jftr, I'm on the Sam train...I was giddy when we drafted him... Will I call him Sanchez just to piss a few off? Maybe! ...but anyone who does not support this kid right now really needs their fan card checked.
For Sam to succeed, it pretty much comes down to 3 very important parts : The plays called by Bates to ensure they are not predictable enough for the opposing D to counter quickly and to allow Sam to make throws to keep them honest. The protection that OL provides to allow Sam time to throw to the receivers The running game. These 3 all have one common denominator : the OL ---oops maybe it's just 1 thing that's important...never mind.
While no one should “judge” Sam after 3 games (or even his first full season), I think it is fair to observe (i) whether he has the tools to play in this league and (ii) whether the game is too big for him. And I think it’s clear he has all the tools and the game is not too big. We got a great QB and with any young guy there will be bumps. Not worried in the least. Actually pretty excited for our future.
Folks - we need to relax and have patience. Jared Goff was HORRIFIC his first year....so was Elway....so was Manning (both actually). Year 2 these guys were all Pro-Bowl players. Let's take a closer look at Goff since he's the most recent study: Was thrown to the wolves on a super crappy team that would go on the win four games....behind a PUTRID offensive line and a "middle school offense" (in the words of Todd Gurley). No one could have had any measure of success under that dumpster fire that Fisher was running in 2016. The one thing Goff had under the hood though was talent...there was just no way for it to surface in that mess. Fast forward to 2017, new hot-shot coach with a brilliant offensive mind is hired. Someone that actually designed plays that would utilize his QB's skill set. He surrounded his young QB with an offensive line that would give him time to actually make plays (signing Whitworth to protect Goff's blind-side is probably the biggest FA acquisition the Rams have made in the past 2 years) and gave him some weapons that could actually get separation and catch the damned ball (Watkins, Woods, Cupp) to go along with a back that could be utilized effectively in the run and pass game and VIOLA....Goff makes the Pro Bowl in Year 2. 2018 - Rams are likely going to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl (barring major injuries). As for Goff? Kid looks spectacular....Strong likelihood he will become the QB face of the league once the Bradys. Rogers and Rivers of the world hang 'em up. Darnold in three games has not looked ANYWHERE near as bad as Goff in his first 3 NFL games. With 90 million in cap space, we CAN get the supporting cast around him similar to what the Rams did with Goff. In the meantime, we must exercise patience. Even if Darnold stinks it up the rest of this season, I want to remind everyone of two words/one name....JARED GOFF.
Goff is always the comparison I'm going to use here. He was really bad and now look at him... BUT... the organization helped him A LOT. His weapons year 1 were abysmal. They went out and got him everything he could ever want and now they have one of the most potent offenses in the league and he looks damn good running it. His coaching staff was also abysmal year 1. Management canned all of them, got him a young and talented offensive-minded coach and let him do his thing with their young franchise QB. Those are two things we HAVE to do. I think we are in very good position to do the first thing. I have very little faith that we'll do the second.
I mean its over the line to call him a bust after three games, and playing two pretty good defenses. Having said that, I think it is fair to judge his play on a game by game basis. Like he looked awesome against Detroit, and I thought pretty damn good against Miami. He laid an egg against Cleveland. 1st year QBs are going to do that. I'd just like to see him build on that. It's a long season. Lots of time to improve.
