
“This is going to be a good answer,” Jeff Fisher said, “because we prepped him on it.”
Sitting to the coach’s left on Friday afteoon was Jared Goff, the newly anointed franchise quarterback of the Rams. Less than 24 hours earlier, the club had selected the 21-year-old with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. Now, making his first official appearance in Los Angeles, he was tasked with navigating the media.
This was not particularly difficult.
For the most part, Goff faced the same questions he had heard for the last couple of weeks: How will you transition to an NFL offense? What’s your plan to win over the locker room? Do you understand the pressure of the Los Angeles market?
The one new query — the one that Fisher had taken special care to wa Goff about — conceed one of the city’s other stars. Nearly three years ago, the Bay Area native (and diehard San Francisco Giants fan) had tweeted about wanting to see Yasiel Puig take “a fastball in his ribs.” Shortly after the Rams picked him, Inteet denizens dug it up.
The Dodgers outfielder, however, was gracious. The next moing, he tweeted back at Goff, offering to show him around town and to host him at a game.
“I will take him up on that,” Goff said Friday. Hopefully, he added, sometime this summer.
That was as challenging as it got. Goff said and did all the right things, fulfilling the pomp and circumstance required of such introductory events. He held up his new Rams jersey, emblazoned with the No. 16 that he has long wo in honor of Joe Montana. He posed for pictures with Fisher and general manager Les Snead, as well as with his family: father Jerry, mother Nancy, and sister Lauren.
• Bonsignore: Jared Goff is the new face of the L.A. Rams This is all fine and good. Wiing the press conference is far better than losing the press conference, as Laremy Tunsil can surely attest. And during his first major appearance in his new home, Jared Goff looked and sounded the part of a potential star — at least, as much as one can before taking a snap.
As promising as Goff may be, however, the press conference provided no new information about his playing ability. And while the Rams have other stars in place — Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald, Robert Qui — they still have holes to fill, and only four more draft picks with which to do it.
“Let’s face it: The Rams haven’t exactly owned the NFC West,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick said recently. “They haven’t really been making any headway.”
• READ: Rams haven’t found recent success in late rounds
Fisher and Snead have only guided this franchise to 27 wins over the last four seasons, never eclipsing seven in a single campaign. Goff is their make-or-break move, but they need to use their remaining selections on Saturday to make his life easier. The Rams’ chances will come at Nos. 110, 113, 177, 190, a pair of fourth-rounders followed by two in the sixth.
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Top priority is finding someone to catch Goff’s passes. Do-it-all threat Tavon Austin will be around, but the franchise hasn’t produced a 1,000-yard receiver since 2007. It also just lost two starting defensive backs in Janoris Jenkins and Rodney McLeod. Some depth on the offensive line could help too.
All that, Riddick said, means that the Rams need to be “deadly accurate” with their late-round picks: “This is not a team that is one player away. They just aren’t.”
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نویسنده: جمشید رضایی