At this point, it’s well-known what Jared Goff is and isn’t as a quarterback. When protected well and able to take apart a defense from the pocket, he’s a stud. Every quarterback has some sort of drop-off in performance when they’re pressured. But Goff’s drop-off is unique, as he goes from a top-10 quarterback in the league by some measures to practically unplayable when he gets pressured.
If Goff has to throw on the move, or god forbid take off and run…it’s not pretty. No wonder he faced more blitzes than any other quarterback last season. Working behind the best offensive line in the NFL means those extra rushers don’t get home all that often. But the reward for getting to him, or at least moving him off his comfortable spot in the pocket, is far too great for defensive coordinators to ignore.
Jared Goff has been one of the most productive quarterbacks in the NFL over the last couple seasons, and the Lions richly rewarded him this offseason. So he’s not going anywhere for the foreseeable future, and he’s as indispensable as anyone on the roster as the Lions try to find a suitable backup if should something happen to him.
No quarterback is great when pressured. But Goff, by DVOA (h/t to Bryan Knowles of FTN Fantasy), he had the steepest drop off in performance from a clean pocket to when pressured last season. It’s an easy way to knock Goff, as he simply does not move around well, but according to Next Gen Stats he had the most passing yards against the blitz last year (1,623).
Truly, that was success against unsuccessful blitzes. According to Next Gen, Goff was sacked on just 4.3 percent of his dropbacks against the blitz (lowest in the league).
Goff deserves props for recognizing when extra rushers are coming/where they are coming from, and getting the ball out of his hands. But it’s also good to work behind the best offensive line in the league.
