When the Detroit Lions traded Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for a trio of draft picks prior to the 2021 season, they also got quarterback Jared Goff in return. At that time, many believed Goff would simply be a bridge until the Lions could find their quarterback of the future.
During his first season with the Lions, Goff struggled out of the gates and a plethora of fans was calling for his job.
But Lions head coach Dan Campbell stuck with Goff and he played much better to end the season.
Heading into the 2022 season, the pressure is on Goff to take a step forward and prove that he can be the Lions’ quarterback of the future. If he does not step up, chances are the Lions will move on from him before the 2023 season.
Jared Goff worked with personal QB coach during offseason
Jared Goff knows that he has to be better in 2022 and during the offseason, he worked with his personal QB coach, Adam Dedeaux, to improve his footwork and throwing mechanics. Goff also invited some of his teammates to California to help build chemistry.
From ESPN:
“One of the bigger undertakings that we did — and we’ve talked about it over the years — was some adjustments on his footwork out of the [shot]gun and changing him to left foot up, which you’ll see is different this year,” said Dedeaux, who has worked with Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford and Lamar Jackson.
Goff said the new stance keeps him open to the left side of the field easier.
“There’s a bunch of guys in the league that go right foot forward and do a great job at it and I’ve done it my whole life until this year,” Goff told ESPN. “And it’s just a technique thing. It helps you get a little more open to the left. That’s the main thing it helps me with.”
Dedeaux said the change required the Lions to sign off but had been a long time coming.
“We’ve talked about it over the years but it’s the first time that we were able to commit to it. We got permission from the coaching staff to go full head of steam with it,” he said.
Nation, do you think Jared Goff will prove to the Detroit Lions that he is their long-term solution at quarterback?