to speculate, I may as well too. In my case, despite all the positive feedback from O.T.A’s, I have concerns about the last two seasons. Goff had very good coaching from Sean McVay in Los Angeles and a superior cast around him, even if the ground game was inconsistent.

In order for Jared Goff to prove he is the future of the Detroit Lions, he will have to display the ability to carry this team on occasions this upcoming season. That doesn’t mean he has to carry them to a 10-7 record, but he will have to prove that even with holes on this roster he can be a difference-maker. If he can prove that, then he will have proven everything he needs to.

Jared Goff has been given an uncontested audition to be the Lions starting quarterback of the present and future. But if he really wants to be more than a bridge to someone else, then he has to prove it.