After a week of mystery surrounding the Rams’ starting quarterback, it was John Wolford who ran onto the field for the first move of Saturday’s game against the Seahawks, beating Jared Goff.
Sean McVay spent the past week giving vague updates on the quarterback’s situation, saying that Goff was making progress, feeling good and doing everything the Rams asked of him in practice. McVay also made it clear that he would not publicly nominate a starter before the kickoff – and he kept his word.
But McVay knew who he was going to start against the Seahawks earlier in the week. He just didn’t want to tell the media and give his opponent an advantage, knowing who the Rams holder would be.
“I did this last week. I think it is a real credit to our players. I told the team earlier in the week, ”said McVay after the game. “I thought it was the right decision just based on Jared coming back from injury. He had thumb surgery and there were some limitations as to when he could take a picture. As soon as we started our preparation this week, I announced to the team and I think it is very good that he stayed at home. “
Were there limitations? Right. But it’s not as if Goff’s chart of passages looked any different than any other week – and in fact included two deep photos.
With Goff just 12 days after thumb surgery, McVay chose to go with the healthiest quarterback, despite the fact that Wolford never scored an NFL touchdown and played his first career game last week against the Cardinals. It was not a shocking decision, but the way the coach handled the whole situation is a bit confusing and raises some questions.
The first (and biggest) issue that comes out of the game is related to McVay’s decision to have only two active defenders.
If Goff was healthy enough to be Wolford’s reserve and the only other active quarterback, why wasn’t he healthy enough to start? Goff played 58 snaps and although his thumb seemed to bother him at times, it wasn’t bad enough to keep him off the field.
McVay knew that Goff would be one minute from being played in the game if Wolford got hurt, but he still made Blake Bortles inactive, leaving Goff as the only option behind Wolford.
“If Jared’s thumb hadn’t been able to respond the way it did this week, it would have been our number two,” said McVay. “But it was great to have Blake around. His presence, his experience and really just being around him, he’s one of those guys that is hard not to like. That was just a coach decision, having only two quarterbacks. “
McVay admitted after the game that “there were some limitations, as you saw, that was what led to the decision to go with John”, but then again, if he knew that Goff would be limited by the thumb, why would Bortles not be active in case of emergency?
And then there is the question of deciding on a starter so early in the week.
After Goff underwent surgery on December 28, McVay said “he really should be available for the playoffs”. Obviously, he wasn’t sure what Goff’s schedule would be, but all the initial reports were that Goff would be ready for the playoffs – with it even being reported before the game against the Cardinals that Goff would likely be back in the wild- weekend card.
Still, did McVay apparently see enough of Goff earlier in the week to determine that he wouldn’t be healthy enough to start on Saturday? If Goff was making progress, why wouldn’t he even give the quarterback a chance to prove that he could start and play an entire game? There’s an advantage to telling the team earlier in the week who would start, but it looks like McVay simply thought Wolford gave the Rams a better chance of winning – regardless of how healthy Goff could be on Saturday.
Goff definitely said after the victory that his thumb was not causing him any pain, he made no excuses for his game and definitely said to open his press conference: “My thumb is fine”.
“It’s going well. It’s not 100% because it was operated 10 days or 12 days ago or whatever, but it’s in a good place. I am very capable with what I am going on now, ”he said. “There is no pain to be honest. There is no pain. It has screws and is a little swollen, but pain is not the problem. “
Based on everything we know now, it seems pretty obvious that McVay was encouraged enough by Wolford in Week 17 to determine that he would be the Rams’ best option against the Seahawks in the wild card round. He did not give Goff any chance to prove in practice that he should be the starter, considering that he made the determination to start Wolford earlier in the week.
So now the question is, if Wolford is healthy enough to play next weekend, will he get the divisional round going again? Goff is not 100% healthy right now, but another week of healing should put him in a better position than on Saturday.
And considering that he played 58 snaps, shot for 155 yards and a touchdown, and even left the game saying “no pain”, it’s hard to imagine Goff not being ready to play in the divisional round.
Now let’s find out which McVay quarterback really prefers, assuming Wolford is healthy enough to play next weekend. Here’s what he said after the game when asked who will start the next round if Wolford is well.
“We are working on all of these things,” said McVay. “Jared did a great job today. He’s our quarterback. Much of this will depend on how Jared’s thumb checks, how he feels, what those limitations are in the future. If Jared continues to make progress, you will feel good about it, but as you have seen, it is a shame that John got hurt. I am very happy, I am satisfied with what Jared did today, but John was getting into the rhythm. I thought he was seeing the field very well. I’m really mad at myself for calling that stupid move that left him susceptible to getting hurt. “
Although Goff is the defender of Rams, it is difficult to ignore the “but” that McVay put there. He wanted to see Wolford play the whole game. He thought Wolford was finding a rhythm. He clearly thought he gave the Rams the best chance of winning and, if healthy, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Wolford get the nod again next week.