Dan Campbell tried to contain his excitement. He knows it's only been a few days of practice. He didn't want to get carried away.
"I don't get want to get too far on this right now," he said, "but I'll tell you what."
He's loving him some Jared Goff.
"He made some throws yesterday that were just, my gosh. They were outstanding," Campbell said Thursday before Detroit's fifth practice of OTA's. "Just pinpoint accurate throws."
If you want to believe in Goff as the Lions' quarterback, if you want to believe the two-time Pro Bowler can resurrect his career in Detroit, just listen to his new head coach -- who, not for nothing, spent the past five years in New Orleans watching Drew Brees.
"Honestly he made about five throws that were just, 'Wow. OK, that’s really good, really good,'" Campbell said. "Just pinpoint back shoulder, guy running up on a wheel and it's right on the ear. Or up the seam. Or an out route to Hockenson, threw it right by the defender where only he could get it."
So it's four practices and five throws. Against a non-contact defense in seven-on-seven reps. It's June. And last we saw of Goff, aside from a courageous showing in the playoffs, he was scuffling through his second disappointing season in a row, a season that compelled the Rams to dump him for Matthew Stafford. He has a passer rating of 88.1 since 2019.
You wouldn't know it listening to Campbell.
"He’s got a lot of confidence right now, and I think he’s getting a good grasp of the offense. It was impressive, it really was, so I’m pretty happy right now."
Goff's new offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn has been similarly impressed, if not quite as starry-eyed.
"He’s learning the system and picking it up pretty fast. And boy, his arm strength is really good," Lynn said Thursday. "He’s throwing some really accurate balls. I thought he had his best practice yesterday and hopefully he just continues to keep getting better."
One of Goff's biggest shortcomings in his final season with the Rams was his inability to hit on the deep ball. Lynn has no concern about that in Detroit. He said the Lions will run an offense that gives Goff every opportunity to drive the ball downfield.
"I know he can throw the football down the field. And a lot of your deep balls come off of good run action, but run action really isn't great if you’re not running the football well," Lynn said. "I think with some of the things we’re going to do, the more ways you can run the football the more ways you can throw it down the field, is the way I see it -- and he’s got a strong arm."