The Los Angeles Rams made it clear they no longer view Jared Goff as a franchise quarterback, which is why they traded the former No. 1 pick to Detroit on Saturday. Even before the trade occurred, Goff apparently saw some indirect signs that the Rams were no longer happy with him.
NFL.com’s Mike Silver published a column on Sunday full of information from Goff’s perspective. In the story, Silver pointed out that FOX NFL analyst Troy Aikman “routinely trashed” Goff when he and Joe Buck were assigned to call Rams games.
Aikman, for instance, was quoted as saying it “doesn’t get any uglier than that” after a Goff interception in the Rams’ Week 16 loss to Seattle.
“It just doesn’t get any uglier than that.”
– Troy Aikman on that last Goff interception
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) December 27, 2020
Before a Week 12 game against New England, Aikman suggested Bill Belichick wanted to make Goff beat the Patriots, which signals Belichick felt Goff was a weakness.
"You know that Bill Belichick wants the game in Jared Goff's hands."
–Troy Aikman, pregame— Michael Hurley (@michaelFhurley) December 11, 2020
Aikman’s attitude about Goff was noted by many observers.
Aikman feels almost uncomfortable giving credit to Jared Goff for literally not missing a snap after popping his thumb back into place. Can’t understand his disdain for him. So bizarre.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) December 27, 2020
Silver intimates that Goff felt Aikman’s negative view of Goff was due to comments Sean McVay made in private production meetings with Buck and Aikman.
Here is what Silver wrote:
“Routinely trashed this season on FOX telecasts, specifically those with Troy Aikman as the lead analyst, Goff could reasonably assume that McVay’s words about his quarterback’s play in network production meetings were far from glowing,” Silver wrote.
You can read the entire article here.
We have long pointed out at LBS that the things NFL TV announcers say during games are likely influenced by their conversations with coaches in the week leading up to games. The conversations are generally supposed to be off-the-record. They are used to provide background and insight that will help the announcers call games better. Those conversations are what led Buck to set things straight on Bruce Arians’ relationship with Tom Brady, for instance.
If Goff felt McVay was not speaking highly of him in meetings with Aikman, it probably wouldn’t inspire much confidence in the QB. Neither did McVay’s comments after the Rams’ season ended.
Goff is now with the Lions, while the Rams will have Matthew Stafford. What’s nice for Goff is that he will be with a team that seems excited to have him.
