Rams quarterback Jared Goff said the team’s Super Bowl loss to the Patriots was a “big sticking point” in his head for some time, but that he has been able to move past it as the team has gone through the offseason program.
Part of moving forward involves a lesson learned in the 13-3 loss, however. One of the biggest takeaways from the game was how the Patriots defense showed the Rams things they were not expecting and did not adjust to well enough to get their offense on track.
Goff told Albert Breer of SI.com that the Rams see similar defensive approaches 75-80 percent of the time and that they have been spending more time on the “20 percent that you don’t often get much work on” so they can adapt better than they did against the Patriots.
“They’re so unique in that they change weekly in what they’re doing,” Goff said. “I think for me personally, if we were play them again, or any team that’s similar to them that can do that, you have to be able to adjust on the fly a little bit quicker. As opposed to waiting for something to happen, you have to actively adjust to what they’re doing, and adjust to what a team is trying to present to you, whether it’s something they showed on film or not.”
It will be a few months before the Rams’ ability to change offensive courses is put to the test and Goff will be a key piece to that effort. Doing it better than he did in February would go a long way toward making his fourth NFL season a successful one.