David Shaw has coached a lot of good quarterbacks in his day, Andrew Luck included.
"Jared Goff is elite," Shaw said Thursday. "Whatever category that you put together of elite players, he's in that category."
The eye test is persuasive. The stats are impossible to dispute. Over the last four seasons -- since 2022 -- Goff has thrown for more yards and more touchdowns than any quarterback in the NFL. Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are second and third in both categories. Goff's passer rating over that stretch is 103.6, which ranks third. He continues to raise his own bar.
Shaw has watched Goff since the quarterback was a junior in high school. At the time, Shaw was trying to recruit him to Stanford. Goff wound up at Cal and helped turn a losing program into a winner, as he'd one day do in Detroit. He led the country in passing yards and touchdowns as a junior before being drafted first overall by the Rams.
"He's one of those guys who just got better every single year," said Shaw. "From freshman year to senior year at Cal, it was amazing. From rookie year to three year was amazing, from year three to year 10, every year there's another tool in the toolbox. Everything's a little bit better. His decision-making, his accuracy are at an elite level."
Now the Lions' passing game coordinator, Shaw works closely with Goff as a game-planner during the week and an extra set of eyes for the quarterback on Sundays. They communicate frequently on the sideline between drives, along with quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell. Morton weighs in via the headset from the booth.
Morton worked closely with Goff in 2022 when he was an offensive assistant for the Lions. He spent most of his time with the quarterbacks, wanting to view the game through their lens. One of Goff's most under-appreciated traits under center is his intelligence. He has come a long way in Detroit in how quickly he can process the defense before the snap, which allows the Lions to operate a complex offense layered with different looks.
"He’s very smart," Morton said Friday. "I talk about RCE (recognize, communicate, execute), and that’s what we’ve done. That happens every single day. He works all day, all night, we text back and forth, ideas, 'this, what are you thinking?' he comes up to my office. There’s straight communication, and that’s what you want in your quarterback when you’re the play-caller.
"He’s just been phenomenal. He makes my job a lot easier, because I want what he wants. And if there’s something that I want, he wants to make sure that he knows what he needs to do. He’s just been awesome, (especially) his preparation."
Here's what RCE looks like in real time. With the Lions facing 3rd and 8 from Chicago's 44 midway through the third quarter later week, Goff told Jameson Williams in the huddle that the Bears were about to play quarters coverage on defense and to run his post route at full-tilt because the ball was likely coming his way. It was partly to encourage Williams, who runs a lot of long routes with no reward, and partly to let him know that "this play is a real opportunity," said Goff.
Sure enough, the Bears' secondary came out in quarters, Williams burst off the line, caught a safety flat-footed and Goff hit him in stride for a 44-yard touchdown in the Lions' 52-21 rout. Recognize, communicate, execute.
"They were playing a lot of (that coverage) and when you have a guy like him that runs a lot of deep balls and they don’t get thrown, when I think it might be thrown, I try to say, like, 'Hey, dude, this could be the one,'" said Goff. "To let him know that, like, I’m not forgetting about you. You’re not just running off again. This is actually a good opportunity for you. I try to do that as much as I can."
Goff might stumble now and then, like any quarterback. (He's the only one to stumblebum.) He's rarely down for long. With the Lions coming off a poor performance in the season-opener against the Packers, Goff did as he always does last week and responded by shredding the Bears. "Lights out," said Dan Campbell. The Lions are now 10-0 after a loss dating back to the second half of the 2022 season. Goff in those games has thrown 26 touchdowns to three interceptions with a passer rating of 122.97.
"That's his standard," said Shaw. "And it's our job as coaches to give him the information and opportunity to play up to his standard. I’m glad he's on our team."
The NFL leader in passer rating over the last four seasons is Lamar Jackson (107.3), who awaits the Lions on Monday Night. Last time the Ravens hosted Detroit, "they kicked our butt," said Goff. "They got after us early and often. We certainly remember that." The Ravens scored touchdowns on their first four drives, while the Lions either punted or turned it over on their first seven. It was never a game.
Looking back on it two years later, Goff said there's still "some motivational value that we went in there and they took it to us."
"We’ve got a lot of respect for their team and their coaches and the way they’ve gone about their business for a long time, and I’d like to think they feel the same way about us. But we gotta go in there and prove it and show them that we obviously can hang with them and that we’re a great team," said Goff. "And in that instance we didn’t, so certainly have a little bit to prove this week."
Jackson had a lot to prove when he arrived in the NFL, at least to those who didn't think he was cut out to be a quarterback. Eight years later, he has the highest career passer rating (102.6) in league history. And that's without mentioning the damage he's done on the ground. Few adjectives do his talent justice. Goff calls Jackson "incredible." The two-time MVP has tossed 71 touchdowns to 11 picks over the last three seasons.
"His legs get a lot of attention, but I don’t know if his passing ability gets the attention it deserves," said Goff. "He’s as good of a passer as there is in this league. If you look at the numbers, he’s as good as anyone throwing the ball over his career, but specifically the last three or four years, he’s been on fire. "Yeah, our defense has their hands full with him, but I expect them to play well."
The Lions, of course, expect the same from Goff.
"My favorite thing about him is that he'll take the compliments, but he just goes back to work, because every week is a new week, every day is a new day," said Shaw. "And his charge as one of our leaders is to be one of those guys that pushes himself so that he can push other people."