Is Jared Goff the two-time Pro Bowler who helped his team reach the Super Bowl? Or the turnover-prone quarterback who was dumped by the Rams?
Brad Holmes and the Lions would tell you the former. Chris Simms -- and many others -- would tell you the latter.
In his annual breakdown of the top 40 quarterbacks in the NFL, Simms ranked Goff No. 31 -- one spot ahead of Teddy Bridgewater and two spots ahead of Drew Lock.
Simms, a former NFL quarterback and current NFL analyst for NBC Sports, said Goff is limited by his physical traits. His best asset is his experience.
"We know he’s played in big games, but there’s a number of questions about Jared Goff, certainly. First off, no redeeming, unbelievable physical qualities or traits where you just go, 'Wow, what a great athlete.' Or 'Wow, what a great arm or, 'Wow, he can process and go through reads as quick as anybody in football.' There’s none of that, so that’s why he’s 31 to me," Simms said on his podcast Chris Simms Unbuttoned.
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Goff has 42 wins since 2017. Only one NFL quarterback has more: Tom Brady. That's one of the first things Holmes pointed to after Detroit acquired Goff this offseason. But Goff had the clear benefit of playing on one of the best teams in the league under one of the more innovative coaches in Sean McVay.
"Obviously you know you can win games with him, but it has to be within a certain formula or a certain way, in my opinion," said Simms. "Listen, there is good arm strength. He can throw the ball hard and far. But it’s one of the least catchable balls in the game and it can be inaccurate at times."
Asked what he meant by that, Simms said, "It’s a lot of hard wobblers. Never spirals, doesn’t spin, really. Those are really hard on wide receivers because it just kind of hits you. When Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady throw those perfect spirals, first off it’s very easy to focus. It’s easy to put the hands in the perfect spot. And because it’s spinning so hard it almost digs into your gloves. If you throw kind of a knuckler that’s not moving, (the receiver thinks), 'Oh, I'm gonna catch it perfect. Wait, that hit me (in the wrong spot) because it’s wobbling and now I dropped it.' That’s what I mean by an uncatchable ball."
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In his first two seasons as the Rams' starter, Goff, the first overall pick in 2016, looked like one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. His performance earned him a four-year, $134 million extension. His play deteriorated in his last two, in part because of a banged-up offensive line. His relationship also soured with McVay.
Simms said "the thing that bothers me more than anything" about Goff is that "for all his play, he doesn’t play the game like a really experienced quarterback."
"Just knowing the situation or knowing the game, don’t make this throw here. It's third and 1, it’s a bootleg, you’re wide open, run and get the first down -- but he throws the ball incomplete and they gotta punt. There’s just too much of that in his game," said Simms.
Simms said Goff was "exposed" in a loss to the Dolphins last season when he couldn't detect Miami's blitz packages and wound up throwing 26 incompletions and two picks. It was the start of an eight game stretch in which Goff threw more interceptions than touchdowns and posted a passer rating of 81.6.
"It became a thing of like, 'Hey, you can blitz Jared Goff. He might not know where to go with the ball or get to the right check or know where his hot is," said Simms.
With Goff in Detroit, Simms said he expects the Lions to operate a "run-centric" offense and limit Goff to "boots and play-action" passes.
"As a pure pocket passer, I don’t like his decision making, I don’t like his control with the football and I actually think he’s not very good within the pocket, so that bothers me," said Simms.
All that said, Simms does give Goff credit for his toughness, as evidenced last season when he helped the Rams win a playoff game shortly after having surgery on his broken right thumb.
"He is tough, there’s no doubt, and he’s battle-tested," said Simms. "If you’re in a big game with the Packers to win the NFC North, he’s not going to be overwhelmed. Listen, there’s other guys on this list behind him where I go they’re fu*king better than him physically, but I give him some credit for some of those things."
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